Premium network EPIX announced today that the music docuseries San Francisco Sounds (working title) has been greenlit. From Jigsaw Productions, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Amblin Television, and Jeff Pollack – the team behind the three-time Emmy-nominated documentary Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time – the series tracks the history of the San Francisco music scene from 1965 to 1975.
During this time period, there was a creative explosion in San Francisco that catalyzed and solidified a national movement for a whole generation. Incredible music, brilliant poster art, the birth of the FM radio DJ, the new journalism of Rolling Stone magazine, and seminal festivals – Monterey Pop, Altamont, and Woodstock – propelled Bay Area musicians onto a national scene and into the ears of millions. Some of the greatest artists of the ’60s came out of that scene such as the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Steve Miller, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Moby Grape and so many more.
“EPIX is excited to again join forces with Kennedy/Marshall, Amblin, and Jigsaw to add another definitive music documentary to our slate,” said Michael Wright, president of EPIX. “This time we turn the lens from LA’s Laurel Canyon to the seminal artists and musicians who emerged from the San Francisco music scene.”
“Just like with Laurel Canyon, I personally lived through this extraordinary musical period of time and visited the San Francisco scene on a regular basis, so I’m very excited to be working again with the same amazing team we assembled to create the Laurel Canyon doc series,” said executive producer Frank Marshall.
“We are thrilled to shed new light on this explosively creative and musical place in time through never-before-seen archival material and the personal stories of those who lived and breathed the San Francisco scene,” said co-directors Alison Ellwood and Anoosh Tertzakian.
Frank Marshall (Laurel Canyon, Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records), Alex Gibney (The Inventor; Crime of the Century), Jeff Pollack (Laurel Canyon, McCartney 3,2,1), Darryl Frank (Laurel Canyon, The Americans, Good Night Oppy), Justin Falvey (Laurel Canyon, The Americans, Good Night Oppy), Stacey Offman (The Line, Kingdom of Silence), Richard Perello (How To Change Your Mind, Totally Under Control), and Alison Ellwood (Laurel Canyon, How to Change Your Mind, The Go-Go’s) are attached as executive producers along with Jeff Jampol (Janis: Little Girl Blue, When You’re Strange: A Film About the Doors). Erin Edeiken and Tess Ranahan serve as producers. Ellwood is also attached to direct along with Anoosh Tertzakian. Jigsaw Productions is producing in association with Amblin Television and The Kennedy/Marshall Company.