Tonight at 10pmET on a special edition of Showbiz Tonight, CNN, HLN, and corporate sibling Entertainment Weekly present “Great Reunions” which will reunite the casts from memorable TV shows and movies including “Lord of the Rings,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Back To The Future,” “The West Wing,” “Will and Grace,” “Roots,” and others.
Showbiz Tonight’s AJ Hammer and Brooke Anderson co-host the show with more than a dozen casts being reunited, the special will have cast interviews and behind-the-scenes videos from the reunion photo shoots with casts.
“I’m really looking forward to the ‘Back to the Future’ and ‘The West Wing’ reunions,” Hammer told TVNewser, “‘Back to the Future’ really stands the test of time. Michael J. Fox was perfect for that role. ‘The West Wing’ set the bar so high that nobody has since tried to create a show inside the oval office.”
When asked if there was any tension amongst any of the cast members, Hammer told TVNewser “everybody just enjoyed reminiscing.”
The half-hour show, which took several months to put together, will also have an interactive component for Facebook fans of CNN.
At least one first is expected on the special and more in the press release is after the jump…
The “Great Reunions” special had at least one big first: “Lea Thompson gets to ride in the Delorean,” Hammer told TVNewser, “If you remember, she never got to ride in it in the movie. For some reason, that movie never felt dated to me.”
CNN, HLN and Entertainment Weekly Present A Special Edition of Showbiz Tonight: Entertainment Weekly’s Great Reunions
Cast Reunions Include Lord of The Rings, Pretty in Pink,
Back To The Future, The West Wing, Will and Grace and more
Airs Saturday, October 16, at 10pm (ET) on CNN and hosted by Showbiz Tonight’s AJ Hammer and Brooke Anderson
October 16th at 10pm (ET), CNN will air A Special Edition of Showbiz Tonight: Entertainment Weekly’s Great Reunions hosted by AJ Hammer and Brooke Anderson. HLN’s Showbiz Tonight is teaming up with Entertainment Weekly to present the magazine’s upcoming roster of star studded reunions of more than a dozen casts of some of the most iconic and groundbreaking television programs and films in recent years – all of which will be featured in Entertainment Weekly’s special 20th Anniversary issue hitting newsstands on Friday, October 15th. Entertainment Weekly has brought together casts from Married With Children, Alias, Northern Exposure, The Muppet Show, The Gilmore Girls, Roots and Scream among many others.
The special edition of Showbiz Tonight will feature cast interviews and behind-the-scenes video from the reunion photo shoots – many of which were the cast’s first gatherings in years. The program will also offer expert commentary from Entertainment Weekly editorial staffers Kristen Baldwin, Jill Bernstein, Dalton Ross, Jessica Shaw and Tim Stack as to why these shows, films, and characters resonated so much with audiences.
The special will be broken down into the following three segments:
Celebrating the Firsts
Will and Grace: Television’s first show to push past the political narrative of being gay, focusing instead on friendship and humor
The West Wing: The first TV political drama known for its accurate portrayals of Washington
Roots: The first mini-series to deal with race and slavery
The Most Memorable Movie Characters
Back to the Future: Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly
Pretty in Pink: Molly Ringwald as Andie Walsh
Lord of the Rings: Elijah Wood as Frodo
The Most Memorable Co-Starring Duos as chosen by CNN’s Facebook friends
Will and Grace: Eric McCormack and Debra Messing
Back to the Future: Michael J. Fox and Lea Thompson
Pretty in Pink: Molly Ringwald and Jon Cryer
A Special Edition of Showbiz Tonight: Entertainment Weekly’s Great Reunions will also air on HLN on Sunday, October 17 at 5:30 pm (ET). Content from the show will also be featured on CNN.com’s Entertainment page.