It's a historic moment as NBC will air a three-hour musical featuring an all-black cast titled The Wiz Live.
But not everyone is excited about the major network special.
Several viewers took to social media to express their disdain about the event with some even calling it racist.
Groundbreaking: NBC aired a live musical special titled The Wiz Live on Thursday night featuring an all-black cast
Typical: Several took to Twitter to share their thoughts about the all-black cast including several racist posts
One user tweeted to the major network: 'why are there no whites starring in #TheWiz? this is racist! can u imagine if it were the other way? #whitelivesmatter #TheWizLive.'
Another user shared: '#TheWiz on @NBC is a PC Disaster. An all-black Wizard of Oz? Give me a freaking break. I could say that's racist but...'
Others were more positive as one wrote: '@nbc it has been the other way before and we don't complain about all white casting, i.e the notebook, 500 days of summer..etc.'
Ouch: Many were unafraid to express their opinions
Cooler heads: Others combated the racist tweets with their own opinions
'People seriously scare me': Other Twitter users did not back down
Excited: Oprah Winfrey definitely seemed to be excited about the big event
Oprah was also excited about the big event as she shared: '.@tylerperry only 1 hr to go I know how excited u are for #TheWiz . You got your popcorn? No Wiz here in Australia.'
The musical special featured several talented black stars including Uzo Aduba, Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Common, David Alan Grier, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley and Shanice Williams as Dorothy Gale.
It begins much like the 1939 classic by showing the life of a rural family as Dorothy attempts to run away after her dog Toto was taken away as she exclaimed: 'You can’t run away from home if you’re not home to start with.'
Stephanie Mills, who starred in the original Broadway musical as Dorothy, portrayed Dorthy's Aunt Em as she sung the first song of the event: The Feeling We Once Had.
Star of the show: Shanice Williams played the main character of the special: Dorothy Gale
Big night: It begins much like the 1939 classic by showing the life of a rural family before a huge storm hits
Legend: Stephanie Mills, who played Dorothy in the original Broadway run of The Wiz, sung the first song of the show as she played Dorothy's Aunt Em
Several actors dressed in intricate albums mimicked the storm as Dorthy gets caught up in the whirlwind and is even carried up by wires.
She awakens and finds herself in the majestic land of Oz as the home lands on top of the Wicked Witch Of The East killing her and leaving Dorothy to wear the witch's blinged out shimmering silver heels.
Dorothy meets a motley crew of characters including a few witches as she tries to find her way to meet the Wizard by following the yellow brick road.
The first of Dorothy's gang that she runs into is the Scarecrow, played by Elijah Kelley, who is on the search for a brain but stuck in a predicament as he is surrounded by crows, whom Dorothy eventually scares off.
Caught in the whirlwind: The storm happens as Dorothy is spotted getting caught up in the whirlwind by surrounded by Cirque du Soleil performers
Soaring: She is caught up in the tornado andis even lifted by wires
Flying away: Dorothy's home is also spotted flying while caught up in the storm
Ding dong the witch is dead: The home lands on the Wicked Witch of the East as Dorothy ends up wit her shoes
They then run into the Tin-Man, played by Ne-Yo, who needs oil to be able to sing and move. The character joins the group as he is searching for a heart.
When they continue on their journey they run into the Cowardly Lion, played by David Allen Grier, who sings a song about being a 'mean old lion.' He too joins the crew in search of courage.
After a ballad about the lion's courage, the group run into dangerous poppies, whom Dorothy was previously warned about.
Common is shown as the Bouncer, the gatekeeper to the Wizard of Oz's property, and denies the group entrance into the gates but after Dorothy explains that she is wearing the Wicked Witch of the East's shoes and talked about her journey, she is led right in.
In la la land: After meeting an odd cast of characters, she meets one helpful one in The Good Witch of the North played by Glee's Amber Riley
There is another hold up as several others tell the group they do not want to meet The Wiz but they allow the group to go through as they spot Dorothy's shoes.
They finally meet The Wiz, portrayed by Queen Latifah, and the group is scared off as they run into a powerful song sung by the 45-year-old hitmaker.
Each of the characters tell The Wiz what they want out of their visit as they are intimidated by her strong tone.
The Wiz agrees to grant the crew their wishes under one condition; they kill the Wicked Witch of the West.
The Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow and Tin Man seem un-interested in completing the mission but they break out into song as Dorothy tries to convince the tree creatures.
They eventually begin singing in total harmony and agree to not give up on the mission.
The Wiz was originally a Broadway play in the Seventies featuring an urbanised retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African-American culture.
A big-budget adaptation was made for film and released in 1978.
Helpful hand: The two hit it off as The Witch explains that Dorothy needs to see The Wiz
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