John Stamos has partnered with producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (The Wiz Live!) for a cable drama series chronicling the fame and excess of daytime soaps in the 1980s. Universal TV, where Zadan and Meron are under a deal for series and live events, is the studio.
The untitled drama, now in early stages of development, will be inspired by the experiences of Stamos, whose acting career was launched in 1982 when, at the age of 18, he landed the role of Blackie Parrish on the ABC daytime drama General Hospital.
Described as “Boogie Nights in the soap world,” the drama will explore the colorful and often dark world of soaps as it follows the journey of a young man thrust into soap stardom, during a decade defined by Reaganomics, greed, excess, indulgence and materialism. As a newly minted teen idol, he will struggle to balance his family life, working at his fathers restaurant and maintain his humble upbringing while navigating the temptations of sex, drugs and fame.
Stamos will executive produce alongside Zadan and Meron through the duo’s Storyline Entertainment. This is the latest collaboration for Stamos, Zadan & Maron who previously teamed to produce the Emmy-nominated miniseriesBeach Boys: An American Family and the TV movie, Martin and Lewis.
Storyline Entertainment’s Mark Nicholson will produce the 1980s soap drama, which is in the process of finding a writer.
Stamos recently produced and starred in the Fox comedy series Grandfathered and he also produces and recurs on Netflix’s Fuller House. Stamos, who stars as Dr. Brock Holt in season 2 of Fox’s Scream Queens, is repped by Brillstein Entertainment partners and WME.
Zadan and Meron are prepping their next NBC musical, Hairspray Live! and are working with Aaron Sorkin for NBC’s first live drama, a 2017 broadcast of A Few Good Men. The duo is repped by CAA.