At the time of his unexpected death, Aaron Carter was in the midst of filming a new sitcom – titled Group – about mental health recovery. And while they finished filming the pilot episode before Carter’s death, the writer and director of the sitcom – Brian Farmer – didn’t know if he should proceed with the project.
Now more than a month after his untimely death, TMZ is reporting that Farmer has received the “green light” from Carter’s camp to proceed with the project on one condition – they dedicate it to Aaron Carter, who has long struggled with mental health problems and drug addiction. It’s a condition that will be met.
In fact, it’s an easy condition to meet for Farmer, who raved about his time working with Carter. “He was such a kind soul and a pleasure to work with, and he will be dearly missed by everyone who was a part of Group and countless others. My heart goes out to his family and friends,” said Farmer of his late friend.
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In the pilot, Aaron Carter was playing a fictionalized version of himself. Centered around mental health advocacy and the importance of group therapy, Group was a project Aaron was excited about as he looked to share his personal experience with mental health, drug addiction, and recovery, in general.
As of right now, the pilot episode is in post-production. Now that Farmer has the ‘okay’ from Carter’s camp to complete the project, they have plans of shopping the pilot around to a number of networks. While there’s no guarantee it gets picked up, the publicity surrounding the project should help it find a suitor.
“Aaron was so excited about the show and helping raise awareness for mental health, a topic he was very passionate about. He said being a part of the show gave him something positive to work toward, and I’ll forever cherish that,” Farmer wrote to Deadline, adding that he was ‘heartbroken’ over the shocking news.
In addition to Aaron Carter, the pilot episode starred Samm Levine, Olive Chiacchia, Ari Stidham, Mike Starr, Ashley Brinkman, Kevin Clayette, Abdoulaye NGom, and Anne Judson–Yager. Those that have paid tribute to him had positive and glowing things to say about the former singer-songwriter.
Olive Chiacchia Posts Touching Tribute to Aaron Carter
One of his co-stars, Olive Chiacchia, took to Instagram to honor Aaron Carter and reminisce about their time spent together – she played his love interest in the sitcom. She shared a touching message about her late friend and posted several photos of them on set together. She spoke highly of her co-star.
“Aaron, this isn’t how or why I wanted to post these photos. I was waiting until the release of the pilot. I had the pleasure of playing your love interest in Group, and you were truly the most loving, professional, kind, and talented performer I’ve worked with,” she wrote, later referring to him as “bananerman.”
I wish the world saw you the way I do and saw your side of the story. Everyone knew your struggles, so I share this story in hopes that you will be remembered for your heart and your light. My heart goes out to your family, loved ones, Melanie, and your son. Until I see you on the other side,” she concluded.
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She replied to one of the comments, which was asking what the show was. “It’s called group! In post-production right now but the team’s on a mission to get the show out there ASAP! I will keep y’all updated,” she replied. We don’t know when it’ll be available to watch, but we certainly can’t wait!