Private Project

It's Not You. It's Me: Chicago

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Adult & Sexual Language; References to Negative Body Image & Substance Use

SERIES PLOT: In this award-winning eight-part, proof-of-concept docuseries, three bachelors re-embark into the dating scene -- some for their first time, and others hopefully for their last! While receiving expert guidance on healthy relationships, sex, and vulnerability, the niches and experiences of modern queer dating will be tossed aside as our bachelors find themselves in the midst of personal growth while attending individual and group mental health therapy sessions.

Along their journeys of receiving clinical coaching and support, they'll also receive tools to help unpack baggage and trauma from previous relationships so that they don’t take them into the new ones they’re starting to build.

EPISODE SYNOPSIS: Chicago bachelors John, Marco, and Brandon meet each other in their first group therapy session with Prem. After creating their 'wish lists' of what they're hoping to find in a partner or relationship, they are set out into their first dates with eligible singles in hopes of finding a connection with their special someone.

  • Anthony L. Williams
    Created by
    Thicker Than Blood, Absolutely Positive, Love It or List It (HGTV - 1st AD)
  • Anthony L. Williams
    Director
    Thicker Than Blood, Absolutely Positive, Love It or List It (HGTV - 1st AD)
  • Anthony L. Williams
    Writer
    Thicker Than Blood, Absolutely Positive
  • Taylor D. Adams
    Writer
  • Brian Kowalski
    Writer
  • Dr. Darnell Motley
    Writer
  • Dr. Monica O'Neal
    Writer
    Camp Getaway (Bravo)
  • Spencer Paez
    Writer
  • Anthony L Williams
    Producer
    History's Greatest Mysteries w/ Laurence Fishburne (History Channel), Love It or List It (HGTV), Dr. Mercy (TLC), Hazardous History with Henry Winkler (History Channel), Mysteries Unearthed with Danny Trejo (History Channel), Holy Marvels with Dennis Quaid (History Channel), Live PD: Women on Patrol (Lifetime / A&E), Live Free or Die (National Geographic)
  • Dr. Darnell Motley
    Producer
  • Dr. Monica O'Neal
    Producer
    Camp Getaway (Bravo)
  • Spencer Paez
    Producer
  • Brian Kowalski
    Producer
  • Prem Pahwa
    Key Cast
    "Himself - Licensed Clinical Sex & Relationship Psychotherapist"
  • Tyler Cameron
    Editing
    The Bear (FX/Hulu), 61st Street (AMC)
  • Alexis Lopez
    Editing
  • Tim Edson
    Sound MIxing
    The Bear (FX/Hulu), The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix), Shining Girls (AppleTV)
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Television, Web / New Media, Other
  • Genres:
    LGBTQ, Dating, Reality, Health, Relationships, Drama, Docuseries, mental health, BIPOC, People of Color, Queer, therapy, love
  • Runtime:
    60 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    November 1, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • BraveMaker Film Festival
    Redwood City, CA
    United States
    July 8, 2026
    Official Selection
  • The 47th Telly Awards

    United States
    May 8, 2026
    WINNER: Silver Telly Winner in Television - Mental Health
  • 15th Annual ATX TV Festival
    Austin, TX
    United States
    May 28, 2026
    United States Premiere
    WINNER: Best Indie TV Pilot - Unscripted
  • LGBTQ Los Angeles Film Festival
    Los Angeles
    United States
    May 28, 2026
    West Coast
    Official Selection
  • 6th International Black & Diversity Film Festival
    Ajax, ON
    Canada
    April 17, 2026
    Canadian Premiere
    WINNER: Best Web / TV Series; NOMINATIONS: Best Director, Best Producer, Best Cinematography
  • Cinema World Fest Awards
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    June 30, 2024
    WINNER: Best Trailer Award
  • Creation International Film Festival
    Los Angeles, CA
    United States
    May 31, 2024
    WINNER: Best Trailer Award
  • Williamsburg International Film & Music Competition
    New York, NY
    United States
    September 21, 2024
    RUNNER UP: Film/TV/Web Trailer Competition
  • World Music & Independent Film Festival
    Washington DC
    United States
    May 2, 2025
    NOMINATION: Best Trailer
  • So Limitless and Free International Film Festival
    Montreal, Quebec
    Canada
    December 8, 2024
    Canadian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Various Artists Independent Film Festival
    Chicago, IL
    United States
    October 25, 2024
    Honorable Mention
Director Biography - Anthony L. Williams

A native of Little Rock, Arkansas and Founder / CEO of Second Glance Productions, Anthony L. Williams is a multi-award-winning showrunner and filmmaker, performer, and educator based in Chicago (by way of Raleigh, NC).

