Wicked is less than a month away from hitting the big screen, and NBC has a special Oz-related surprise in store for excited fans. The network announced today that it will air a new behind-the-scenes special, Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked, three days before the movie’s wide theatrical release in North America late next month.
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Filmed on the movie’s eye-popping Emerald City set, the hour-long television event features interviews with main members of the cast — Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba), Ariana Grande (Glinda), and Jeff Goldblum (the Wizard) among others — who will share “personal memories, intimate video diaries, and revealing secrets about their personal journeys through the making of the Universal Pictures film,” reads the official release. In addition, eager audience members can check out an exclusive, “thrillifying” snippet from the final movie, as well as Wicked-themed ads courtesy of brand sponsors like Lexus and Target.
How to watch NBC’s hour-long Wicked special
Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked will air on NBC Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 10 p.m. ET before making its way to Peacock next-day. Aside from Erivo, Grande, and Goldblum, viewers can also expect appearances from Michelle Yeoh (Madame Morrible), Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero), Ethan Slater (Boq), Bowen Yang (Pfannee), and Marissa Bode (Nessarose).
What is Wicked about?
Presenting a unique interpretation of The Wizard of Oz story fans think they know, Wicked is told from the perspective of Elphaba (Erivo), a green-skinned pariah destined to one day become the dreaded antagonist known as the Wicked Witch of the West.
Before she amassed an army of flying apes and supposedly tormented Dorothy, however, Elphaba was a gifted student at Shiz University. Her spell-casting talents eventually place Elphaba in the sights of the Wizard, who may not be the pristine figure everyone assumes him to be, though challenging his authority means a life of lonely infamy.
“The Wizard even says, ‘Truth is what we all believe in,’ ” director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights) told Harper’s Bazaar. “Of course, that’s always been around and propaganda has always been around, but it’s really come into focus now, because of the power of technology and how fast the information can spread and who’s in control of that information.”
The epic musical feature is based on the acclaimed, Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name, which itself was adapted from Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.
When does Wicked open in theaters?
Wicked will cast a spell on audiences everywhere Friday, November 22. The sequel is set to bow the following year on November 21, 2025.
