Netflix acquired exclusive global rights to Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids, and plans to release the performance concert film on October 12, according to Deadline Hollywood. Jonathan Demme, known for Neil Young: Heart of Gold and Silence of the Lambs, directs the documentary, according to Dateline.
The documentary focuses on Timberlake and his 25-man band on their final appearance on Timberlake’s 20/20 Experience World Tour. The tour lasted two years and consisted of 134 shows. Justin Timberlake posted the documentary’s teaser on his Twitter account and said, “Who’s ready to #TimberlakeAndChill? Me & @TheTNKids. On @Netflix. Starting October 12th #Netflix.”
The 20/20 Experience World Tour was the fifth concert tour for Timberlake, and promoted his third and fourth albums, The 20/20 Experience and The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2. The tour began in November of 2013 and finished on January 2, 2015 in Las Vegas. Events surrounding the Las Vegas two-day concert at the MGM Grand Garden Arena make up the material for the upcoming documentary.
Netflix’s plan to premiere the concert film is another step in the direction of offering more original content and exclusive events. Netflix expands its offerings by acquiring the rights to the concert documentary, and adds to original sitcoms, animated series, dramatic series, films, and documentaries. The firm explains that its ultimate goal is to have “internet TV replace linear TV,” and compares the change to the manner in which TV content overcame radio programming in the ’50s and ’60s.
“Our first original series debuted in 2013,” Netflix stated in a news release. “We became global in 2016, nearly twenty years after starting Netflix. Over the following decades, internet TV will replace linear, and we hope to keep leading by offering an amazing entertainment experience.”
Netflix obviously hopes that Timberlake’s concert documentary will continue to drive viewers to turn to Netflix for original material and worldwide premieres like this one.
