MCTV Ramps Up For a New Season of ‘False Advertising’

The False Advertising crew. Photo by Caleb Tysz '26

Marist Club Television (MCTV) is Marist University’s broadcasting club. Operating on a biweekly schedule, the club features five different shows. MCTV produces “Studio A,” a comedy show; “Halftime on the Hudson,” a sports commentary show; “Quiz Show,” a trivia program; and “MCTV News,” which mimics real-life news reporting. This year, they are entering the second season of their student-run sitcom, “False Advertising.”  

Student-run sitcoms are shows that are written, produced, filmed, directed and acted by university students. The work is challenging but rewarding, especially when working with the right people. Marist students are in luck, because they have a dedicated group of students bringing the campus sitcom to life. 

Josh Lawrence ‘28, creator, writer and producer of False Advertising, knew MCTV needed something fresh and unique. Among the club’s existing four shows, he saw a creative gap that needed to be filled.  

“I noticed we lacked a narrative show that could appeal to people interested in writing for characters or acting on the screen and thought about how much I would have enjoyed something like that coming in as a freshman,” Lawrence said.  

The show follows Victoria False, a driven post-graduate played by Olivia Locarno ‘28, whose dream is to work in advertising. When the agency, False Advertising, unintentionally takes a client from the major corporation Bartley & Sons Advertising, tension begins to rise between False’s agency and the company’s “manchild CEO,” Sons Bartley. 

“I like to describe the episodes as a crazy story a friend might tell you. It seems odd, exaggerated, but totally possible. That’s False Advertising. These characters are wacky, the clients are nuts, but the world is grounded in reality,” said Lawrence. 

As “False Advertising” enters a second season, Lawrence feels they’ve cleared a major hurdle of establishing themselves as legitimate. Starting a new show surely wasn’t easy, but after a year of molding it into the best it can be, this year is different.  

Now that the crew has found their footing, members can only become more comfortable and confident with their production. They can broaden their creative horizons and experiment with new ideas. 

“With season one, we had something to prove. Not just that making this kind of show is possible, but that we could introduce all these characters and make them worth rooting for,” said Lawrence. 

As a program, “False Advertising” provides all students with a place to participate in something out of their comfort zone or expand their current talents. For any of the shows, there is no prior experience or knowledge needed; students will learn as they go, guided along by their show’s producers. All that’s needed is an interest in collaborating with others to create something special. 

"I always say we are an educational club. You can come in with absolutely no experience and by the end of a semester, be running for a producer of your favorite show,” said MCTV Vice President Lauren McCann.

Lawrence and MCTV President Miles Byrnes agree that one of the best parts of the club is how it “builds bridges across our campus,” according to Lawrence. Students from all different fields of study participate in MCTV. Byrnes himself is a cybersecurity major.  

“Getting to know people you may never have class with is always fun, especially when we have members from all over campus, not just communications majors,” said Byrnes. 

The club’s welcoming environment is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, offering opportunities to learn, collaborate and build connections. 

"It’s such fun to create something that I have only ever seen on real television,” said Locarno.