Madonna Teams With Shawn Levy For Limited Series About Her Life In Works At Netflix
EXCLUSIVE: Global music superstar Madonna has partnered with global streamer Netflix to tell her story. A limited series about her life and music is in early development at Netflix, with Madonna and Shawn Levy, whose 21 Laps has an exclusive TV overall deal at the platform, executive producing, Deadline has learned. A rep for Netflix declined comment.
The duo, who had been discussing the project for awhile, are starting from scratch: the biographical limited series is not related to the Madonna feature biopic which was previously in development at Universal with three-time Emmy winner Julia Garner as the choice to play the Queen of Pop.
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It is early days of development on the TV series, so it is unclear yet which period in Madonna's decades-spanning career it will focus on. Still, Garner has remained engaged — she famously appeared alongside Madonna on stage at the singer's Celebration Tour in December 2023 — and I hear the Ozark star would most likely play Madonna, subject of availability as she doesn't have a deal. (Garner would also feel right at home at Netflix where she just signed on her for her third series, an FTX limited series, following her turns on Inventing Anna and Ozark.)
It is also too early to tell whether Madonna would be involved in the writing; she co-wrote the proposed feature.
Teaming with Netflix and one of the streamer's most prolific TV producers, Levy, who is behind such Netflix shows as mega hit Stranger Things and limited series The Perfect Couple and All the Light We Cannot See, represents a major step in bringing Madonna's story to the screen, something she has been passionate about for years.
'I want to convey the incredible journey that life has taken me on as an artist, a musician, a dancer – a human being, trying to make her way in this world,' she said at the time of the Universal feature announcement in 2020.
Madonna had remained committed to the idea and last November hinted on Instagram that she may be pivoting from a feature biopic to a TV series about her life.
Since she dropped out of college and got on a plane for the first time in her life to pursue a career in music and dance in New York with $35 in her pocket, Michigan native Madonna has defied expectations at every turn.
Certified the best-selling female music artist in history, Madonna has sold 400 million records worldwide and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.
Her impact on society and pop culture have gone beyond her influence in the music industry as a revolutionary pop star who challenged sexism to redefine what it means to be a powerful woman in the field. Fearless and provocative, the 'Like a Virgin' singer has been outspoken on women's rights and sexuality, pushing boundaries and challenging societal norms, and a strong advocate of the LGBTQ community.
Madonna is repped by CAA, Maverick Management, Untitled Entertainment and Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks. Levy and 21 Laps are repped by WME and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.Best of Deadline
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You put everything into it when they say, 'Action,' and when you're out, you just leave it behind. Otherwise, it's too much. Certain scenes, certain moments stay with you because we work with what we are. But I think it doesn't make you a better actor to really stay in character, as they say, for 24 hours. That doesn't work for me. It actually makes me feel very confused if I do that. On the show 'Monsters' I tried to protect Cooper [Koch] and Nicholas [Alexander Chavez], the actors who play the children, because they were carrying the heavy weight on the show every day. I was trying to make them feel protected and loved and accompanied by us, the adults, and let them know that we are there for them and that this is fiction. Because they were going really deep into it, and they did an amazing job. Elizabeth, in 'The Better Sister,' you portray Nicky, a sister estranged from her sibling who's been through quite a bit of her own trauma. 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It was only a moment where Jose was mean to him. That's not in my nature. Henry: I discovered, while doing my series, 'My body doesn't know this isn't real.' There's an episode where I'm shot in the leg, and I'm bleeding out and I'm on all this different morphine and drugs and all this stuff, and I'm literally lying on this ground, take after take, having to mime this. To go through the delusion of this pain ... in the middle of the takes, it was just so crazy. I would literally look at the crew and say, 'Somebody hug me! Somebody!' Stephen, that scene where you confront the boys in the parking lot with the bike, I was just like, 'Oh, my God, how many times did he have to do that?' This kid gets in your face, and I was like, 'Punch the kid!' My heart went out to you, man, not just as the character but as you being in there. Graham: Because we did it all in one take, we had that unique quality. You're using the best of two mediums. You've got that beauty and that spontaneity and that reality of the theater, and then you have the naturalism and the truth that we have with film and television. So by the time I get to that final bit, we've been through all those emotions. When I open the door and go into [Jamie's] room, everything's shaken. But it's not you. It's an out-of-body experience and just comes from somewhere else. Bardem: Listen, we don't do brain surgery, but let's give ourselves some credit. We are generous in what we do because we are putting our bodies into an experience. We are doing this for something bigger than us, and that is the story that we're telling. What have been some of the more challenging or difficult moments for you, either in your career or your recent series? Zellweger: Trying not to do what you're feeling in the moment sometimes, because it's not appropriate to what you're telling. That happens in most shows, most things that you do. 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Do you see yourself in roles when you're watching other people's films or TV show? Graham: At the end of the day, we're all big fans of acting. That's why we do it. Because when we were young, we were inspired by people on the screen, or we were inspired by places where we could put ourselves and lose our imaginations. We have a lot of t— in this industry. But I think if we fight hard enough, we can come through. Do you know what I mean? It's people that are here for the right reasons. It's a collective. Acting is not a game of golf. It's a team. It's in front and it's behind the camera. I think it's important that we nourish that. Henry: And remember that none of us are t—. Bardem: What is a t—? I may be one of them and I don't know it. Graham: I'll explain it to you later.
