The Grammys Will Go On: A Death In The Family is a new one-hour special that looks at how the show's producers, host, and musical artists made last-minute changes to the program against the backdrop of tragic and unforeseen circumstances. Set to air on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the CBS Television Network, the special features never-before-seen rehearsal footage and behind-the-scenes interviews with various artists and the GRAMMY production team and revisits the extraordinary 48 Hours leading up to the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards last Feb.
Behind the scenes at the GRAMMY Awards is a fascinating subject to the general public in any year, but last year's 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards was particularly compelling. With the death of Whitney Houston 24 hours before the telecast, the show needed to address many changes. From LL Cool J's opening prayer, to Jennifer Hudson's unannounced performance of Houston's GRAMMY-winning classic "I Will Always Love You," and Paul McCartney's all-star lineup and the last-minute decision to close the show with the closing medley from the Beatles historic album Abbey Road (to name a few) - there were a number of last-minute changes that demonstrate what this annual live production does best: deliver a critically acclaimed telecast despite unexpected circumstances and challenges. The collection of unique one-of-a-kind performances and the resulting record-setting ratings (nearly 40 million viewers - the second highest-rated GRAMMY telecast ever - and the biggest social TV event in history to date with more than 13 million social media comments), all make the 54th GRAMMY telecast a fascinating story to be told.
"A Death In The Family" was produced by AEG Ehrlich Ventures, LLC, CBS, and The Recording Academy. Ken Ehrlich and Susan Zirinsky are executive producers.