Serial Songs

Lately we've watched the whole world count down to the final episode of "Stranger Things". A series that became historic even before it ended, arguably more influential than it is good. One that, to borrow the words of Simon Reynolds, helped trigger the rampant retromania now spreading through the audiovisual world.

Among the many weapons the Duffer brothers use to catapult us into a mood inspired by the fictional coming-of-age stories of the Eighties, there's certainly the use of a  pointed non-original soundtrack, where the songs chosen to heighten the pathos of key moments become protagonists in their own right, on a par with the characters – to the point of living a second life beyond the screen, going viral on TikTok, topping the global charts of various streaming platforms, or even popping up in the sales charts of certain countries.

Since "Stranger Things", this use of classic or cult tracks has only increased across the world of TV series. This actually just reminds us how inextricably linked the world of series is to that of pop music, far more so than cinema. And not just for the last decade or so, but for at least half a century.

This new OndaRock column begins as a journey, admittedly a rather disorganized one, through the history of songs most closely tied to the world of TV series. We'll feature five per volume, accompanied by a themed playlist.

How To Save A Life – Scrubs 5*20

One of the television events of the year is without a doubt the return of “Scrubs.” After 17 years off the air, JD (Zach Braff) has made his way back to Sacred Heart Hospital, this time as chief of medicine, to mentor a new generation of doctors. When it comes to the relationship between TV series and music, “Scrubs” and creator Bill Lawrence are in all likelihood the most important names to mention. The Shins, Keane, Snow Patrol and the Coral, but also Spoon, are just some of the bands that owe a good part of their success to an appearance on the most famous medical dramedy in history. But if there's one song that owes "Scrubs" a genuine worldwide explosion, it's “How To Save A Life” by The Fray. It's a very catchy track, a little sad and a little hopeful, one that's easy to relate to. However, much of the work was done by its juxtaposition with one of the most intense and heartbreaking scenes of the fifth season: Dr. Cox's (John C. McGinley) emotional collapse after discovering he'd greenlit organ transplants from a patient infected with rabies. JD's mentor, up to that point a figure of almost divine infallibility, here reveals all his human fragility and is comforted by none other than his favorite “rookie.”

I know The End – Shrinking 1*3

The use of tracks from the indie world is a constant in Bill Lawrence's way of making television, a stylistic trait that transcends the world of “Scrubs” and forms an integral part of the emotional fabric of the American creator's other works as well. The reason so many of Lawrence's choices have become iconic lies in the fact that the screenwriter, a huge fan of alternative music, manages to pick songs that seem to converse with the scene they're dropped into.

In “Shrinking” there's a scene that seems to spell out the “Lawrence method” perfectly. Paul, the gruff psychiatrist played by Harrison Ford, advises his patients to pick a song that perfectly embodies their pain and to have a good cry while listening to it. To vent the grief caused by his loss, Jimmy (the series' protagonist, played by Jason Segel) chooses to confront the ghostly, deeply emotional songwriting of Phoebe Bridgers. Then, once in tears, he bellows, “Fuck you, Phoebe Bridgers!”

Prisencolinensinainciusol – Ted Lasso 3*3

Bill Lawrence's winning musical choices, however, aren't limited to songs with a high dramatic quotient. The screenwriter has often proven just as capable of pulling off great musical pairings for his trademark comedic scenes. One of the strangest examples can be found in the third episode of the third season of “Ted Lasso,” the brilliant saga of the mustachioed American football coach (Jason Sudeikis) who ends up on the bench of a soccer team, no less than in the Premier League.

When, in the third season, the newly promoted Richmond, led by Lasso, starts racking up an incredible winning streak, it's shown through the classic American sports-movie montage, alternating footage from the pitch, newspaper headlines, scrolling league standings and clips from TV news broadcasts. Backing this unexpected turn of events, even more incredibly, is none other than the classic fake-English nonsense of our own Adriano Celentano. If that's not genius...

Red Right Hand – Peaky Blinders 1*1 (and several others)

The start of 2026 was also marked by the release, first in theaters and then on “Netflix,” of the film “Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man,” the cinematic conclusion to the Shelby family's story. It's another series for which the soundtrack is much more than mere backdrop, but a genuine part of its DNA.

Alongside the steely-grey cinematography, sharp dialogue and stylish 1940s English gangster suits that define an imagery that's since become iconic, we also find a defiantly rock soundtrack in a thousand different shades, ranging from Radiohead to Idles, from Anna Calvi to Fontaines D.C.

There is, however, only one song that, through its eternal return at every key moment, will forever be associated with one of the most beloved British series of recent years: “Red Right Hand” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. A track that has always carried a sense of ill omen, for some time now associated with the menacing appearances of the fearsome gypsy gangster with Cillian Murphy's face.

Axolotl – Twin Peaks 3*15

There's always music in the air, down there. That's what the Man From Another Place said, the enigmatic dwarf, before giving himself over to his loose-limbed dance in the Red Room. In the final season of "Twin Peaks", every episode closes with music on the Roadhouse stage: there are Nine Inch Nails, there are the Chromatics, there are the unforgettable Rebekah Del Rio and Julee Cruise. And then there's "Axolotl" by Veils. It comes after one of the most claustrophobic scenes in the series, the exhausting argument between Audrey Horne and her husband Charlie (another dwarf...), which seems to keep them trapped behind their own front door. Finn Andrews takes the stage with the bearing of a preacher, dark suit and wide-brimmed hat, conjuring the menacing spirit of Nick Cave. He sings of an amphibian metamorphosis, sings of the devil and of salvation. For the Aztecs, the axolotl was a symbol of transfiguration: it's always a question of a threshold to cross, as in all of Lynch's work. Meanwhile, in the club, there's a girl on the floor, on all fours, who slowly begins to cry. For a moment she looks around, disoriented, then she screams, she screams. She screams with all the voice she has in her body. A foreshadowing of the journey's epilogue, the one that will reach completion in front of the Palmer house: nothing behind her, with a drunkard's terror.

Contributions by Gabriele Benzing ("Twin Peaks")

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10/05/2026