NEW YORK — ABC will follow up its successful live staging of The Little Mermaid with a live monster musical — Young Frankenstein.
The network said recently it will air Young Frankenstein Live!, the stage version of Mel Brooks' 1974 film classic. The cast and air date were not revealed.
The 93-year-old Brooks will be involved in the new TV staging. He wrote the songs and lyrics for the Broadway version, which included such ditties as "Roll in the Hay," "The Transylvania Mania" and the Irving Berlin standard "Puttin' on the Ritz."
ABC had success with its live staging of The Little Mermaid TV special in November. It starred Auli'i Cravalho, Queen Latifah, Shaggy, John Stamos, Amber Riley and Graham Phillips.
The Little Mermaid Live seemed to breathe new life into live theatrical events on TV, attracting some 9 million viewers. Other networks have joined in similar endeavors, including live staging of Grease, Peter Pan and The Sound of Music.
Dancer the latest Masked selection
The Masked Singer has been such a hit for Fox that the network is doubling down on hidden entertainers.
Fox said last week that it is joining with Ellen DeGeneres to produce The Masked Dancer, a celebrity competition show based on The Masked Singer and a segment that DeGeneres originated on her talk show. Contestants will perform unique dances while covered from head to toe in elaborate costumes and face masks, leaving audiences to guess their identities.
"This is gonna be just as fun and suspenseful as The Masked Singer, with a lot more krumping," DeGeneres said in a statement, referring to a style of street dancing, "and I cannot wait!"
Meanwhile, Jamie Foxx will join The Masked Singer as a guest panelist along with regulars Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke and host Nick Cannon for the show's third season premiere on Feb. 2 after the Super Bowl.
The show will take its regular time slot Feb. 5.
This season, 18 disguised celebrities will be split into three groups of six, and immediately be whittled down to three singers in each group. The final nine from all three groups will compete for the trophy.
Among the new custom-made costumes for the singers are the Robot, the Frog, the Banana, the Mouse, the monster and the llama.
Series finale is set for Modern Family
The ABC comedy Modern Family will air its series finale after 11 seasons on April 8, the network has announced.
The series following the extended Pritchett-Dunphy clan was an immediate sensation upon its 2009 debut. It holds the record with Frasier of five consecutive Emmy Awards as television's best comedy.
Co-creators Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd have been with the series since its beginning, along with the ensemble cast. The cast includes Sofia Vergara, Ed O'Neill, Julie Bowen and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
Prior to the finale, ABC is presenting a fan-curated tribute on March 11. ABC will kick off the night in prime time with the series' very first episode, followed by favorite episodes that fans get to vote on next month.
Style on 01/14/2020