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ABC to Air Three-Hour Live Musical Special About the History of Rolling Stone

ABC is not one to be left in the dust when it comes to live musicals on television. NBC, in particular, has found ratings success with the likes of the Grease and Peter Pan live presentations over the past few years, while FOX took on Hairspray at the end of last year. Now, as THR reports, ABC has announced two live musical projects for late 2017 and early 2018: a Little Mermaid musical (including originally footage from the animated movie) and a live, three-hour extravaganza celebrating the legacy of… Rolling StoneThe magazine’s co-founder Jann Wenner and his son Gus Wenner, head of parent company Wenner Media’s digital operations, will be co-producing.

What does a “musical” about Rolling Stone look like? Hopefully a little more like a normal concert film/variety show, but it’s still unclear. THR explains that the progam, entitled Rolling Stone 50, will “pay tribute to the brand’s influence and impact through a curated journey of its most important moments from those associated with the long-running publication.” It will feature “a combination of live performances, short films, iconic on-stage moments, [and] never-before-seen musical pairings and celebrities.”

No particular stars have been announced yet, but one still wonders if a three-hour musical about the trials and triumphs of a magazine is really going to attract a widespread primetime-TV audience. But hey, it is the era of Peak TV–might as well try anything once. Rolling Stone 50 will air Feb. 7, 2018 on ABC.