A refreshing take on the lives of all the prominent artists of the 60s and 70s, who came out of a single mountainous neighborhood in Los Angeles, ‘Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time’ is a must-watch for fans of the musical era. The two-part docu-series directed by Alison Ellwood premiered on May 31, 2020, with its first episode dropping on Epix, an American premium cable and satellite television network.
Laurel Canyon is produced by Amblin Television, Jigsaw Productions, and MGM Television. Executive Producers of the show are Frank Marshall, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Craig Kallman, Mark Pinkus, Alex Gibney, Stacey Offman, Richard Perello, and Jeff Pollack. Photographers Henry Diltz and Nurit Wilde, who were present at the time, provided original home videos for the narration of Laurel Canyon.
What is Laurel Canyon about?
Set in the late 1960s, ‘Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time’ is a two-episode documentary about the chaotic music scene in Laurel Canyon, a cozy mountainous neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills of Santa Monica Mountain, Los Angeles, California. Narrated by Canyon original photographers, Henry Diltz and Nurit Wilde, the docu-series uses unpopular performance footage, remarkable interviews, audio recordings, and original videos to tell the interconnected story of artists that revolutionized the tone of the music.
Using an up-close and experiential point of view, Laurel Canyon dives into the lives and personalities of great musicians and bands such as Joni Mitchell, Nash & Young, The Monkees, The Eagles, Jackson Browne, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, The Doors, and many others. All these artists had their lives and career connected in one way or another, and they all walked the inspirational and rustic little town of Laurel Canyon. The director of the docu-series, Alison Ellwood, a long-time Doors fan, was in fact inspired to create this show while researching for another documentary at Laurel Canyon. She discovered fascinating stories and perspectives other documentaries are yet to explore about these revolutionary artists and decided she had to do it.
Laurel Canyon shifts from light to dark, its first episode featuring laughs, joy rides, concerts, and hangouts while its second episode introduces killer drug usage, bittersweet recollections, and a cameo of The Manson Family, a murderous cult active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Manson Family committed several murders in Los Feliz, a neighborhood encompassing a part of the Santa Monica Mountains, including the murder of Sharon Tate, a pregnant Hollywood actress.
Laurel Canyon Season 2 Cast
Instead of a traditional cast, Laurel Canyon had some of the musicians, whose stories are being told in the docu-series, narrate their experiences alone and with one another. Ellwood’s narrators in ‘Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time’ are:
- Linda Ronstadt
- Alice Cooper
- Michelle Phillips
- Mickey Dolenz (from The Monkees)
- Mike Nesmith
- Robbie Krieger (from The Doors)
Joni Mitchell and Neil Young did not want to be interviewed by the crew so their stories were told using archival interviews and footage. Late artists like Jimmy Morrison, Zappa, Cass Elliot, and Arthur Lee were also featured in this way.
Laurel Canyon Season 2 Release Date
Following the release of two teaser trailers on the 9th and 29th of April, and an official trailer on September 29, 2020, Laurel Canyon premiered on May 31, 2020, on Epix. The miniseries then wrapped up with a second episode on June 7, 2020. Both episodes of Laurel Canyon take about one and a half hours to watch.
Will there be a Laurel Canyon Season 2?
Docu-series like Laurel Canyon usually do not have a second season. They are usually designed to be short as proven by the number of episodes they have. It has been two years, and there has been no announcement of a Laurel Canyon season 2. There will most likely not be a Laurel Canyon season 2, but we will keep an eye out for any new development.
Laurel Canyon Ratings
Praised for being a unique take on stories we have heard before, and it’s immersive rather than an analytical approach, Laurel Canyon has ratings ranging from good to outstanding. The docu-series is rated 8.1/10 on IMDb, 85% on Metacritic, and 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Laurel Canyon also won a Golden Reel award for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Non-theatrical Documentary’ in 2021. It was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards in 2020, a Cinema Audio Society Award, and a Producers Guild of America Award in 2020.
Where to Watch ‘Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time
Aside from the possibility of a rerun on the Epix channel, you can watch Laurel Canyon on the following online streaming platforms: Roku, Paramount+, Showtime, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu.
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