Broadway Musical Oklahoma! Getting Series Treatment

Skydance Television has partnered with The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization and Concord to develop an original series for television inspired by the hit Broadway musical Oklahoma!

The present-day series will be set in America’s heartland and include music by the legendary team of Rodgers & Hammerstein, reimagined for a contemporary audience, in addition to new music to support the story. John Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, The Highwaymen) and Bekah Brunstetter (This Is Us, American Gods) are on board the project.

Lee Hancock will also direct the first episode and serve as executive producer of the series alongside Brunstetter and fellow EPs Ted Chapin of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization; Sophia Dilley of Concord; and David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Marcy Ross of Skydance Television. Bill Bost, senior VP of television, will oversee the project for Skydance.

Chapin, chief creative officer of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, a Concord company, said: “Oklahoma!’s artistically revolutionary position in American culture has both kept it at the forefront of theatrical performances and allowed for various new innovations. This first-time-ever television series will expand on the life of this remarkably resilient show.”

“Oklahoma! is one of the greatest musicals of all time, and we’re honored The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization and Concord have entrusted us to produce this ambitious television series,” commented Ross, president of Skydance Television. “Skydance has found the perfect architects to create this world with John Lee Hancock and Bekah Brunstetter, who will honor the spirit of the original show while creating a unique and contemporary story.”

“We are thrilled to be working with such great partners at Skydance Television and with the talented John Lee Hancock and Bekah Brunstetter to envision a new world that pulls from the rich characters and stories in Oklahoma!,” added Dilley, VP of film and television development and production at Concord.