Netflix has made huge investments into all sorts of content – from original series to stand-up comedy to documentaries to decades-old unfinished Orson Welles films.
Now, there’s word that the streaming service is making a move into another new genre: Musicals.
Deadline reported this week that Netflix is developing The Prom, an adaptation of the popular Broadway musical, as part of prolific showrunner Ryan Murphy’s deal with the company. The show features an all-star cast that includes the likes of Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Ariana Grande, Awkafina, and Andrew Rannels.
The film will have an Oscar-eligible theatrical release in late 2020, before going to Netflix’s streaming service.
The show announced its Broadway closing recently, though a national tour of the musical is also set for 2021.
The Prom, which debuted on Broadway in 2018, features music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Chad Beguelin, and a book by Bob Martin, with Beguelin. The plot involves a group of down-on-their-luck Broadway veterans who decide to rebound from a flop to champion the cause of an Indiana high school student who wants to take her girlfriend to the prom. The role of the student, Emma, has not yet been cast.
The announcement opens the door for Netflix to make a bigger move into musicals. Perhaps some of the classic Broadway musicals that remain unadapted by the movies could get Netflix-backed movie adaptations. Netflix could also make new versions of some of the musicals whose movie adaptations were underwhelming, like “Hair,” “A Chorus Line,” and “Rent,” especially now that the TV networks seem to be pulling back on their plans for live TV musicals.
Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman are currently starring in the second season of the HBO series Big Little Lies; Kidman slapped Streep in Sunday night’s episode.
