Series 7: The Contenders is a 2001 American satirical dark comedy film written and directed by Daniel Minahan. The film is presented as a marathon of the seventh series of an American reality television show called The Contenders, where six people, picked at random from a national lottery, are each given a pistol and forced to hunt and kill each other for the cameras. The film is a satire of the reality television genre. It stars Brooke Smith as Dawn, the reigning champion from the fifth and sixth series. Plot The film is shot in the style of a reality TV series and is set in an alternate future where a civil war in the 1990s resulted in the US becoming a dictatorship. Five new contestants are selected in a random lottery and, along with the winner of the previous series, comprise the six Contenders. The film purposely leaves many key details unexplained, as the viewer is supposed to be watching only what the creators actually aired in the fictional TV show. the show is run by the Department of Control, which has more authority than the president, who is a figurehead, and randomly selects citizens, usually from poorer areas (each state is known as a zone), but the Contenders treat it as something they cannot control. Contenders are given a pistol loaded with polonium bullets, though they may acquire other weapons, and the last one left alive is the winner. Contestants are forced to play the game, regardless of their wishes. A contender who wins three tours of the game is freed from it. Each series of The Contenders is played in the limits of a city or town. Series 7 is set in Newbury, Connecticut, the hometown of Dawn Lagarto (Brooke Smith), the current and longest reigning champion. She has won two tours and just needs to win one more to be set free. Dawn is eight months pregnant and hopes to win the game for her baby. The show hosts a lottery, with Contenders chosen by whichever social security number appears, contenders are implanted with tiny explosive devices that can be remotely detonated if they try to escape the game. The five contenders selected are: Connie Trabucco (Marylouise Burke) – 57 years old, single, emergency room nurse. Jeffrey Norman (Glenn Fitzgerald) – 33 years old, married, artist. He is dying of testicular cancer and is Dawn's former