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Before Halle Bailey takes the crown as Princess Ariel in the Disney remake The Little Mermaid, ABC will put on a live special of the musical called The Wonderful World of Disney Presents The Little Mermaid Live!
According to Deadline, Moana star Auli’i Cravalho will play Ariel, while Queen Latifah takes on Ursula and Shaggy will be Sebastian. The show will mark the classic animated movie’s 30th anniversary and will feature a mixture of live action, animation and puppetry.
ABC’s President of Entertainment, Karey Burke, has expressed major support for live specials and according to her, if The Little Mermaid Live! works, “I expect we will do more of them and we will work closely with the feature department about timing.” If you’re here for the live rendition, make sure you mark your calendar for its debut November 5!
Also on the horizon at ABC is an anthology series recognizing the women of the Civil Rights Movement. With the working title Women of the Movement, the series will chronicle an important time in American history as told by the women who led the way. Marissa Jo Cerar, who wrote on The Handmaid’s Tale, will lead the project as a writer and the producing team includes Will Smith, Jay-Z and Aaron Kaplan.
The first season will consist of eight episodes inspired by the book Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement by Devery S. Anderson. It will follow Emmett Till‘s mother, Mamie Till, who spent her life seeking justice for her son’s murder in the Jim Crow South. It’s definitely an important story to be told, along with the many other women who dedicated their life to racial justice.
We’ll keep you updated as more info surfaces about the series.
