After cinematic adventures such as We Bought A Zoo and the recent Aloha, Cameron Crowe is returning to his music-filled Almost Famous wheelhouse – albeit on the small screen – with the Showtime series Roadies, for which we now have the first teaser trailer. Characterized as a comedy show, Roadies has been picked up for 10 episodes, and centres on the backstage crew of a touring rock band.
The series brings together some impressive talent, both onscreen and off, with Winnie Holzman lined up as showrunner, and J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk set for executive producing duties. The cast will feature Carla Gugino, Luke Wilson, Imogen Poots and Rafe Spall, among many others, and expectations of excellence are high.
Check out the press release from Showtime below for more:
“Created by Cameron Crowe, Roadies is an insider’s look at the reckless, romantic, funny and poignant lives of a committed group of ‘roadies’, who live for music and the de facto family they’ve formed along the way. The series chronicles the rock world through the eyes of music’s unsung heroes and puts the spotlight on the backstage workers who put the show on the road while touring the United States for the successful arena-level group, The Staton-House Band. Kelly Curtis, Pearl Jam’s manager and a regular collaborator with Crowe, is also on board as producer and music supervisor.
“’I’ve long wanted to work with J.J and Winnie, and coming together to tell these stories has been beyond a blast,’ said Crowe. ‘Showtime has a great track record with music-based projects, and they’ve been wonderful partners. The actors are all so passionate about music too, and the whole show has the feeling of stories and music shared between friends. We can’t wait to bring it all to life in 2016.’
“Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Old School, Enlightened) stars as the band’s tour manager opposite Screen Actors Guild Award nominee Carla Gugino (San Andreas, The Brink, The Space Between Us) as the production manager. Their unique personal and professional relationship is forever crashing and colliding as they guide the daily events of the band and crew of roadies. Imogen Poots (The Look of Love), Rafe Spall (One Day), Academy Award nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider), Peter Cambor (NCIS: Los Angeles), Colson Baker a.k.a. Machine Gun Kelly (Beyond the Lights) and Ron White (Blue Collar Comedy Tour) star in the ensemble cast. Luis Guzman (Boogie Nights), Jacqueline Byers (The Strain), Finesse Mitchell (Saturday Night Live), Branscombe Richmond (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Tanc Sade (Matador, Gilmore Girls) guest star.”
With the series heading into production early in 2016, we can expect it to debut in the fall TV schedules of that year, with more trailers still to come. This first teaser, while not containing much footage, gives a real sense of the tone that Crowe is aiming for, and it is heartening to see.
As is to be expected of good comedy, the atmosphere is a positive one – suggesting that Roadies might well be the perfect counterpoint to other music-based TV shows that are more dramatic, such as Empire and the upcoming Vinyl from Martin Scorsese. Indeed, with this return to his most beloved of subject matters, combined with a whole new format, we may well see the revered Cameron Crowe get his groove back.
