There’s a better way for Bruce Springsteen to EGOT

Springsteen on Broadway could earn Bruce Springsteen an Emmy, but there are far more exciting ways for the Boss to EGOT.

Springsteen on Broadway hit Netflix in the early hours of Sunday, Dec. 16, after Bruce Springsteen closed the final night of his thrice-extended one-man show’s theatrical run. Over 14 months and 236 sold-out performances at the Walter Kerr Theater, Springsteen spoke and sung and deconstructed his own mythology for, as the promos go, the most intimate crowds he’s performed in front of for decades.

Springsteen won a Special Tony this past spring for the show, specifically for how the show brought hundreds of thousands of theatergoers to the Great White Way, a honorary Tony, but a Tony nonetheless. He has an Oscar for Best Original Song, for “Streets of Philadelphia” from Philadelphia. He has 20 Grammys. Given the show’s success and critical acclaim thus far, it’s not a stretch to imagine Springsteen’s nomination and eventual win for Springsteen on Broadway at the 2019 Emmys, most likely in the Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) category. And with that, Springsteen would join the ranks of the EGOT elite.

Worthy as Springsteen on Broadway may be of an Emmy, it’s not the most exciting way for Springsteen to cement such a significant entertainment achievement. Feels a bit like double-dipping. So here’s another suggestion to earn Bruce his TV accolade: Let/get Springsteen to write and/or produce a Nebraska anthology series.

Nebraska is already a self-contained, thematically-unified collection. A storytelling songwriter, much of Springsteen’s discography would be well-suited for adaptation, but Nebraska already offers a pre-existing (and iconic) anthology, one that happens to be very in-line with the preferred themes of “peak TV.” Imagine the range of cinematic styles that could bring those songs to life; directors deciding whether to tell the stories straight or to latch onto a lyric and focus on a peripheral detail. Do you take a Haunting of Hill House approach, or something more literal? How do you retell “Nebraska” when the Charles Starkweather spree has already provided such considerable cinematic source material? What happens if you place “Johnny 99” in the contemporary justice system? Think of the ways the series could play with time and space, cast and setting, while maintaining the spirit of the album.

There is just so much potential for an interesting and creative project if you’re trying to brainstorm ways Springsteen can make a mark (and earn awards) in the TV space. Not to mention the potential for a second season based off the rest of his music, as everyone knows a limited series is only limited until the ratings come in.

So, give Springsteen an Emmy for Springsteen on Broadway if you must — but maybe also a development deal to adapt Nebraska.

Follow FanSided Entertainment on Twitter for the latest entertainment news, insight and EGOT strategies.