Hairspray Live!

Hairspray Live! is a television adaptation of the Broadway musical Hairspray, broadcast as a live event. Set in Baltimore in the early 1960s, it follows Tracy Turnblad, a teenager who is devoted to a local television dance program and longs to perform on it herself. Her ambition puts her up against the show's entrenched expectations about who belongs on camera, and the story grows into a wider conflict over segregation and discrimination. The production is based on the stage musical, which was itself adapted from John Waters's 1988 film.

Kenny Leon directed, following The Wiz Live! and In My Dreams, both from 2015. Alex Rudzinski, whose other credits include Grease Live and several awards ceremonies, also directed. The cast includes Maddie Baillio as Tracy, Dove Cameron as Amber Von Tussle, Kristin Chenoweth as Velma Von Tussle, Ariana Grande as Penny Pingleton, Garrett Clayton as Link Larkin and Harvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad, with 64 credited cast members and 73 credited crew. The film runs 120 minutes and was produced by New Line Cinema, Sony Pictures Television Studios, Universal Television and NBC Productions.

Audience response has been favorable: on IMDb it holds 7 out of 10 from around 4,100 votes, and on TMDB 7.3 out of 10 from roughly 167 votes. The two figures are close, suggesting a generally positive reception across both audiences.