Following the success of the breakout hit “Empire,” Lee Daniels, the show’s mega-producer is developing another music-themed show. This time, the drama will revolve around a girl band. The series, hailing from 20th Century Fox TV, is tentatively titled “Star.”
Fox bought the project, which is in early development, with a put pilot commitment — no surprise given Daniels’ success in the genre at the network.
Daniels will serve as writer and exec producer on the Atlanta-set “Star,” alongside Tom Donaughy. Casting will begin shortly. The lead characters will be the three women in the musical group.
On Thursday, Fox bosses Dana Walden and Gary Newman offered up details on the upcoming show, which explores the cutthroat music scene and asks the question, what do you do to rise to the top? Explaining that Daniels “talks a lot about everything from ‘Dreamgirls’ to modern-day girl groups that are manufactured, they are put together, they don’t have an organic reason to be together,” Walden said. “That setup lends to a great soap operatic storytelling machine.”
As for crossover episodes between “Star” and “Empire,” there is a strong possibility, though no plans are set. “It is modern-day music music in Atlanta and ‘Empire’ is modern-day music business in New York,” Walden said. “It’s not inconceivable that the two shows can cross.”
