"Piano Man" fame singer Billy Joel's music will soon be re-visited in a series titled "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant".
MGM Television is teaming with Universal Music Publishing Group to bring the New York singer-songwriter's music to life as a scripted "arc-thology", reports hollywoodreporter.com.
The show, which takes its title from Joel's song, will see each episode based on lyrics of his hits, with characters from his songs, including the "Stranger", "Piano Man", "Mamma Leone" and "Sgt. O'Leary".
The tracks will be re-imagined and re-arranged by Joel's music team -- with his input -- and take his tunes in new directions.
Kevin Fox is creating the series and will executive produce alongside Joel and his longtime producing partner, Steve Cohen. Universal Music Publishing Group's Jody Gerson and Marc Cimino will associate produce the show, which represents the first time Joel's entire body of work will be licensed for a series.
"Billy Joel is a beautiful storyteller, and it just so happens that his stories are accompanied alongside remarkable songs. This series is going to focus less on Billy's life and more on the stories inside his catalog of classic songs," said MGM TV president of development and production Steve Stark.
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