In 1996, seventh-grader Owen meets ninth-grader Maddy over a shared interest in the TV show The Pink Opaque. Intrigued by the show, Owen sneaks over to Maddy’s house to watch it with her and her friend Amanda, becoming captivated by the series.

Two years later, Owen’s mother is terminally ill, and he can’t watch The Pink Opaque live due to his bedtime curfew and his father’s disdain for the show. Maddy records the episodes for him. When Owen asks Maddy to watch an episode together, she reveals she is a lesbian and ostracized at school after a rumor about her grabbing Amanda’s breast. Maddy, feeling trapped by her abusive stepfather, plans to run away and invites Owen, who loses his nerve. Eventually, Brenda dies, Maddy disappears, and The Pink Opaque is canceled.

Eight years later, Owen, now working at a movie theater and living with his father, encounters Maddy again. She tells him she disappeared into the show itself and asks him to remember its finale. The last episode, where characters Isabel and Tara are buried alive by the villain Mr. Melancholy, leads Owen to believe he is a dying Isabel. He panics and breaks a TV set, prompting his father to intervene.

The next night, Maddy explains her escape into the show and her belief that their reality is Mr. Melancholy’s deceptive “midnight realm.” She urges Owen to bury himself alive to return to The Pink Opaque and start season six, but Owen hesitates and runs home, never seeing Maddy again. He is haunted by the thought that he is meant to have a different life.

Years later, Owen’s father dies, and Owen, now claiming to have started a family, rediscovers The Pink Opaque but finds it less impressive than he remembered. He continues working at a family entertainment center, growing more miserable and physically weaker over time.

During a birthday party at the center, Owen has a breakdown, claiming he is dying, but the guests do not respond. He locks himself in the bathroom, cuts his chest open, and smiles at the sight of a glowing TV screen inside him. Returning to the party, he apologizes to the indifferent guests, blaming his breakdown on new medication.