Weeks after NBC announced its plans for a May broadcast of Hair Live, it seems the network is changing its tune post-Rent Live on FOX.
Rather than follow FOX’s lead with the choice of a production with a serious subject matter, NBC has chosen to instead focus on upbeat, family-friendly musicals.
“Live musicals are a part of this network’s DNA and we are committed to continuing that tradition with the right show at the right time,” Paul Telegdy and George Cheeks, co-chairmen of NBC Entertainment, say in a statement. “Since these shows are such enormous undertakings, we need titles that have a wide appeal and we’re in the process of acquiring the rights to a couple of new shows that we’re really excited about.”
Hair Live!, adapted by Alex Rudzinski (Grease: Live, Jesus Christ Superstar) andDiane Paulus, was scheduled to air Sunday, May 19. The network has scrapped the counterculture musical to instead focus on more “broad-based, family musicals,” TVLine reports.
The initial premiere date would have placed the production up against the series finale of HBO’s Game of Thrones and ABC’s American Idol, as well as the not-so-stellar ratings from the mature content of FOX’s Rent Live.
NBC previously aired live productions of Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, Hairspray, The Wiz, The Sound of Music, and Peter Pan. Following the production of Hairspray, previously announced live productions of Bye Bye Birdie starring Jennifer Lopez and A Few Good Men with Alec Baldwin were set at the network, but they have been pushed back indefinitely.
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