Probation Productions sent scouts to high school speech tournaments around the U.S. and Canada, searching for their perfect cast. After sitting through countless renditions of "The Gingerbread Lady" and "The Shadow Box", they decided to follow one team from one school for an entire season.

Beaverton High School's Forensics Squad has over forty years of speech and debate history, and their coach, Gay Brasher, has been voted the National Forensics League "Coach of the Year" for two straight years.

When the producers learned that six of the current Beaverton competitors struggled for years to overcome dyslexia, they knew they had their school.