David Bowie Releases First Original TV Song in 20 Years for ‘The Last Panthers’

Sky Atlantic has released a haunting preview of the new song from David Bowie, “Blackstar,” written for the opening credits of the new crime drama The Last Panthers. It is the first time in 20 years that Bowie has written an original song for film or TV.

The Last Panthers is commissioned by Sky and CANAL + in France. Samantha Morton, Tahar Rahim, Goran Bogdan and John Hurt star. The show is inspired by the real-life gang of jewel thieves the Pink Panthers, and delves deeply into Europe’s current criminal underbelly over a six-part series.

The show’s director, Johan Renck (Bloodline, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead), said of the song’s writing process: “I showed Mr. Bowie the two first episodes in the rough state they were at the time, and he liked what he saw very much. We discussed the various aspects of the show; naturally the plot line, but also the underlying currents of guilt and personality flaws.”

“We talked about the dark heart of Europe,” he continued. “We talked about the biblical aspects of human nature. He asked if there was anything else to see, so I showed him the first concept board I had just made for the title sequence — images from the show laced with chimaeras and demons from the worlds of Bosch and Grunewald. That’s when he said go — it all fits. Then he played me his new song “Blackstar.””

The Serbian crime drama will launch simultaneously on November 12 across Europe on Sky Atlantic in the U.K., Ireland, Italy, Germany and Austria, and on Canal + in France.