Legendary Producer Norman Lear Releasing Wrestling Drama Series For HBO



In his first major collaboration with HBO, TV icon Norman Lear has teamed with the premium cable network for a drama series project set in the world of 1970s pro wrestling.

Written by Aaron Blitzstein and produced by Lear's Act III Prods., the character-driven drama, tentatively titled "Everybody Hurts," revolves around a family running a pro-wrestling business in New York and peeks into the lives of the wrestlers and their fans.

Lear and Act III's Lara Bergthold, who are executive producing the project, had been looking to do a show about pro wrestling for a while.


The Hollywood Reporter
"Pro wrestling is a pretty fair reflection of good and evil in our culture," Lear said.

Added Bergthold, "Wrestling is where people turn to when they feel the government is lying to them and there are no real heroes in their lives."

The two met with Blitzstein to discuss a different show idea when the conversation turned to Blitzstein's career, which includes a stint with World Championship Wrestling.

Blitzstein is a late bloomer as a writer. He started off working in the music representation business, working with such bands as Foo Fighters and Sonic Youth, and spent a couple of years as vp marketing for WCW before moving to Los Angeles in 2004 to pursue a career as a writer.

"Every day was the greatest day ever and the worst day you could possibly imagine," Blitzstein recalls about his time at WCW. "I've never seen more colorful people than pro wrestlers."

The three started developing a pro-wrestling show and almost immediately decided to set it in the early days of the sports entertainment phenomenon, before it became a billion-dollar industry.

"It was more of mom-and-pop type of feel back then," said Blitzstein, who is drawing on his memories as a wrestling fan growing up in Baltimore and New York. "And it was a little bit more ridiculous and fun."

Lear, Bergthold and Blitzstein, a co-exec producer on "Hurts," also found a lot of similarities between the political and economic climate in the '70s and today.

"It was post-Watergate, and the U.S. was dealing with an energy crisis and the Iran hostage crisis," Blitzstein said. "Now we're dealing with the Bush administration, our soldiers in Iraq and the skyrocketing gas prices. The show is as much about family and politics as it is about wrestling."

There will be comedic touches, especially in the portrayal of the wrestlers, that will employ Blitzstein's comedy writing background on such shows as "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Crank Yankers."

His career took a dramatic turn with FX's "The Riches," leading to his project for HBO.

"I feel I just hit the trifecta -- between writing about wrestling, working with Norman Lear and working with HBO," said Blitzstein, repped by CAA and attorney Peter Grant. "It's incredible. I don't have to work for the rest of my life."