The TV musical adaptation of Disney's tale, which was scheduled to air in the fall, has been postponed.
- Aug 4, 2017
AceShowbiz - It looks like Ariel has to stay under water for a little longer before coming out of the water. ABC announced on Thursday, August 3 that it scrapped its planned live production of Disney's tale "The Little Mermaid", which was scheduled to air on October 3.
No new date is set just yet, but ABC hopes to bring the project to small screen in 2018. "We are postponing 'The Little Mermaid Live!' special," the Alphabet said in a statement. "We love the idea of doing a live musical and want to make it wonderful. The project is so unique that we are making best efforts to do it next year and want to give it all the attention it deserves."
"The Little Mermaid Live!" was first announced in May. According to USA Today, budget constraints caused the decision to postpone the project. The network reportedly had spent a lot of money on the sets. Though rehearsals were due to begin soon, no cast was announced for the musical adaptation as of now.
The news comes after NBC postponed its plans to make "Bye Bye Birdie Live!", which will star Jennifer Lopez, due to a crowded field. The Peacock said it would revisit the project in late 2018, "if we can get back into JLo's scheduling vortex."
