A new six-part documentary series featuring Paul McCartney and producer Rick Rubin is coming to Hulu in July 2021.
All episodes of McCartney 3,2,1 will be available on the streaming service on Friday 16 July.
The series is a series of one-on-one discussions between McCartney and Rubin. McCartney will discuss his entire career, from the beginnings of The Beatles to his years with Wings and as a solo artist. They will also cover songwriting influences, personal relationships, and sources of inspiration.
The title of the series was exclusively revealed on this site’s Twitter feed three days before the official announcement:
Just heard about McCartney 3, 2, 1, a new documentary series on @PaulMcCartney due to launch on Hulu on 16 July 2021 ?? pic.twitter.com/b72rqNpJ1J
— The Beatles Bible ? (@beatlesbible) May 14, 2021
Here’s the full press release for McCartney 3,2,1:
Today, Hulu announced the Original documentary series McCartney 3,2,1. The six-episode music series event features intimate and revealing examinations of musical history from two living legends, Paul McCartney and super producer Rick Rubin, and hails from Endeavor Content. The series is executive produced by McCartney, Rubin, Scott Rodger, Peter Berg, Matthew Goldberg, Brandon Carroll, Jeff Pollack, Frank Marshall and Ryan Suffern with Leila Mattimore serving as co-executive producer. All six episodes of McCartney 3,2,1 premiere Friday, July 16, on Hulu.“Never before have fans had the opportunity to hear Paul McCartney share, in such expansive, celebratory detail, the experience of creating his life’s work – more than 50 years of culture-defining music,” said Craig Erwich, president, Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment. “To be an observer as Paul and Rick Rubin deconstruct how some of the biggest hits in music history came to be is truly enlightening. It is an honor that Paul chose to return to Hulu to share this one-of-a-kind series.”
In the series, Paul McCartney sits down for a rare in-depth one-on-one with legendary music producer Rick Rubin to discuss his groundbreaking work with The Beatles, the emblematic 1970s arena rock of Wings and his 50-plus years as a solo artist. In this six-episode series that explores music and creativity in a unique and revelatory manner, the documentary gives a front-row seat to Paul and Rick in an intimate conversation about the songwriting, influences, and personal relationships that informed the iconic songs that have served as the soundtracks of our lives.
Since writing his first song at the age of 14, Paul McCartney’s career has been impossibly prolific and singularly influential. In the 1960s, McCartney changed the world forever with The Beatles. He didn’t stop there and has continued to push boundaries as a solo artist, then with Wings, and also collaborating with numerous world-renowned artists. He has received 18 GRAMMYS® and in 1997 was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for his services to music. His most recent album, McCartney III was No. 1 in the U.K. Official Charts as well as No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Top Album Sales Chart upon release in December 2020. McCartney is a dedicated philanthropist, passionately advocating for many causes including animal rights and environmental issues.
Rick Rubin continues to co-produce and host the podcast series “Broken Record” with Malcolm Gladwell. He has an active partnership with GQ around a series of deep conversations with the foremost personalities across the music world ranging from Pharrell Williams to Kendrick Lamar, each of which he hosts and creates editorial and video content around. He recently produced the Grammy®-winning record “The New Abnormal” with The Strokes to rave reviews.
McCartney 3,2,1 is the latest title to join Hulu’s burgeoning slate of documentary series and films that examine influential and significant figures in world history such as ‘Hillary,’ ‘I Am Greta’ and ‘The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years.’
McCartney 3,2,1 is directed by Emmy® Award-winning Zachary Heinzerling and executive produced by McCartney, Rubin, Scott Rodger, Peter Berg, Matthew Goldberg, Brandon Carroll, Jeff Pollack, Frank Marshall and Ryan Suffern with Leila Mattimore serving as co-executive producer. Endeavor Content serves as the studio, producing alongside MPL Communications Inc., Shangri-La, Film 45, Kennedy Marshall and Diamond Docs.
Very fascinating documentary.
Basically, it’s Paul McCartney and Rick Rubin hanging out around and playing with a mixing board, listening to multitrack stems of Beatles and McCartney solo songs and hearing McCartney tell the stories of the songs, while also (and this is the creamy filling here) hearing isolated instrument tracks. Works especially well with more complicated songs like Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, where Paul explains how he made his bass sound like a tuba and the addition of a weird futuristic instrument called a Moog synthesizer. Also interesting to hear isolated tracks from various songs, such as Something.
If you haven’t seen it, and you’re a Beatles fan, it is must-see. It’s currently streaming on Hulu, so it’s a good double feature with Ron Howard’s fantastic documentary about the touring years, Eight Days A Week.