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Arts & Entertainment

Baz Luhrmann Is Bringing 1970s NYC To Netflix


By

Jen Carlson

Published Feb 5, 2015

Modified Feb 5, 2015


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By

Jen Carlson

Published Feb 5, 2015

Modified Feb 5, 2015


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The South Bronx in the early 1970s, courtesy of LIFE

A period drama set in 1970s New York City, with Baz Luhrmann at the helm? Yes please, Netflix.

According to Variety, they've ordered 13 episodes of The Get Down, which will be a joint collaboration between Luhrmann, who is used to working with a much bigger screen, and Shawn Ryan, who is best known as showrunner for The Shield. They report:

"The Sony Pictures TV project is set in New York City in the late 1970s amid the explosion of hip-hop, punk and other innovative music and art that coincided with a surge in crime, violence and urban decay. Get Down focuses on a group of crafty teenagers from one of the hardest hit areas, the South Bronx."

Luhrmann, who has been working with the concept for ten years, says, “I’ve been obsessed with the idea of how a city in its lowest moment, forgotten and half destroyed, could give birth to such creativity and originality in music, art and culture. I’m thrilled to be working with my partners at Sony and collaborating with a team of extraordinary writers and musicians, many of whom grew up with and lived the story we’ve set out to tell.”

The show is scheduled to debut next year.

Until then, check out some real footage of the South Bronx in the 1970s—when gangs like the Reapers were ruling the streets—in this two hours of footage.

Tagged

1970s

baz luhrmann

netflix

the get down

tv series


Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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