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The hills are alive with the sound of … live musicals, according to some major television networks.
It’s a big time for musicals on TV and the big screen. Two years ago, NBC’s live version of The Sound of Music Live!, starring Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp, drew in more than 18 million viewers, rivaling the ratings of major sporting events. Last year, NBC sought to repeat its success with another live musical — this time, Peter Pan Live! starring Allison Williams as the title character.
While Peter Pan Live! only grabbed 9 million viewers, the reviews were slightly better than Underwood’s The Sound of Music Live!, which many critics described as “cringe-worthy”.
Although Peter Pan didn’t appeal to major American audiences, it seems as if live TV musicals are here to stay, at least for now. NBC announced that it plans on producing The Music Man later this year in the same made-for-television format. Fox recently reported that Julianne Hough and Vanessa Hudgens have signed on to play Sandy and Rizzo, respectively, for the network’s version of Grease: Live, and picking a Danny Zuko is the next task.
If that weren’t enough, live-action musicals are thriving on the big screen, too. Emma Watson posted an announcement on her Facebook page three weeks ago that she will be playing the role of Belle in Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, and a live-action version of Cinderella with Cate Blanchett and Helena Bonham Carter comes out next month.
Live-action TV musicals aren’t anything new; in fact, throughout the early 2000s, PBS aired a number of underwhelming performances, including Camelot, Sweeney Todd and Jesus Christ Superstar. ABC also offered up a rendition of The Music Man, which was blasted by critics and stalled the trend of live musicals until last year.
If made-for-TV live musicals don’t attract large audiences and receive mediocre reviews and reactions across the board, why do networks keep trying to make them work?
Forbes has theorized that major networks are trying to tap into audiences’ inherent “fear of missing out.” Live TV events such as the Super Bowl or awards shows consistently attract large audiences, who turn on their television sets to see things happen in real time. Streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu can’t compete with the thrill of live TV, no matter what selection of shows or movies they may boast. The live TV musical concept creates an environment that encourages viewers to mark their calendars, sit through commercials and watch a single event with millions of other Americans.
In an era in which more people are cutting the cord and moving away from traditional TV, live musicals persist in order to draw audiences back in and remind them why and how television is an integral part of American culture and can’t be replaced by laptops and iPads.
Live musicals are generally a good idea but often see poor execution. To be successful and meet networks’ goal of drawing a single audience together for a few hours, these musicals need to maintain their classic formats and offer up something new that makes it worthwhile to log out of Netflix — at least for a little while.
