One-Hour COMEDY Pilot Begins Production In Vancouver This Week 

 LOS ANGELES, CA – January 12, 2015 –  Rounding out the casting of the new SHOWTIME comedy pilot ROADIES, rapper and actor Colson “MGK” Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly, Beyond The Lights) is set to star in the role of “Jesse,” Kelly Ann's (Imogen Poots) big hearted twin brother, who thrives around guitars and espresso machines. ROADIES follows the day-to-day life of a successful rock tour as seen through the eyes of music’s unsung heroes – the crew members who get the show on the road. Luke Wilson (Old School, The Royal Tenenbaums), five-time Emmy^® Award nominee Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), Imogen Poots (The Look of Love), Rafe Spall (One Day), Peter Cambor (NCIS: Los Angeles) and Academy Award^® nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) were previously announced as stars of the ensemble cast. The one-hour comedy pilot will begin production in Vancouver later this week.

ROADIES follows a hot-ticket tour, but with a simple twist: the band is in the background and the roadies take the spotlight. It’s an inside look at the reckless, romantic, funny and often poignant lives of a committed group of characters who live for music and the de facto family they’ve formed along the way. Oscar^® winner Cameron Crowe wrote and will direct and executive produce the pilot (for a potential series). Emmy and Tony^® nominee Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life, Wicked, Huge), will executive produce and serve as showrunner, along with executive producers Emmy winners J.J. Abrams (Lost, Fringe, Person of Interest) and Bryan Burk (Lost, Fringe, Person of Interest). Kathy Lingg (Person of Interest, Fringe) is co-executive producer. ROADIES is produced by Bad Robot Productions, Vinyl Films and Dooley & Company Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television.

Rapper and actor Colson “MGK” Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly) made his feature film debut on the big screen in November 2014 in the musical-themed drama Beyond The Lights. He will next appear in the horror film Viral, and the long-awaiting sequel to the Cannes and Sundance Film Festival cult-hit SLC Punk entitled Punk Is Dead. Baker burst onto the music scene in 2004, and was nicknamed Machine Gun Kelly (or MGK by his fans) because of his rapid-fire delivery. He released his first mixtape “Stamp of Approval” in 2006 and built a loyal fan base performing at local Cleveland venues. MGK became the first  rapper in history to win the talent show at New York’s famed Apollo Theater. He secured a record deal with Jimmy Iovine’s Interscope Records through Sean Combs’ Bad Boy Records imprint in 2011. That year, his songs “Invincible” and “Wild Boy,” featuring Atlanta rapper Waka Flocka Flame, opened the door to more exposure, and MTV selected him as the Hottest Breakthrough MC of 2011. “Wild Boy” would go on to be certified Platinum. “Invincible” would be certified Gold, and became the Cleveland Cavaliers’ theme song for the 2012-2013 season.

In 2012, MGK released his first official album via Bad Boy/Interscope entitled Lace Up. The album debuted at number two on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop album chart, and MTV awarded MGK its Breaking Woodie Award for 2012.  He also garnered an MTV European Music Award for Next Artist to Go Global. In 2013, he was also honored with MTV’s fan-selected Woodie of the Year Award. His tour schedule included opening for Tech N9Ne on his marathon Hostile Takeover Tour, where they criss-crossed the United States performing ninety cities in ninety-nine days, the Warped Tour, Rick Ross’s MMG Tour with Meek Mill and Wale, and finally his own headlining Lace Up tour hitting Europe and Canada. MGK is currently recording his sophomore album, slated for release in Spring 2015. Last week, he dropped his first single entitled “Til I Die” which debuted on the iTunes Hip-Hop/Rap sales chart in the Top Ten with the corresponding video attracting half a million views within the first 3 days.

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CONTACT:

Johanna Fuentes

212-708-1590

johanna.fuentes@showtime.net