The Michael Jackson: Bad 25 documentary was an incredible piece of work, but still couldn’t beat out the tradition of tuning to watch some football for Thanksgiving.
Critics praised Spike Lee’s Michael Jackson documentary that celebrated the 25 anniversary of the King of Pop’s BAD album and tour.
According to TIME Magazine, the film is “an intimate view of a performer at his peak in the intense splendor of creativity.”
The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the documentary “restores the reputation of Jackson as a multi-hyphenate musician of peerless discipline, professionalism and perfectionism – not to mention a pioneering influence in dance and fashion.”
The success of the documentary came as no surprise as Spike Lee has been known for producing Emmy Award winning documentaries, but perhaps airing the special on Thanksgiving Day wasn’t the best move.
Despite exclusive interviews with A-list celebs such as Kanye West, Sheryl Crow, Wesley Snipes, and Mariah Carey, Sunday Night Football on NBC stole almost every Thanksgiving viewer.
As New England geared up to play New York, more than 16 million viewers tuned in to watch the game as they enjoyed their Thanksgiving dinners.
The documentary ended up tying with the old Charlie Brown Thanksgiving movie as the lowest rated show in the 18-49 demographic.
Even according to the usually low Thanksgiving TV ratings, the 90-minute documentary gave a weak performance.
Last year, ABC aired A Very Gaga Thanksgiving which performed much better than Michael Jackson’s tribute.
Despite what the ratings show, critics are definitely in awe of the amazing documentary and have been praising Lee’s work ever since they laid eyes on it.
The timing of airing the show wasn’t all bad, however.
The release of the documentary was purposely lined up to air around the same time of the release of Bad 25 – an album featuring many of the music icon’s best hits and even remastered versions of the entire original album.
