“NBC Slays in Ratings With “The Wiz Live” But Sparks Racial Controversy” is categorized as “entertainment”.
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“The Wiz Live!” got NBC pretty close to the Emerald City, at least ratings-wise.
NBC drew 11 million viewers to the debut of The Wiz Live! last night.
It was mostly all about the Black excellence being put on display on the television screen thanks to standout performances from Queen Latifah, Amber Riley, Ne-Yo and Shanice Williams, the 19-year-old who portrayed “Dorothy”.
The Nielsen company ratings represented a rebound for the network, which had two million fewer viewers for last year’s production of “Peter Pan”.
Better news for NBC was that it dominated the night among women 18-49 viewers – getting a 14 share versus a 8 share that CBS’s “Thursday Night Football” posted for the demo. And for those still annoyed by the copious ad breaks, NBC Universal will be bringing the production back to Broadway for the 2016-17 season, where viewers will be able to see it live and ad-free (for $60-150).
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With a terrific cast of Queen Latifah as The Wiz, Mary J. Blige as the Wicked Witch of the West, Uzo Aduba as the Good Witch of the North and newcomer Shanice Williams as Dorothy, David Alan Grier as the Lion and Common as The Bouncer, the almost three-hour production garnered almost universal raves.
