JoJo and The Freaks is a fantastical drama embedded in the sweltering Carolina summer of 1969. Excited for the freedom of late sunsets and bare feet, 10-year-old JoJo readies herself for another season of play with her older brother, George. But what was once a deep bond now grows tenuous as George transitions to adolescence, scheming an escape from their neighborhood with a roadside Freak Show and a one-way ticket to somewhere bigger. When JoJo’s older half-sister, Celie, arrives unexpectedly for the summer, years of shared familial trauma surface, further straining the already tumultuous relationship between her biological father, Lou, and his second wife - JoJo and George’s mother - Gwen.

With the help of a gang of 1920s circus freaks who JoJo encounters during her magical reveries, she learns how to demonstrate courage and conviction, shepherding the adults in her life through a summer that threatens to break them irreparably. In the midst of conflict at home, JoJo forms an unlikely friendship with outsider artist and war veteran, Mr. Frank, who provides a safe space for JoJo while she navigates Celie’s undiagnosed bipolar and attempts to hold the threads of her nuclear family together. As the neighbors catch wind of Celie’s presence, tensions continue to rise until they reach a boiling point, forcing Gwen and Lou to put aside their differences and unite their disparate family.