Wicked: One Wonderful Night has certainly given NBC something to rejoicify.
The November 6 special drew 3.6M viewers across platforms after three days, per Nielsen, making it the network’s second best special of the year, coming in behind only February’s SNL50: The Anniversary Special.
According to NBCUniversal, the audience for Wicked: One Wonderful Night was 64% than last year’s Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked special. In the 18-49 demo, it was up 148%.
Wicked: One Wonderful Night will face some tough competition through the end of the year, though, since it kicked off a month full of NBC specials, several of which are expected to generate big audiences for the network. Later this month, NBC will air the 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which has been the most-watched entertainment program for the last four years. There is also the National Dog Show following the parade, as well as a countdown special the night before.
For Wicked: One Wonderful Night, NBC transformed the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to take audiences on a journey to the Emerald City ahead of the November 21 theatrical release of Wicked: For Good. The special featured thrillifying performances from the cast including Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Michelle Yeoh, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Ethan Slater and Jeff Goldblum.
In addition to the performances, the special also included cast interviews and sneak peeks from the upcoming film. Wicked: One Wonderful Night was produced by Fulwell Entertainment. Ben Winston and Raj Kapoor executive produced.
NBC’s Wicked celebration doesn’t end there, though. The network will air the first Wicked film on November 19 at 8 p.m. ET/PT in anticipation of the sequel.
