Mega musical fans have something to sing about. Hulu has announced their plans to move forward with a brand-new musical rom-com series titled, Up Here. And, to sweeten the pot, the creative names attached to the new series come highly respected from the worlds of Broadway and film.
Joining forces to bring the new Hulu series to life will be Frozen and Frozen 2 songwriters, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, Tick, Tick… BOOM! adapter, Steven Levenson, and New Girl and My Name is Earl writer Danielle Sanchez-Witzel. The foursome will pull their backgrounds together to write the new musical comedy and will also all serve as executive producers.
Up Here will be under the direction of Broadway director, Thomas Kail. In the past, Kail has brought his talents to Tony Award-winning productions including Hamilton and In The Heights. He will also executive produce for his company, Old 320 Sycamore Productions alongside Jennifer Todd.
As well as his work on the Netflix adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick… BOOM!, Levenson is also responsible for bringing the relationship between Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon to television screens everywhere in FX’s Fosse/Verdon. Known well throughout the theaters of Broadway for penning the book for Dear Evan Hansen, the writer will also serve Up Here as showrunner.
Even outside their Oscar wins for their work in the Frozen franchise, songwriters and musicians, Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, have created a slew of recognizable hit songs from film and television. The two composed the heartfelt and tear-inducing, “Remember Me,” from Coco, for which they won an Oscar. Adding to their multiple Academy Award wins, the duo recently took home an Emmy for their work in WandaVision on the song, “Agatha All Along.” With such an incredible background in writing catchy and unforgettable numbers, it’s a no-brainer as to why the pair was asked to pen the tunes for Up Here.
Meanwhile, along with her credits in New Girl and My Name is Earl, Sanchez-Witzel has also shown off her writing talents in The Carmichael Show and George Lopez. Most recently, her name has been in the entertainment news circles as she will be serving as co-creator and showrunner for Netflix’s upcoming comedy series, Survival of the Thickest.
While there is no premiere date yet set for Hulu’s Up Here, casting is underway with production expected to begin sometime over the summer. Check out the show’s synopsis below and as always, stay tuned to Collider for updates surrounding this toe-tapping new series.
Here’s the synopsis:
A musical romantic comedy set in New York City in the waning days of 1999, following the extraordinary story of one ordinary couple, as they fall in love – and discover that the single greatest obstacle to finding happiness together might just be themselves – and the treacherous world of memories, obsessions, fears, and fantasies that lives inside their heads.