Not only was the production an increase in the ratings over last year’s “Peter Pan Live!” production, but it also for the first time brought the network good reviews for a live musical production.
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“The Wiz Live!” got NBC pretty close to the Emerald City, at least ratings-wise. For additional video content, click the “video” tab at the top of this page. In comparison last year’s Peter Pan Live! scored a 2.3 rating.
This Nov. 30, 2015, image released by NBC shows Shanice Williams as Dorothy, left, and Stephanie Mills as Auntie Em during a dress rehearsal of “The Wiz Live!’ in NY”. “We should think it through and figure out what the next choice should be in the progression of, ‘What do you follow The Wiz with so we can keep moving forward and not backward?'”
For the night, CBS and NBC were in a virtual tie among 18-49 viewers – a 3.3/11 for CBS versus a 3.4/11 for NBC.
There’s no place like live TV. It was the Peacock Network’s best Thursday since 2010-apart from Carrie Underwood’s big night, of course.
It’s NBC’s second-best non-sports Thursday in six years since April 2, 2009 (14.496 million the night of the “ER” series finale), trailing over that span only 2013’s “The Sound of Music Live!”
The hyper-color musical offered many sensational moments during the broadcast. But will the TV cast be included in the new production? There was much online discussion about “The Wiz” having an all-black cast from people who may have been unaware that the 1970s-era musical and movie had a black cast, too.
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I am a musical theatre geek from back in the day so I was excited to see The Wiz Live! on NBC.
