Netflix has given a series order to “The Get Down,” a period drama by Baz Luhrmann and Shawn Ryan.
The one-hour, 13-episode series from Sony Pictures Television, which will air on Netflix in 2016, focuses on a group of crafty teenagers from one of the hardest hit areas, the South Bronx.
The series marks Luhrmann’s first music-driven drama since the global hit “Moulin Rouge!”
“I’ve been obsessed with the idea of how a city in its lowest moment, forgotten and half destroyed, could give birth to such creativity and originality in music, art and culture,” said Luhrmann. “I’m thrilled to be working with my partners at Sony and collaborating with a team of extraordinary writers and musicians, many of whom grew up with and lived the story we’ve set out to tell.”
“The Get Down” is a mythic saga of how New York at the brink of bankruptcy gave birth to hip-hop, punk and disco, a concept Luhrmann has been working on for the last decade.
Luhrmann and Ryan will exec produce, along with frequent collaborator, production and costume designer Catherine Martin, who is married to Luhrmann.
Paul Watters (Australia); Thomas Kelly (Copper); Stephen Adley Guirgis (Motherf***er With The Hat); Shawn Ryan (The Shield, Terriers); and Marney Hochman (Terriers), will also serve as executive producers.
Luhrmann will direct the first two episodes and the final episode of the initial order.
“Baz conjures worlds we may not recognize initially,” said Netflix’s veep of original content, Cindy Holland. “But, once there, realize they are infused with the same dreams of every person — to belong, to matter, to live life to its fullest.”
“Get Down” is Luhrmann’s first attempt at a TV series. Known for “Moulin Rouge,” “Strictly Ballroom” and “The Great Gatsby,” Luhrman inked a development deal with Sony Pictures TV in 2012.
“There is no better filmmaker and storyteller to draw us into this world of the forgotten and oppressed residents of the Bronx, who rose up and fought back to create and define culture and music for decades to come,” said Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, Sony TV presidents of programming and production.