She’s already working on her feature film directorial debut, but could Taylor Swift be eyeing a foray into the world of TV too?
A recent report from The Sun suggested that the 12-time Grammy winner is planning a move into the television industry, claiming that she has discussed a “possible new screenplay” with the writer Alice Birch, who has worked on high profile series like Succession, Amazon’s Dead Ringers and the BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People.
The publication claimed that Taylor and Alice (who are both yet to confirm, or even comment upon, these reports) could look to the singer’s romantic life for inspiration, and described the rumoured project as a “meta-feminist” show.
But should Taylor decide to take a different route, her back catalogue could provide her with plenty of potential ideas.
As well as weaving incidents from her own personal life into her lyrics, she’s increasingly used her tracks to create characters and craft narratives: think of the tales that she spins on her lockdown albums Folklore and Evermore. “I found myself not only writing my own stories, but also writing about or from the perspective of people I’ve never met, people I’ve known, or those I wish I hadn’t,” Taylor explained when Folklore was released.
Where could she start? These are just a handful of the Taylor tracks that we reckon would make the transition from album track to TV mini-series…
The Last Great American Dynasty
In this Folklore track, Taylor tells the scandalous story of eccentric socialite Rebekah Harkness, who also happens to be the woman who once owned the singer’s Rhode Island home.
Rebekah married oil magnate William Hale Harkness in the 1940s, and became famed for hosting lavish parties (which were “tasteful if a little loud”, Taylor sings) at the Rhode Island residence, known as Holiday House.
She was also known for her outlandish exploits, spending huge amounts of money on home renovation and supporting a ballet company, as well as reportedly cleaning out her swimming pool with champagne and dyeing a neighbour’s cat green. And there are even some parallels in Rebekah’s story with Taylor herself: the heiress and her glamorous female friends were known in the press as “the bitch pack”, echoing the portrayal of Taylor’s high-profile “squad”.
No Body, No Crime
Here’s the perfect inspiration for a Taylor-scripted murder mystery. No Body, No Crime, her collaboration with long-time friends Haim which features on Evermore, imagines a woman (named after Este Haim) who confronts her cheating husband, only for him to kill her in retaliation.
When her friend, the song’s narrator, works out what has happened, she plots his murder – and frames Este’s husband’s mistress for the crime, after asking her other pals to provide an alibi. We’re envisaging a potential mini-series in the vein of HBO’s Sharp Objects.
The Lucky One
Taylor started to really flex her storytelling muscles on her third album, Red, where you’ll find The Lucky One.
Apparently inspired by the life of Joni Mitchell (a huge influence on Taylor, and especially on this album), it’s all about a young woman who lands in Los Angeles “with a made-up name” seeking “fortune and fame”. Eventually, stardom leaves her disillusioned, and she disappears from the spotlight for good.
Think of this one as the Taylor Swift Universe’s answer to Daisy Jones And The Six, with a dash of Gaga’s A Star Is Born.
Speak Now
Taylor released the re-recorded version of her third studio album earlier this month, and we’ve had it on heavy rotation ever since. The title track is all about a woman who turns up at the church on the day that her ex is getting married, “rudely barging in” on the ceremony in a bid to get him to change his mind and prevent him from “marrying the wrong girl”.
And if that isn’t the perfect opening gambit for a romantic comedy, we don’t know what is.
Betty
If Taylor fancies making a high school tale, she should return to Folklore and the trio of songs she describes as ‘the teenage love triangle’ for inspiration.
“These three songs explore a love triangle from all three people’s perspectives at different times in their lives,” she revealed shortly before the album’s 2020 release. Taylor didn’t reveal precisely which songs she was referring to, but fans have theorised that she was alluding to Betty, Cardigan and August.
Betty is told from the point of view of a boy named James, who cheated on the title character with another girl; she’s alerted to the rumours by Inez, who might be the one who James secretly got together with. Got it? It’s all very tangled, but aren’t all the best teen dramas?