A featured artist and activist in the "Imagine Your Impact" exhibit in the new Obama Presidential Center, Anthony's work has earned him a Silver Telly Award in Television - Mental Health, the "Best Indie TV Pilot - Unscripted" award in the inaugural category at the 15th ATX TV Festival, and the "Best TV Series" win at the 2026 International Black & Diversity Film Festival for his newest relationship / dating / mental health docuseries — It’s Not You. It’s Me: Chicago (INYIM).

Holding nominations for "Best Director," "Best Producer," and "Best Cinematography,” INYIM was a "Best Trailer" winner at both the 2024 Cinema WorldFest Awards and Creation International Film Festival and is the 2025 recipient of Emmy-nominated streaming platform Open Television’s #OTVAtlas Post-Production & Distribution Grant program.

In 2021, he was runner-up in the Flip the Script Competition for his TV pilot — Heartstrings — which also claimed 1st place in London & Lisbon’s 2024 Sunday Shorts Film Festival Screenwriting Competition and was an official selection in the 2024 Chicago Script Awards and Toronto Lift-Off Film Festival.
As writer-director of the first installment in this three-part film series, his critically-acclaimed debut feature film — Thicker Than Blood — garnered him awards for "Best Director” at the 2019 Newark International Film Festival, "Best Narrative Feature Film" at the 2019 Arlington International Film Festival, and "Best Actor" and "Best Supporting Actress" at the 2025 World Music & Independent Film Festival.

His award-winning short film — Absolutely Positive — won "Best Director" and holds nominations for Best Narrative Short Film, Best Actor, and Best Actress at the 2013 World Music & Independent Film Festival, also earning him a personal invitation to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy Initiative at the White House in 2013. Now redeveloped as a scripted series, the pilot advanced to the 2026 Top 25 Semifinalist round of Roadmap Writers "The Coletta Preacely-Garcia Diversity Fellowship" competition and the Quarterfinalist round in the 2020 TSL Screenplay Contest.

Having produced content for HGTV, the History Channel, National Geographic, A&E, The Travel Channel, Food Network, Investigative Discovery, and more, no matter the storytelling medium, Anthony takes pride in creating memorable media that pushes boundaries with purpose and on purpose. And with every story he tells, his mission is to ‘edutain’ and inspire viewers at first glance, while provoking deeper thought, conversation, and connection upon ‘second glance.’

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

**MY CURRENT GOAL with this proof-of-concept series project is to partner with brands, distributor/streamer/network, and/or a reputable and innovative production company to produce future seasons of this IP in various cities across the world. I'm also actively working to acquire funding to complete the post-production process for the remaining 6 episodes and elevate marketing and distribution efforts for this proof-of-concept season.

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They say you don’t know what you don’t know, until you know. And then by that point, it becomes hindsight, which we all know is clearer than any foresight in the present moment.

"It's Not You, It's Me" comes straight from the journal pages of my life. I used to give away my self-worth like I was tossing out condoms at a pride parade. When those relationships ended, I was left feeling like I wasn’t good enough for anyone or anything. After experiencing a LITERAL IDENTITY-THEFT CRISIS in June 2020 where my emails were hacked, social media hijacked, and bank accounts completely cleaned out, life forced me to take a hard look at the relationships around me and what I’d allowed myself to become.

I got a therapist, for the second time in my life, and learned that the pain and unforgiveness I thought I’d let go of was still imprinting itself on every relationship I’d built since. I had to acknowledge and dig up the pain I buried and start the hard work of unpacking it.

This social experimental docuseries is designed to identify unhealed and recent trauma that’s continually perpetuated within the LGBTQ+ community, provide processing and coping tools to put to use in real-time, and hopefully lead to nurturing hearts that have been afraid to open up to others. INYIM's audience will get to evaluate their own lives and behaviors as our bachelors explore breaking barriers and stereotypes around mental health and well-being, toxic masculinity, and unhealthy emotional expressions.