The Rocket Man could be landing in your living room next season.
Fox has green-lighted a new drama series based on the tunes of Elton John and Bernie Taupin.
The net has made a pilot commitment to Rhapsody, the musically minded brainchild of onetime teen popster and former Hardy Boy Shaun Cassidy and Warner Bros. TV.
Set in the vein of Moulin Rouge, and not Cop Rock, says Cassidy, characters will sing on camera even though the hourlong show is not an outright musical.
"It's a soap opera with the emphasis on the opera," Cassidy told Variety. "There's a murder mystery and a power struggle and a big, grand love story. The storytelling will have a strong musical component like what's been out there for 20 years with music videos but not longform [TV]."
If the series is eventually renewed, the second season would feature a new cast and catalog of music, much like a reality series.
"Audiences seemed primed to accept a new format and characters [each season], where the only constant is the narrator," said Cassidy. "One year it's The Bachelor and then it's The Bachelorette."
While Cassidy wouldn't divulge many details about the plot, a Fox development exec called Rhapsody a "really intriguing tale of two families."
Cassidy, who developed Rhapsody as part of a deal with Warner Bros. TV, also serves as an executive producer on the new WB network series Tarzan.
Despite his musical background, Cassidy won't write or sing any songs for the project. However, John and Taupin, who will serve as consultants (and creative inspiration) on the series, may contribute original compositions along with their established hits.
"Elton and Bernie's catalog is one of the most well-known in popular music history," Cassidy told Variety. "At its heart, there are a lot of stories in there, and to be able to use those songs is a gift."
Meanwhile, John and Taupin have been huddling recently for another tune-filled project--a Broadway musical adaptation of Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat slated for a 2005 debut.