NBC to Air Wicked Nov. 19 Before Sequel

NBC will broadcast Jon M. Chu’s Wicked on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 8/7c in a roughly 3½-hour presentation with commercials, two days before Wicked: For Good opens in theaters on Nov. 21. Ahead of that telecast, NBC will air the two-hour musical special Wicked: One Wonderful Night on Nov. 6 featuring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and other cast members; the special will be available to stream afterward on Peacock. The one-off linear airing was secured after negotiations to clear the film’s Pay-One window following its Peacock and Prime Video windows and is part of an aggressive NBCUniversal promotional push that included adjusting the network’s primetime lineup. Wicked grossed about $756 million worldwide, became the highest-grossing Broadway film adaptation, earned 10 Academy Award nominations and won Oscars for production design and costume design. Both films star Erivo and Grande, joined in the ensemble by Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum.