Inside Move: Riverdale redux
Moguls molding new Archies, Pussycats
Pearlman and ZelnickMedia, the firm started by former BMG Entertainment topper Strauss Zelnick, have joined up to license the characters of Archie Comics to create two real-life pop bands, the Archies and Josie and the Pussycats.
The partners have ambitious plans for the two acts, starting with their own part live-action, part animated TV show, but moving swiftly on to films, records, tours, merchandise and sponsorship tie-ins. The partners are already in distribution talks for a pilot or telepic, says Pearlman, whose firm Trans Continental developed 'N Sync, the Backstreet Boys and O-Town.
"Over a million people a month read Archie, and we feel that's a pretty good built-in fan base," Pearlman tells Variety. "It's a well-known brand to children young and old."
The future Archie rockers will be hand-picked via a nationwide "Making the Band"-style talent search. Ideally, the winners will lay down their own vocal tracks, "dance and perform" onstage and maybe even play their own instruments, according to Pearlman.
"It will be Backstreet meets the Beatles," he says.
The likely first single for the project will be a thoroughly reworked version of "Sugar Sugar" -- a No. 1 hit released under the Archies name in 1969.
