There had been some recent concern that Cameron Crowe’s spate of poor luck (with bad reactions and box office figures to Aloha) was continuing on his planned series for Showtime, Roadies, as rumours drifted that it might not make it to air. Crowe himself had good news to share today, however, announcing that it’s been picked up for 10 episodes and posting a brief, first-look teaser.
Roadies, which charts similar territory to Crowe’s Almost Famous, follows the day-to-day dramas of a successful rock tour. He’s wrote and directed the pilot, which finds Luke Wilson as road-weary, sleep-deprived tour manager Bill, the best in the business, overseeing mega stadium band The Staton–House. Imogen Poots is Kelly Ann, a first-tier tech genius with second-tier people skills, Keisha Castle-Hughes is the band’s outspoken sound mixer Donna, while Rafe Spall will be a successful British financial adviser sent to oversee the band’s budget despite knowing nothing about the music. And there’s also Peter Cambor, as a guitar tech with questionable personal hygiene but amazing charm. Carla Gugino, meanwhile, replaced Christina Hendricks as Shelli, the band’s production manager, a smart and capable woman who is also a very private person who is dedicated to her job.
My So-Called Life/Once And Again writing and producing veteran Winnie Holzman is aboard to run the show, with J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk offering executive producer support through their Bad Robot company. The teaser makes no full date for the show to air, but does mention 2016. Fingers crossed for Crowe this time…