On February 16th, the stars will come out for a fitting tribute to Stevie Wonder on NBC. The legendary musician certainly deserves the respect, and the partnership with NBC has seemingly led to a new venture for Mr. Wonder – working on a miniseries and musical about the Underground Railroad.
Tentatively titled Freedom Run, Wonder will serve as the producer for the new project, but NBC Entertainment President Robert Greenblatt is hopeful that Wonder will contribute music to the soundtrack. As of now, there are no plans for Wonder to actually appear in the series itself.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series will focus on the trials and tribulations of three real-life couples, fighting to stay together and manage the difficult climate of slavery in 19th century America. The series will be based on the book Forbidden Fruit: Love Stories From the Underground Railroad, and will be an eight-hour television miniseries event.
Greenblatt also discussed the possibility of turning the concept into a Broadway musical, though no specific release dates for either the miniseries or musical have been given. We expect that more information won’t be available until late 2015, but Freedom Run certainly has the potential to display this tragic time through real, relatable characters.