Spanning five decades, Fosse/Verdon explores the singular romantic and creative partnership between Bob Fosse (Sam Rockwell) and Gwen Verdon (Michelle Williams).
He is a visionary filmmaker and one of the theater’s most influential choreographers and directors. She is the greatest Broadway dancer of all time. Only Bob can create the groundbreaking musicals that allow Gwen to showcase her greatness. Only Gwen can realise the unique vision in Bob’s head. Together, they will change the face of American entertainment – at a perilous cost.
As Bob journeys from fledgling Broadway choreographer to lauded auteur of stage and screen, he fuels his manic creativity with drugs, alcohol, and sex, often abusing his celebrity and power to feed his appetites. Meanwhile, Gwen goes from a legendary triple threat, winning four Tony Awards in six years, to an actress struggling to stay relevant in an industry obsessed with youth and novelty and riven with double standards.
Through it all, Gwen plays an instrumental role in Bob’s work, not only as the greatest interpreter of his choreography, but as a largely unrecognised collaborator, even as their marriage unravels in the face of Bob’s increasingly self-destructive tendencies. Together, Bob and Gwen raise daughter Nicole (Chandler Head & Blake Baumgartner), who finds herself growing up in the long shadow of her parents’ illustrious careers, caught between her desperation for their approval and her determination to forge an identity of her own.
Bob and Gwen surround themselves with a tight-knit coterie of fellow artists, friends, collaborators, and rivals: the brilliantly acerbic playwright and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky (Norbert Leo Butz); former modern dancer turned homemaker Joan Simon (Aya Cash); Joan’s husband, the comedic genius, playwright Neil Simon (Nate Corrdry); and legendary theater producer and director Hal Prince (Evan Handler). Eventually, as Bob and Gwen’s marriage reaches the breaking point, Bob will forge a connection with Ann Reinking (Margaret Qualley), an up-and-coming Broadway dancer who has all the talent and tenacity of a young Gwen Verdon. She hopes to follow in Gwen’s footsteps, but may not have the stomach to put up with everything Bob demands.
Featuring show-stopping choreography, including original pieces as well as some of the most iconic works of Bob and Gwen’s careers, Fosse/Verdon will tell the story of these two brilliant, complicated individuals – the love they shared, the art they created, and the price they paid in the pursuit of greatness.
Thomas Kail, Steven Levenson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Joel Fields, Sam Rockwell, Michelle Williams, and George Stelzner are Executive Producers of the limited series that is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions. Levenson, who will serve as showrunner, wrote the premiere episode which will be directed by Kail. Actress, dancer and producer Nicole Fosse, and daughter of Fosse and Verdon, serves as Co-Executive Producer and oversees The Verdon Fosse Legacy. Co-Producer Andy Blankenbuehler is serving as a Choreographer, as is Susan Misner. Erica Kay serves as Producer.
Starring Sam Rockwell (Moon), Michelle Williams (The Greatest Showman), Brandon Uranowitz (An American In Paris), Tyler Hanes (Cats), Norbert Leo Butz (Dan In Real Life), Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers), Aya Cash (You’re The Worst), Nate Corddry (The Circle), Evan Handler (Californication), Laura Osnes as Shirley MacLaine, and Kelli Barrett (The Punisher) as Liza Minnelli.
Fosse/Verdon premieres April 9th on FX.
