'Million Dollar Quartet' renamed 'Sun Records,' to debut Feb. 23

The CMT network has confirmed that its upcoming made-in-Memphis television series “Million Dollar Quartet” has officially been rechristened as “Sun Records.”

The show, which spent more than 70 days and $6 million shooting in and around the Bluff City earlier this year, made the name change official in an announcement Wednesday.  The network also confirmed that “Sun Records” will premiere on the channel at 9 p.m. CT Thursday, Feb. 23.

Though based on the Tony Award-winning stage musical “Million Dollar Quartet” — which keys on the impromptu 1956 jam session between Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis — the CMT series is a more expansive look at the musical universe created by Sun and its founder, Sam Phillips.

“I think the name change is a result of them broadening the scope of the show,” said Phillips’ son Jerry Phillips of the name change. “I think it’s a great thing.”

Set primarily in 1954, the eight-episode “Million Dollar Quartet” sees Phillips, played by Chad Michael Murray, as the focal point for a roster of supporting characters that also will include Presley, Cash, Lewis, Ike Turner, B.B. King and various country music stars.

According to the CMT, “Sun Records” is part of its expanding slate of scripted programming. This will include a new season of the former ABC drama “Nashville” which launches Thursday, Jan. 5, and the second season premiere of “Still The King,” starring Billy Ray Cyrus, which debuts later in the spring.