Untitled series shifts between modern day and 1959 Detroit, has Benj Pasek and Justin Paul to write tunes and produce

Alicia Keys will executive produce an untitled musical drama series on Showtime. Joining her in the exec producer ranks are Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land, Dear Evan Hansen, The Greatest Showman). Pasek and Paul will contribute music.

Produced by Fox 21 Television Studios, the project “traverses generations to tell an emotionally complex family story that interweaves modern-day and 1959 Detroit, centering on a mystery uncovered by a young musician who moves back to her childhood home,” in Showtime’s words.

Kyle Jarrow (The SpongeBob Musical) will write and executive produce the series. Marc Platt (Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert), R.J. Cutler (Nashville) and Adam Siegel (Grease: Live!) will also executive produce.

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“We have always been intrigued by the prospect of doing a Showtime musical series, but only if the songs could add to the depth and complexity of a great character drama,” said Gary Levine, president of entertainment at Showtime. “Nobody does that better than Pasek and Paul and Marc Platt…so when they came to us along with a global superstar like Alicia, a talented writer like Kyle, and excellent producers like Adam and R.J., we were all in.”

Singer/producer Keys has won 15 Grammys. Her acting work includes The Secret Life of Bees, The Nanny Diaries and Empire.