I have four all-time favorite movies: Go, Friends with Benefits, The Notebook and Almost Famous. So, when I heard Cameron Crowe was creating a TV series that was going back to his Almost Famous roots, I had to check it out.
Of course, one of the big draws of his film was the aspiring journalist that got to travel and write about the band. There’s no journalist in Roadies, but you all know my obsession with TV and the director of one of my all-time favorite films did create a TV series. It was definitely worth a look.
I was a little taken aback by the opening scene, which featured a sex scene and nudity. I get that it’s Showtime and I have no problem with sex scenes or nudity, but I was just taken by surprise. If you are going to do nudity, have a purpose. It did have a purpose. It gave a great introduction to Luke Wilson’s character.
Bill likes to sleep with 20 something-year-olds, but as you get to know him, there’s a lot more to his character. He’s severely damaged, but you are still rooting for him.
Cameron has gathered a very quirky cast and I love it. I was a huge fan of Gilmore Girls and if you’ve watched that show, you know how quirky the characters were.
I’m very intrigued about Kelly Ann. She was about to leave for film school at NYU and she was pulled back for her love of the band. That was definitely a big theme in Almost Famous. Everyone loved the band.
Kelly Ann seemed a little lost at the beginning. She had lost something to be passionate about, so she was running away to film school. She was out the door, so she was finally able to speak her mind and she ended up inspiring a lot of people, including the band.
I also liked Shelli. She also seems a little lost. Her husband is on the Taylor Swift tour, which is hilarious. Cameron must have known I would watch his show, so he had to reference Taylor.
Shelli, Bill and Kelly Ann are all a little lost, the rest of the crew are very much in love with their work and their band. Shelli never gets to see her husband and has an interesting working relationship with Bill. You can definitely say they are work husband and wife. She just struts into his hotel room and doesn’t bat an eye when the 20 something-year-old he was just sleeping with comes out naked. Clearly, he does this a lot.
The characters in Almost Famous were also lost and ended up finding themselves in the end. It was a good feel good movie.
There wasn’t necessarily much that happened in the premiere episode and at the same time, the lives of these roadies were being shaken up.
What always draws me into a show isn’t the storyline. Sure that’s important, but what I get drawn into is the characters. If I connect to the characters, then I’m hooked. I can stay on with a show long past its prime if I’m in love with the characters.
That’s what Shelli, Bill and Kelly Ann have done. They’ve intrigued me and made me want to know more about them.
Check out the premiere online now at Showtime Anytime or watch the premiere Sunday night at 10/9c pm.
