Do the iconic Blues Brothers have what it takes to make it in the modern world? Dan Aykroyd seems to think so and he's teaming up with Judith Belushi Pisano, the widow of John Belushi, to bring them back to the small screen.
This time around, "Joliet" Jake E. Blues and Elwood J. Blues will be revived in animated form in a series to be produced by Bento Box Entertainment. Although Aykroyd won't be in the new Ghostbusters movie in as big of a role as fans would like, he is throwing himself fully in to a Blues Brothers revival project.
Joining Aykroyd and Belushi will be the Emmy Award-winning writer of the original Saturday Night Live skit, Anne Beatts.
Reportedly, the show will follow the Blues Brothers as they take their music on a road trip across America. It will also feature different artists and performances recorded especially for the animated series.
"The show will be the Blues Brothers living in America and utilizing all new technology to make and promote their own records, seek out and record new artists and avoid law enforcement – and all while fighting for truth, justice and a better breakfast sandwich," said Aykroyd.
Most people will remember the The Blues Brothers from the 1980 movie directed by John Landis. But Aykroyd and Belushi debuted the characters on Saturday Night Live in 1978 in an episode hosted by comedian Steve Martin.
Martin was so impressed by the skit that he invited them to open for his stand-up act, which then led to an actual recording deal with Atlantic Records. While the band members played under their real names, Aykroyd and Belushi took on the names and personas of the fictional brothers.
The animated series starring the Blues Brothers has been years in the making. Pisano and Aykroyd had previously licensed the rights for a show to begin airing in 1998 on UPN. But those plans never materialized and in 2011, Aykroyd restarted his efforts to get the cartoon off the ground as part of a bigger effort to relaunch the Blues Bothers franchise.
Bento Box Entertainment is the same studio behind Bob's Burgers and the show will be shipped to television platforms beginning this month.