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For even more streaming recommendations, be sure to check out our round-up of all the top new TV shows you'll want to binge-watch. The box office success and pop culture phenomenon "Sinners" is now streaming. So if you missed Ryan Coogler's hit horror movie in theaters, now's your chance to catch it at home. "Sinners" stars Michael B. Jordan in a double role as enterprising twins Smoke and Stack, who leave their troubled lives in Chicago behind to start a juke joint in their small hometown in Mississippi. Rather than a welcoming committee, they discover a supernatural evil has taken root in their community, and it's leaching off the talents and energy of Black folks. This horror-thriller is a gripping, stylish ride packed with standout performances and an unforgettable musical score, making it an absolute must-watch for horror fans. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Buy or rent now on Amazon Tyler Perry's no stranger to heartwrenching dramas, and his latest, "Straw," follows a struggling single mother pushed to her absolute breaking point. Taraji P. Henson stars as Janiyah, whose day from hell just keeps going downhill. Just when it seems things can't get worse, she returns to her workplace to collect her final paycheck, only to walk into a deadly armed robbery. She survives, but when the bank refuses to cash her check to pay for her daughter's medicine, it proves to be her breaking point. With nothing left to lose, Janiyah takes a desperate stand, holding the bank and its occupants hostage. A bank teller (Sherri Shepherd) caught in the chaos begins to empathize with Janiyah's pain. Meanwhile, outside, Detective Raymond (Teyana Taylor) leads the negotiation, determined to bring the situation to a peaceful end and convinced that Janiyah isn't a criminal, but a mother stretched impossibly thin. 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As the brothers work with U.S. Treasury Deputy Director Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to crack the case, they find themselves in the crosshairs of a ruthless network of killers hellbent on making sure certain secrets stay buried. Watch it now on Prime Video 2025 has been a great year for horror films, but director Steven Soderbergh's "Presence" has proven to be one of the most divisive. It flips the traditional haunted house story on its head, shot from the perspective of the ghostly entity making things go bump in the night. The creative framing makes for a slower pace that focuses more on building tension and family drama than scares, but it's surprisingly impactful. "Presence" follows the Payne family — mom Rebekah (Lucy Liu), dad Chris (Chris Sullivan), and their teenage son (Eddy Maday) and daughter (Callina Liang) — who move into their dream house in the suburbs. While they appear to be the perfect nuclear family on paper, it's not long before cracks start becoming clear. When nightmarish events start unfolding, the parents must protect their children from forces beyond their understanding. Watch it now on Hulu If you like your horror with a healthy dose of humor, "The Blackening" is the perfect pick. This clever slasher-comedy follows a group of Black friends who head to a remote cabin to celebrate Juneteenth. While exploring the cabin's game room, they stumble upon a board game called "The Blackening," which features a racist caricature mascot on the cover and pieces that correlate to each member of the group. To their horror, they find themselves locked in while a "Saw"-esque broadcast explains that they must compete in "The Blackening," a trivia-based game on Black culture, if they want to survive. To make it through the night, they'll have to rely on their wits along with their deep knowledge of horror movie clichés. "The Blackening" is hilariously self-aware, poking fun at classic genre tropes while still delivering suspense and surprises. It feels like a cross between "Scary Movie" and "Get Out," offering up as many laughs as it does scares. Watch it now on Peacock
