ABC is shelving its live musical version of The Little Mermaid, USA Today reports.
According to those familiar with the decision, the production was postponed and likely canceled due to budget constraints. The musical was announced in May and was scheduled to air on Oct. 3. ABC confirmed the shelving last week.
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Sets had reportedly already been built and rehearsals were set to begin for the production.
The live musical trend began back in 2013 with Carrie Underwood headlining NBC’s production of The Sound of Music, and the network continued the trend until this year, scrapping its planned production of Bye, Bye Birdie back in May. The event was set to star Jennifer Lopez, and NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt said he hopes to revisit the project in late 2018 “if we can get back into JLo’s scheduling vortex.”
“It’s never been easy to make money” on the projects, Greenblatt added. “They’re expensive to produce, and they really aren’t great business prospects. We just (do) them because they’re events.”
NBC still has plans for a production of Jesus Christ Superstar on April 1 as well as a play, Aaron Sorkin’s A Few Good Men, set for next spring. Fox, which recently got into live musical game itself, is planning a production of A Christmas Story for late this year and Rent for next year.
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NEW YORK CITY – DECEMBER 19: "Toil and Trouble" – Elsbeth is thrown into the world of television after the showrunner of a long-running police procedural is brutally murdered in his office, and although it appears to be the act of a disgruntled fan, she begins to suspect the show's longtime star Regina Coburn (Laurie Metcalf) who yearns for artistic fulfillment. Meanwhile, Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson) continues to be a thorn in Elsbeth's side, on the CBS original series ELSBETH, Thursday, Dec. 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Carra Patterson as Kaya Blanke. (Photo by Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty Images)
