Okay, now I understand the photo-life part. What remains: Why should we care if they succeed or not?? This seems to be the present and we have the exploration of Mars with plans to put humans on it before long, so it seems these guys are creating a possible shortcut for what would happen anyway. There’s something soft about all this and I still don’t see the humor or irony.

Were other possibilities considered? If you take the elements of two interns (or any other two lowly or ironic characters) and? photo-life, can you move and change other parts to see what happens? What if this is the near future with the first group of humans landing on Mars? What if it’s the present and they change the planet by the start of Act II…what might happen next?

I like The Other Guys! The difference is, they start with a small case and then unravel a grand conspiracy. If that’s not the point here, if it’s really the two inserted into something big at the beginning, then it’s a question of how to make it plausible enough. Many undercover comedies are in this vein, like Miss Congeniality and 21 Jump Street. There’s by accident, like A Shot In The Dark (the first Pink Panther).? Perhaps your cops get? assigned by mistake and then…other options.? Even for a comedy, there should be something understandable to how they get in over their heads so that the reader doesn’t lose interest at that moment.

>> Two down and out cops

Describe each and more precisely since conflict is needed between them and it would nail the irony and humor.? Disgraced, demoted, desk jockey, timid, hotshot…

>> a cartel before the cartel spreads a powerful drug

A powerful, NEW drug, right? Is this set in America or in a Latin America country? Something feels off about starting with a cartel that will get bigger…perhaps the cops are the ones to discover they have a new drug. Point is, spread out the events/turns.

>> that could destroy the city

This can be cut and a description of the drug would imply it, like “Ten times more addictive than heroin.”

>> or risk being fired, if they survive.are

This will likely not be necessary in the next take on the logline because the drug and danger in battling the cartel are enough stakes. Even for a comedy and for this first logline, it’s hard to imagine that these two cops would be fired for failing such a difficult assignment.

Clarify the main antag and create a sense of what happens most of the time. As with the location, is this about the cops in an American city chasing leads to find who’s behind the drug?