Yes indeed, according to THR, The Plain White T’s song “Hey There Delilah” is being adapted into a scripted TV series. Who do we blame for this, really? Is it Peak TV, which seems to make everyone believe every piece of content created deserves it own series, or is it that life is a simulation that has glitched and is now fundamentally broken?
The song was released in 2006 and is fine. It was a Number 1 hit on the Billboard charts and spent 35 weeks in the Top 100 and went platinum in 2007. It’s also been licensed to a number of TV shows, but apparently, that’s not enough! It’s own story needs to be told …
That story, according to the band’s frontman and songwriter Tom Higgenson as well as writer Jeremy Desmon, is one that will take the form of a romantic comedy, based presumably on the following lyrics:
Hey there, Delilah
What’s it like in New York city?
I’m a thousand miles away
But, girl, tonight you look so pretty
Yes, you do
Times Square can’t shine as bright as you
I swear, it’s true
Hey there, Delilah
Don’t you worry about the distance
I’m right there if you get lonely
Give this song another listen
Close your eyes
Listen to my voice, it’s my disguise
I’m by your side
Oh, it’s what you do to me
Oh, it’s what you do to me
Oh, it’s what you do to me
Oh, it’s what you do to me
What you do to me
Hey there, Delilah
I know times are gettin’ hard
But just believe me, girl
Someday I’ll pay the bills with this guitar
We’ll have it good
We’ll have the life we knew we would
My word is good
Hey there, Delilah
I’ve got so much left to say
If every simple song I wrote to you
Would take your breath away
I’d write it all
Even more in love with me you’d fall
We’d have it all
Oh, it’s what you do to me
Oh, it’s what you do to me
Oh, it’s what you do to me
Oh, it’s what you do to me
A thousand miles seems pretty far
But they’ve got planes and trains and cars
I’d walk to you if I had no other way
Our friends would all make fun of us
And we’d just laugh along because we’d know
That none of them have felt this way
Delilah, I can promise you
That by the time that we get through
The world will never ever be the same
And you’re to blame
Hey there, Delilah
You be good, and don’t you miss me
Two more years and you’ll be done with school
And I’ll be makin’ history like I do
You know it’s all because of you
We can do whatever we want to
Hey there, Delilah, here’s to you
This one’s for you
Oh, it’s what you do to me
Oh, it’s what you do to me
Oh, it’s what you do to me
Oh, it’s what you do to me
What you do to me, oh oh, woah, woah
Oh woah, oh
Oh
“Oh.”
“It’s been more than a decade since ‘Hey There Delila’ was released, and people always ask me about it. A whole lot of people really connected with that song, and I’m very proud of that,” Higgenson told the publication. “I’m so excited to have an opportunity to give a new generation the chance to form their own connection with the song, and fall in love with its story through this new project.”
Lively McCabe Entertainment co-president Michael Barra said of the project, which will soon he shopped to multiple networks and studios, “‘Hey There Delilah’ is a perfect example of an iconic story song that has introduced characters and a premise to a massive multigenerational audience, and is begging to be expanded into a full-length story for contemporary television audiences. Lively McCabe is thrilled to be working with Tom, Deb and Jeremy to bring it to life on the screen.”