CBS and Paramount+ will present two specials about the life and music of the iconic superstar.
Are you ready for two heaping helpings of Must-See Willie TV?
On Sunday, Dec. 17, CBS and Paramount+ will air Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration, a celebratory extravaganza recorded live April 29-30 during two nights of performances before sold-out crowds at the legendary Hollywood Bowl. The special, honoring Nelson on his milestone birthday and his innumerable contributions to popular culture and music, features once-in-a-lifetime collaborations and solo performances by Nelson, Beck, Gary Clark Jr., Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, Norah Jones, Miranda Lambert, Dave Matthews, Nelson’s sons Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson, Keith Richards, George Strait and Chris Stapleton. The list of celebrity hosts includes Jennifer Garner, Chelsea Handler, Woody Harrelson, Ethan Hawke, Helen Mirren and Owen Wilson.
“It is the sincere privilege of our lives to have produced these shows celebrating our beloved Willie, said Mark Rothbaum and Keith Wortman, creators and executive producers of Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration, “and to partner with CBS to bring this special to fans around the world. Viewers will now have the chance to sing, and laugh, and cry and experience the joy of this celebration like never before.”
But wait, there’s more: On Dec. 21, Paramount+ will launch Willie Nelson & Family, a multi-part documentary detailing the music, life, influence and philosophy of Shotgun Willie. The biographical series, which premiered last January at the Sundance Film Festival, intertwines archival material and revealing interviews with Willie, his close friends and his extended family, as filmmakers Thom Zimny (The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley: The Seeker) and Oren Moverman (The Messenger, Rampart) construct, to quote the Sundance catalogue, “an intimate and cinematic memoir of the Red Headed Stranger, traversing the highs, lows, and in-betweens of Willie’s personal life and professional career.”
Willie Nelson & Family, critic Sheri Linden wrote in her rave review for The Hollywood Reporter, “is a portrait of a man who has made music and lived life on his own terms, in good times and bad… [It] proceeds with an unforced sense of on-the-road discovery, and it builds powerfully. The final chapter packs a real punch with… a stunner of a clip from Nelson’s 70th birthday concert, when he shared the stage with good friends Ray Charles and Leon Russell. Charles was ailing, and would be gone within a year. Russell died in 2016. The clip is bursting with life. As Nelson says, ‘You can’t destroy energy.’ Willie Nelson & Family burns bright with the energy of music, no category required.”
Taylor Sheridan, who serves as executive producer of the documentary, told The Hollywood Reporter: “Willie’s music formed the soundtrack of my youth. His songwriting helped shape me as a storyteller.
“Willie has opened his life to us — warts and all — to serve as a beacon to overcoming failure, realizing dreams, and keeping your compass once the dream is achieved.”
We spoke with filmmakers Thom Zimny and Oren Moverman shortly after their documentary appeared at Sundance, and shared highlights from our conversation here.
