MGM+ Greenlights Words + Music

MGM+ has greenlit Words + Music, a music docuseries inspired by the Audible original series, featuring Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, John Legend and Alanis Morissette.

Words + Music will feature artists sharing stories about songs pivotal to their careers, followed by all-new performances of those songs either solo or with a band. The series is set to premiere on November 30 on MGM+ in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia.

“Musicians express what we mere mortals think and feel, but they do it better… and with a melody,” said Van Toffler, CEO of Gunpowder & Sky. “Adapting Words + Music for a visual medium gave our studio, and our producing partners Alex Coletti and Bill Flanagan, an incredible opportunity to merge lyrics, music, performance and visual art. The result is something as intimate as a backstage confession and as cinematic as a feature film. These aren’t just stories about iconic songs—they’re portraits of how those songs, and the artists behind them came to be.”

“Words + Music is a uniquely engaging blend of iconic music and intimate storytelling from the legendary artists who lived it. It’s the next evolution of the high-quality music-focused MGM+ documentaries that our audience has come to expect,” said Michael Wright, head of MGM+. “We are fortunate to have been able to collaborate with Audible, whose pioneering Words + Music format was so compelling that we had to bring it to television, and music storytelling visionary Van Toffler and his studio, Gunpowder & Sky.”

“Words + Music has struck a chord with listeners, and this evolution of Audible’s groundbreaking format within the Amazon ecosystem bridges audio and visual storytelling, creating a captivating new experience for musicians and fans alike,” said Rachel Ghiazza, chief content officer at Audible. “This collaboration underscores Audible’s ongoing commitment to the strategic expansion of our IP headed by Jackie Levine, leveraging our extraordinary content to connect with audiences in fresh, meaningful ways.”