Season one of HBO’s animated series Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus continues in October 2017 with four new half-hour episodes. Set in the Country music world, Tales from the Tour Bus comes from Mike Judge, Richard Mullins, and Dub Cornett. The series is executive produced by Judge, Glen Zipper, Sean Stuart, and Dub Cornett. Richard Mullins produces and John Frizzell is the composer. Season one consists of eight episodes.
The Plot: Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus recounts the raucous adventures of Johnny Paycheck, Jerry Lee Lewis, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Billy Joe Shaver, Waylon Jennings (two parts), and Blaze Foley as told by those who knew them best. The series includes uncensored anecdotes about the exploits of these artists, brought to life by animated reenactments, woven together with live-action archival performance footage and photos.
Tales from the Tour Bus October 2017 Guide
Episode #3: “George Jones and Tammy Wynette (Part One)”
Debut: FRIDAY, OCT. 6 (10:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT)
He was a poor boy from a bootleggers’ town in the Texas backwoods. She was a cotton-picking Mississippi girl dreaming of stardom in Nashville. Together, George Jones and Tammy Wynette became the first power couple in country music. They were perfect in the public eye, but their tumultuous relationship was punctuated by George’s alcohol-fueled escapades and his paranoia over Tammy’s romantic past. She tried to keep the marriage from turning toxic, singing “Stand By Your Man,” her greatest hit, onstage with her husband every night.
Written by Mike Judge, Mark Monroe, Jeff Feuerzeig, Julien Nitzberg; directed by Mike Judge.
Episode #4: “George Jones and Tammy Wynette (Part Two)”
Debut: FRIDAY, OCT. 13 (10:00-10:30 p.m.)
Collaborating on 33 hit songs and nine studio albums, George Jones and Tammy Wynette projected an image of marital bliss. Backstage, real life was more of a mess, highlighted by actual gunplay, an accusation of poisoning and ingenious disappearing acts in the name of alcohol. The marriage was ultimately sacrificed, but the music survived. Despite George’s split personalities and Tammy’s endless string of men, the two maintained an artistic partnership that stood the test of time and gave them one of their greatest hits, “Golden Rings,” about love and marriage.
Written by Mike Judge, Mark Monroe, Jeff Feuerzeig, Julien Nitzberg; directed by Mike Judge.
Episode #5: “Billy Joe Shaver”
Debut: FRIDAY, OCT. 20 (10:00-10:30 p.m.)
By all accounts, Billy Joe Shaver should never have made it in country music. A poor Texas kid from a broken family, he lost three fingers in a sawmill accident before ever writing a song. Despite his physical challenge, Shaver landed in Nashville as a singer-songwriter with hard luck songs about real life. A chance meeting with Waylon Jennings in the back of a peanut trailer led to Jennings’ breakthrough “Outlaw” album “Honky Tonk Heroes,” featuring Waylon singing songs written by Billy Joe. A decade later, Shaver made a name for himself after shooting a man at a roadside tavern for allegedly talking to his soon-to-be ex-wife. The gunplay led to a celebrity trial and a shocking verdict. Of course, Billy Joe wrote a song about it.
Written by Mike Judge, Mark Monroe, Jeff Feuerzeig, Julien Nitzberg; directed by Mike Judge.
Episode #6: “Waylon Jennings (Part One)”
Debut: FRIDAY, OCT. 27 (10:00-10:30 p.m.)
The father of “Outlaw” country music, Waylon Jennings grew up in Texas with dreams of making it to the Grand Ole Opry. Following a musical partnership with Buddy Holly that ended in his first experience cheating death, Waylon eventually made his way to Nashville, where he became roommates with Johnny Cash. The singer, like his pal Johnny, never quite fit in with the Nashville sound, although they both found the Nashville speed to their liking. It took a move back home to Texas and a reunion with Willie Nelson, his old friend and fellow outcast, for the charismatic Waylon to breathe new life into country music, and finally do things on his own terms.
Written by Mike Judge, Mark Monroe, Jeff Feuerzeig, Julien Nitzberg; directed by Mike Judge.
