'Blues Brothers' to be revived as TV series?

Published Aug 31 2011, 14:32 BST  |  By Morgan Jeffery

Dan Aykroyd is developing a new television series based around The Blue Brothers.

Originating in a 1978 episode of Saturday Night Live, comic characters Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood Blues (Aykroyd) later appeared in a hit 1980 film.

Aykroyd is now working with the late Belushi's widow Judy on a new TV project, according to Variety.

He will shortly pitch the potential series to studios and networks, having penned a pilot alongside SNL's Anne Beatts. Kieron Lafferty and Wayne Catania, stars of the official Blues Brothers revival, have also contributed to the script.

The new series will focus on Elwood's search for his real father and while casting is yet to be determined, Aykroyd is expected to provide the voice of Jake and Elwood's parole officer.

"We're not trying to replicate Dan and John but Jake and Elwood," insisted Beatts. "[The show] would be Route 66 meets Glee and it all goes to hell in a handbasket."

Beatts, Judy Belushi and Panacea Entertainment's Eric Gardner will also serve as executive producers.

"I think these are great American characters," said Belushi. "We want to keep them alive. We chose to introduce them as new characters but do it in a way that they have some history [and] some life behind them."

The last on-screen outing for The Blues Brothers was in 1998 film sequel Blues Brothers 2000.

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Watch a clip from the original Blues Brothers film below: