In 1970s Las Vegas, mercurial entertainer Anthony Newley — a genius torn between fame and fulfillment — relives the triumphs, heartbreaks, and showbiz absurdities that made him, weaving his extraordinary life into a dazzling, self-aware musical that blurs the line between performance and confession. 

SYNOPSIS:

The pilot opens in Las Vegas, 1975, as British showman Anthony Newley—singer, actor, and flamboyant storyteller—performs to a packed Caesars Palace audience. His charisma and self-deprecating humour captivate the crowd, but behind the tuxedoed façade lies a man wrestling with the price of fame.

Backstage, Newley’s long-time songwriting partner Leslie Bricusse confronts him about the creative rut they’ve fallen into. Their friendship, filled with affection and frustration, erupts into musical banter (“Where Would You Be Without Me?”). Meanwhile, lurking in the wings are darker forces—Vegas mobsters dissatisfied with Newley’s image and relevance.

After the glitz of the show fades, Newley retreats to his dressing room, joined by his formidable mother Gracie, a tough East End survivor with a heart of gold. Their banter and affection reveal deep emotional scars. Through Newley’s direct addresses to camera, the story shifts into flashbacks, dramatising his upbringing in London’s East End during the Depression and WWII: his mother’s struggle as an unwed parent, his evacuation during the Blitz, and his discovery of the stage through kindly music-hall mentors George and Belle Pescud.

As musical numbers weave through the narrative—“Lumbered,” “On the Boards,” “Look at That Face”—the pilot blends biography with performance, showing how Newley’s life itself was a musical. His relationship with Gracie anchors the episode: the woman who raised him, protected him, and, through her fierce love, shaped the performer he became.

By the end, Newley is both triumphant and trapped—a man adored onstage yet haunted off it, narrating his own legend with humour and melancholy. The pilot closes on the edge of tragedy and nostalgia, promising a series that fuses showbiz razzle-dazzle with intimate, unflinching self-reflection.

NEWLEY!