Watch Shanice Williams Perform ‘Home’ on ‘The Wiz Live!’

NBC’s almost three-hour telecast of the 1974 Broadway musical – a soul-tinged retelling of “The Wizard of Oz” – delivered 11.4 million total viewers, according to Nielsen. Live made its way onto the television screens of many living rooms Thursday night (Dec. 3), the new-age spin on the classic didn’t disappoint. This video was licensed from Grab Networks.

For the night, CBS and NBC were in a virtual tie among 18-49 viewers – a 3.3/11 for CBS versus a 3.4/11 for NBC.

“The Wiz” featured a cast including Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, David Alan Grier, Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Uzo Aduba, Common and newcomer Shanice Williams as Dorothy. Peter Pan did a 2.3 in 18-49, with 9.1 million watching. The Sound of Music rated double that. The event also set a Nielsen Twitter record as most social live special program in the more than four years of tracking such numbers – generating more reactions than NBC’s two prior musicals combined. There was much online discussion about “The Wiz” having an all-black cast from people who may have been unaware that the 1970s-era musical and movie had a black cast, too.

And NBC has a variety of others ways to make even more money off “The Wiz”: The cast recording goes on sale December 11, with a DVD following shortly thereafter, and the network has already scheduled an encore airing December 19.