Netflix Orders Baz Luhrmann Drama

Netflix has given a series order to The Get Down, a drama series set in the Bronx in the 1970s from creators Baz Luhrmann and Shawn Ryan. The series is produced by Sony Pictures Television.

Luhrmann and Ryan will serve as executive producers with costume designer Catherine Martin as well as Paul Watters, Thomas Kelly, Stephen Adley Guirgis and Marney Hochman. Netflix has ordered a 13-episode first season of the hour-long drama.

“From his very first and magnificently original steps on the world stage with Strictly Ballroom to his most recent with The Great Gatsby, Baz conjures worlds we may not recognize initially, but once there, realize they are infused with the same dreams of every person—to belong, to matter, to live life to its fullest,” said Cindy Holland, VP of original content for Netflix. “We are thrilled to support Baz, Catherine and Paul and their team in their quest to illuminate those same dreams through the artists who came of age in the cauldron of the Bronx in the late 1970s.”

The series is set to premiere in the U.S. and all of Netflix’s international territories in 2016.

Netflix continues to ramp up its original programming efforts. Speaking at NATPE in January, chief content officer Ted Sarandos said, “I think that we probably can launch around 20 original scripted shows a year.”