“Rent Live” was seen by just 3.574 million viewers, according to preliminary Nielsen ratings, and received mostly negative reviews, according to Rotten Tomato, which gave it a ranking of just 36 percent. Both the rating and the ranking are near the bottom of all live musicals since the trend began again in 2013 with The Sound of Music.
However, perhaps not surprisingly, it did relatively well with younger audiences. Its 1.4 rating among adults under 50 made it the No. 1 show in “the demo” on all of network TV Sunday.
Below are “live musicals” that have been broadcast on TV, listed in order of ranking by Rotten Tomato — except for Rent Live, which I put up top. If I listed in with the others, it would be near the bottom
Rent Live
(Fox, 01/27/19, 3.574 million (so far) Rotten at 36
My take
Sing along with Rent
Jesus Christ Superstar Live
(NBC, 4/1/2018, 9.6 million viewers) Fresh at 100 percent
The Wiz Live
(NBC, 12/3/15, 11.5 million viewers)
Grease Live
(Fox, 1/31/16, 12.2 million viewers)
Noah Robbins on Grease Live, his first musical since high school
Hairspray Live
(NBC, 12/7/16, 9.1 million same-day viewers)
The Passion
(Fox 3/20/16, 6.6 million viewers)
Peter Pan Live
(NBC, 12/4/14, 9.2 million viewers)
So, all snark aside, #PeterPanLive was fun — well-acted, competently choreographed, no obvious miscasting. The dog was great too
— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) December 5, 2014
The Sound of Music Live
(NBC, 12/5/13, 18.6 million viewers)
A Christmas Story Live
(Fox, 12/17/17, 4.5 million viewers)
Oh it’s a commercial!!
The commercial for @GreatestShomwan was live – (and, um, more exciting than the #AChristmasStoryLive )— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) December 18, 2017
The Rocky Horror Picture Show:
Let’s Do The Time Warp Again
(Fox, 10/21/16, 4.95 million viewers)
Dirty Dancing
(ABC, 5/24/17. 6.6 million viewers)
