TV show explores Billy Joel's music

Billy Joel

Piano Man fame singer Billy Joel's music will soon be re-visited in Scenes From An Italian Restaurant. MGM Television is teaming with Universal Music Publishing Group to bring the New York singer-songwriter's music to life as "a scripted arc-thology".

The show, which takes its title from Joel's song, will see each episode based on the lyrics of his hits, with characters from his songs, including the Stranger, Piano Man, Mamma Leone and Sgt. O'Leary, also finding a place. The tracks will be re-imagined and re-arranged by Joel's music team - with his input - who will take his tunes in new directions.

Kevin Fox is creating the series and will be the executive producer alongside Joel and his longtime producing partner, Steve Cohen. Universal Music Publishing Group's Jody Gerson and Marc Cimino will be the associate producers of the show. This is the first time that Joel's entire body of work will be licensed for a series.

"Billy Joel is a beautiful storyteller, and it just so happens that his stories are accompanied by remarkable songs. This series is going to focus less on Billy's life and more on the stories inside his catalogue of classic songs," said Steve Stark, president of development and production, MGM TV.

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