So it had to happen. Cameron Crowe’s Showtime series “Roadies” was cancelled after its initial season. In some ways the show (and much of Crowe’s recent films) was out of step with what succeeds (sells) on the big and small screen today (see Madmen, Sopranos, Billions…). No special effects, guns, lawyers, cops, criminals, etc., just a story about the road crew supporting a rock band (the fictional Staton House Band) on their national tour. Is there a place for a feel good show like this on television today? Apparently not.
Criticisms of the show included the knock that it was less about the actual “work” of the road crew and too much about the melodrama of the private lives of the crew. This is a fair point though early on (the first episode) we did see the crew actually working but this didn’t last long. The constant flow of real musician cameos might have been a bit overdone at times especially in the season finale. But to Crowe’s credit he didn’t lean completely on his fellow boomer pals and mixed in current popular musicians like Halsey and Gary Clark Jr. And it was a likeable cast with “comfort food” type stories and plenty of inside “jokes” about the music industry, which is probably why the audience was limited. There was even the “Song of the Day” and a soundtrack for each episode.
I’m not sure what prompted the cancellation. These types of things usually come down to low ratings or costs (or both). Costs couldn’t have factored too much in the decision with the virtually no-name cast (Luke Wilson being the most well-known name) and the set consisted of the back stage area in a sports arena (all virtually the same). The show had a nice quirkiness to it. Like an entire episode dedicated to an all night bus ride where Phil (elder statesman and ex-road manager) recounts his days being road manager for Lynyrd Skynyrd; or the somewhat creepy band archivist, Mike Finger; and Kelly Ann’s brother Wesley who joins the crew after being fired by Pearl Jam.
It would have been nice to give the show another season to settle in and find its groove (not like HBO’s “Vinyl” which was just so wacko that it had to be shot to put the audience and the cast out of its misery). In the end it was just out of step with the times, which is a shame. If you liked “Almost Famous” give “Roadies” a try. You’ll probably be able to find it on Amazon soon.
I’m adding a new addendum to the posts with what I am…
Listening to: Led Zeppelin, “The Complete BBC Recordings”. It covers the band’s BBC recordings from 1969-71 before they got crazy big. These guys rock huge.
Reading: Carl Hiaason, “Razor Girl”. Just finished this one. It has the same protagonist as the previous his book “Bad Monkey”. Over the top hilarious with the author’s usual cutting satire about his home state of Florida and the nitwits that inhabit it.
Watching: “Stranger Things” (Netflix). The story centers on a group of young boys and the mysterious disappearance of one of their friends. Winona Ryder, in a near constant state of hysteria, plays the missing boy’s mother. A strange lab facility in their town figures in the goings on. It has a very Stephen King feel to it.