(Above: Merritt Patterson. Photo courtesy Great American Media).

By Toni Ruberto

The first time I saw the new television movie “Meet Me in the Margins,” it was on my laptop during a group screening. It was still awaiting last-minute tweaks like credits, but that’s not unusual and it didn’t matter. This is another made-in-Buffalo film ready to gain national attention, so I was eager to see how the city looks. (Yes, it looks great.)

It’s based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Melissa Ferguson so there’s a built-in audience for the film. And it stars popular television actress Merritt Patterson as a book editor who is surprised to find someone has written notes in her romance manuscript she has secretly been writing.

“Meet Me in the Margins” is the latest made-in-Buffalo TV movie from Great American Media. It is streaming now on Great American Pure Flix, premieres at 8 p.m. June 13 on the Great American Family channel and will be on the GFam+ app. It’s one of 12 films made so far in Buffalo – and the ninth to air on television – under a two-year agreement signed in 2025 between Great American Media and Great Point Buffalo film studios. Mario Lopez and Tony Danza will next make “Christmas at the Starlight” here.

Patterson plays Savannah, a book editor at a small publishing company that focuses on nonfiction and refuses to bow down to consumerism like the romance market. Think of it as a high-brow boutique publishing company that would rather sell fewer books than lower itself to offer popular novels and paperbacks even as it faces difficult financial times.

Because of that, Savannah keeps her passion for romance a secret, writing her book under a pen name. After a mishap at the office, she hides her manuscript in a secret room (bonus points for a secret room) and is shocked to later find anonymous notes written in the margins.

“Your protagonist is too passive. Why doesn’t she take initiative?”

“This metaphor doesn’t quite work. What are you really trying to say?”

Ouch!

Savannah’s not happy, but the words ring true as her sensible roomie and co-worker Lyla (Marisa Brown) makes her see. Thus starts a “relationship on paper” with her mystery editor, who signs himself “A Fellow Storyteller.”

Each time she returns to the room, something has been added in addition to the notes:  flameless candles, a comfy reading chair, a table and flowers, fairy lights, a cozy blanket. Feels romantic, doesn’t it? Then there are the words. There are so many that they start to read like letters, just like in classic films where letters (and emails like in “You’ve Got Mail”) bring two people together. 

We see the words written in the margins on the manuscript pages (in red ink) and hear Savannah read them out loud, her face gently reacting. (Patterson is wonderful in these scenes, as her subtle reactions feel genuine.) There is wisdom and compassion in the words that help her become a better writer and turn her inward to see how much of herself she put in the book.

But who is the mystery editor? Is it her sweet co-worker Sam (Austin Valli)? The tall, stoic William Pendleton (Liam McIntyre), who has arrived from the big city to help the family business? Or perhaps someone else? There will be a few red herrings before his identity is confirmed although you’ll probably be able to guess.

BUFFALO IN THE FILM

“Meet Me in the Margins” opens with pure beauty shots of Buffalo that could be used by the tourism bureau: the downtown skyline, overhead views of Lake Erie and tree-lined city streets. Buffalo City Hall always impresses on screen, but so do other recognizable images you’ll see including Buffalo Savings Bank and its gold dome, the Electric Tower, Connecticut Street Armory, the Peace Bridge and Niagara Square.

Much of the movie is shot inside one of the city’s impressive historic homes that appears as the fictional Pendleton Publishing. You’ll see the 1885’s grand foyer and marble staircase, a fantastic kitchen and other grand rooms turned into meeting spaces and offices for the film. The secret room is also there, although it’s a much larger space with more ornate bookshelves. It’s a stunner.

Scenes shot at Penny’s Coffee Shop make me want to hang out at the downtown staple.

Toni Ruberto writes about the Buffalo film community. Contact her at truberto716@gmail.com.