Set in the late 1970s, “The Get Down” tracks the emergence of hip-hop through the eyes of kids from New York City’s South Bronx.
There are several reasons cited for the large budget, which ballooned from its initial $98 million sum since Netflix outbid FX for the series more than two years ago.
There were several production starts and stops, including a move from Los Angeles to New York City, which Luhrmann believed would be more authentic. That meant losing the series’ original showrunner: Shawn Ryan, creator of FX’s “The Shield.”
In NYC, Thomas Kelly (“Blue Bloods,” “Copper”) joined as showrunner. But Luhrmann and Kelly had creative differences, so the show’s second showrunner left the production. After that, Luhrmann decided that he’d take the job. There was a learning curve for producing a TV show for Luhrmann that slowed down production for a time.
The show’s big budget also included licensing music and a company of full-time dancers.
Netflix bore the cost of production. In addition, it raised its usual 30% premium fee to the production company, Sony Pictures Television, to 60% because the project was highly coveted. That was a good deal for Sony TV, since it lost some of that premium fee when the show went over budget.
After all that, the series isn’t quite done yet. Only its first six episodes will hit Netflix on August 12. The rest of the first season, which is undergoing finishing touches, is expected to hit by mid-2017.
There’s no word yet on whether there will be a season two. If “The Get Down” lasted only one season, then it would be Netflix’s first original series to do so.
This article was originally published on Business Insider. Copyright 2016.
