NBC announced on Thursday (September 19) that the network is developing a miniseries based on the life of “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson.
The biopic will be based on Bill Zehme’s upcoming book “Carson the Magnificent: An Intimate Portrait” and will cover Carson’s 30-year tenure as host of “The Tonight Show.” Carson’s Nebraska childhood will also be covered in addition to his iconic time in Hollywood.
Zehme, who served as a production consultant on the 2012 PBS “American Masters” documentary, will executive produce the miniseries with John Davies.
NBC didn’t announce a timetable on the production or premiere of the Johnny Carson biopic, nor did the network suggest how many hours it will be. Casting for Johnny Carson will also be announced at a later date.
The Johnny Carson biopic continues NBC’s aggressive-but-already-controversial push into longform and event programming. In the early summer, NBC snagged Mark Burnett’s sequel to “The Bible,” titled “A.D.: After the Bible.”
Then, in July, NBC announced that it was moving forward on new adaptations of “Rosemary’s Baby” and Stephen King’s “Tommyknockers,” as well as the Mayflower-based “Plymouth.”
At the same time, NBC revealed plans to make a four-hour Hillary Rodham Clinton biopic starring Diane Lane, a project that has already been the subject of media bickering, political consternation and production shifts.
Who would you cast as Johnny?