BEATLES, DYLAN & MOTOWN TUNES BOUND FOR TV SERIES

Having already set Beatles songs to animation for the Netflix series Beat Bugs, Australian writer/director Josh Wakely is moving on to Bob Dylan and Motown for his future projects. Republic Records will handle the release of Beatles covers from the Netflix animated series Beat Bugs and is looking to become further involved with the animator’s other music projects.

Wakely, whose Beat Bugs will premiere in August, has Time Out of Mind, a Dylan-themed drama in development for Amazon, along with a Motown songbook-based show in the works for Netflix, The New York Times and Wall St. Journal reported.

Each episode of Beat Bugs is based on a Beatles song lyric and is set in nature; the target audience is children under seven and their parents. Artists such as Eddie Vedder and Sia perform the song and, like shows such as Empire, tracks will be released around the time each episode debuts. Insiders say there will be about 50 episodes of Beat Bugs.

Time Out of Mind is an hourlong drama based on characters and settings in Dylan’s lyrics. Lionsgate Entertainment is developing the series.

Speaking of the history of these and other trailblazing artists, our special history The History of the Music Biz: The Mike Sigman Interviews will be hitting your desk soon.