Peter Pan Live! Flies High with Overnight Ratings, Though Still in Sound of Music's Shadow

People really like crowing (but not as much as yodeling). NBC’s December 4 telecast of Peter Pan Live!, starring Allison Williams as the title Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up and Christopher Walken as Captain Hook, delivered high-flying numbers. According to TheWrap, the three-hour program pulled in a total of 9.1 million viewers. While CBS topped NBC in total viewers on Thursday, the Peacock Network was first in ratings, drawing a 2.3 in the coveted 18-49 demographic. The telecast marked the second-biggest non-sports Thursday for the network (beat by—you guessed it—The Sound of Music.)

While the Pan numbers mean good news for the network, last year’s The Sound of Music Live has it beat by double, having drawn a massive 18.5 million viewers overall on December 5, 2013. “We didn’t expect to reach the same rating as The Sound of Music,” said NBC honcho Robert Greenblatt in a statement, “since that was the first live movie event of its kind in over 50 years.” The lower (though still impressive) numbers aren’t stopping the network from bringing live musicals to the small screen: plans have already been announced for its next live musical event: The Music Man.

In addition to Williams and Walken, the broadcast starred Tony winner Christian Borle as Mr. Darling and Smee, Tony nominee Kelli O’Hara as Mrs. Darling and Taylor Louderman as Wendy.

A Great White Way family classic, Peter Pan premiered in 1954 at the Winter Garden Theatre, featuring a book by J.M. Barrie, music by Mark “Moose” Charlap and Jule Style, lyrics by Carolyn Leigh, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, direction and choreography by Jerome Robbins and Mary Martin in the lead role of the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. NBC has broadcast the musical live a total of three times previously: in 1955 (when it reached 65 million viewers), 1956 and 1960.