Life Sentence is television series about a girl who, when her terminal cancer is cured, must learn to live with all the choices she made when deciding to live like she was dying.
How would you act if you thought every day could be your last? You would probably do crazy things you have always wanted to do, knowing you wouldn’t have to face the consequences. That’s the premise of The CW’s new dramedy Life Sentence, but with only one catch… you suddenly find out you aren’t going to die after all. The show stars Pretty Little Liar’s Lucy Hale, Elliot Knight, Dylan Walsh, Gillian Vigman, Jayson Blair, Brooke Lyons and Carlos PenaVega. There are many things that stand out about Life Sentence, one of them being the show’s indie folk-like score.
Life Sentence is composed by husband-wife composing duo, Waz & Jamie Jackson under their name WAZ-JACKSON. They are not strangers to the music scene, Waz was Pete Yorn’s original guitarist and Jamie is also an independent artist, opening for bands like Gotye and Foster the People, hence the score’s unique indie feel. They have also scored shows such as Cougar Town, Undateable, Rush Hour, Surviving Jack and Youtube Red’s currently streaming Youth & Consequences to name a few. We decided to speak with WAZ-JACKSON about their new score, read the full interview below. Life Sentence airs every Wednesday at 9/8 Central on The CW.
When you got approached to score Life Sentence, what was your initial appeal to the project?
It’s a very unique concept. Life Sentence picks up where most movies or tv series end. Once Stella (Lucy Hale’s character) finds out that her cancer is cured everything falls apart. Stella’s family wanted to protect her while she battled cancer by putting her in this “no worries” bubble. Once she’s cured, that bubble bursts. Stella and her family face new realities.
You all have worked with writer and producer Bill Lawrence on numerous shows including Cougar Town, Undateable, Rush Hour and now Life Sentence. Because you have worked together on so many shows, did you get to experiment with different sounds/ideas a little more on Life Sentence than a composer first starting out?
Bill gave us our break as composers. We had never scored an episode of television before Cougar Town. He and his wife Christa Miller are huge music fans. They placed one of Waz’s songs (as a solo artist) on Scrubs. When they started looking for a composer for Cougar Town, they asked if we were interested in submitting. It was a very high profile project. We were up against many experienced composers but we unanimously won all of the producers’ votes with the score we submitted. The network was like “who are these guys” and Bill convinced them that we could do it. Bill’s approach was “you are the musician, you tell me”. That being said we had a lot to learn. He has a “no assholes allowed” policy. His team took us right under their wing. Eight years later, we’ve scored hundreds of television episodes and Bill has always given us space. The change is really within ourselves. Having so much experience under our belts gives us more confidence to explore and take more risks.
How did you decide on your musical palate for Life Sentence?
We brainstormed with Erin Cardillo, Richard Keith, Bill Lawrence and the director, Lee Toland Krieger. They put together a playlist of songs that inspired them and from there we started to develop a sound. The show had a very clear identity so once picture started rolling it…it was really evident what the sound needed to be.
You all have scored comedies like Cougar Town and Rush Hour. Life Sentence can be more of a sad drama at certain times. Was it hard switching gears between genres?
No! It is so very refreshing to switch genres. We love jumping from genre to genre. Action to drama to comedy. We love scoring the emotional moments of Life Sentence. We are constantly riding a fine line between heartfelt vs. sad. We find comedy much more difficult. It’s so challenging to make funny music without being cheesy.
What instrument(s) did you find were key in this particular story to set the tone or musical theme you all were striving to achieve for Life Sentence?
Acoustic Guitar and piano are the heart of this show. The score needed a warm, nostalgic and authentic feel. Our main two instruments are piano and guitar, so the process felt very natural.
Do you all have a favorite episode or scene you scored? Why is it your favorite?
Well, we have not scored 113 (the season finale) yet but Episode 112 is a “wtf is gonna happen” episode. Pull out your tissues! We both cried while watching this episode. I think Waz got teary in the spotting session (where we meet with the producers to go over what’s needed for the episode). I cannot tell you why so we don’t spoil it but the layers of this family are progressively peeling away. It really climaxes in episode 112. You feel so much for this family. There is so much vulnerability. You want them to be okay.
You can learn more about WAZ-JACKSON at https://www.waz-jackson.com/.