Cameron Crowe will direct new Showtime series on roadies

Cameron Crowe, J.J. Abrams to collaborate on Showtime series about rock band roadies

Cameron Crowe’s next project will delve into the life of rock music’s unsung heroes: the roadies working behind the scenes. Entitled simply Roadies, the one-hour ensemble comedy will spotlight a fictional group of backstage workers who make rock shows happen every day for an arena band. The Oscar winner certainly has rock cred (director of the classic coming-of-age rock film Almost Famous) but his big name co-exec producers — J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk (both of Lost, Fringe, Person of Interest) as well as Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life, Wicked) — haven’t spent too much time in rock ‘n roll.

“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 in a statement. “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.”

It’s certainly a different take on the rock ‘n roll tale, which usually focuses on the wild antics of a band. But the band, in this case called The Staton-House Band, will play second rung to the backstage stars in Roadies. Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Old School) stars as the band’s tour manager alongside production manager Carla Gugino (San Andreas, The Brink). They have a “unqiue” relationship, and considering their difficult jobs (and the “bosses,” a rock band), we’re certainly not surprised.

Crowe will co-write and direct the ten episode-long season with Holzman. The ensemble cast slated for Roadies includes Imogen Poots, Rafe Spall, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Peter Cambor, Colson Baker and Ron White.

This news comes on the heels of another recently-announced er rock-themed series recently, a series adaptation of NYC punk hero Patti Smith’s hit memoir Just Kids.

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