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Network Fox got in on the popularity of live musicals with their recent production 鈥淕rease: Live,鈥� which aired on Jan. 31 and seems to have won over many viewers and critics.

鈥淕rease鈥� starred Aaron Tveit, Julianne Hough, and Vanessa Hudgens. Fox announced it would be moving forward with the production following the success of NBC鈥檚 鈥淭he Sound of Music Live!,鈥� which aired in 2013. NBC has since aired 鈥淧eter Pan Live!鈥� and 鈥淭he Wiz Live!,鈥� the latter of which aired this past December and was particularly well-received by critics and viewers.

The production of the popular 1950s-set musical 鈥淕rease,鈥� which transferred its success to the big screen in the 1970s with a film version starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, appears to be another live musical hit.聽

Ratings for the production were good, with writing that the numbers 鈥済ive the Fox telecast a big showing鈥� a ratings success.鈥澛�

Meanwhile, many critics seem to have been won over by the production. wrote of the show, 鈥淔ox proved it could up the ante in the new mini-industry of musicals on TV鈥� Some missed opportunities included too much of the choreography and character mannerisms cribbed from the film.鈥� But Mr. Kennedy praised much of the cast, writing that 鈥渁 charming and generously coiffed Aaron Tveit as Danny Zuko made a great case to America to be listed among its top leading men鈥� real credit goes to Vanessa Hudgens, who was an electric, complex Rizzo.鈥�

wrote that 鈥渢hanks to exceptional work from [鈥楬amilton鈥橾 director聽Thomas Kail and several sterling supporting performances, much of 鈥楪rease Live!鈥� was as sweet and tasty as root beer float鈥� All in all, 鈥楪rease Live!鈥� got most of the big things right 鈥� the colorful aesthetic, the rip-roaring big dance numbers, the goofy, careening energy. If the central romance was a snooze, well, never mind 鈥� that raucous hand jive will linger in the memory much longer.鈥澛�

found the production 鈥渃inematic, impressively so鈥� [鈥楬amilton鈥� director Thomas] Kail鈥檚 production certainly raised the bar in terms of how much razzle-dazzle, innovation and star power these extravaganzas will need to have鈥� This 鈥楪rease鈥� was in a sense a new art form: not theater; more like 鈥楪rease鈥� the movie, but performed live鈥� What happens, though, when spectacle replaces intimacy is that characters and story disappear, too.鈥澛�

Putting them on the air continues to demonstrate networks鈥� apparent attraction to 鈥渆vent TV.鈥� As networks fight for viewers鈥� interest in an increasingly busy TV world, with the prevalence of cable and streaming shows, making a show something audiences have to tune into that night, at the time it airs, can work out well for networks.

While "Music" was a big ratings hit, both it and "Peter Pan," NBC's second live show, were not well-received by critics, in contrast to "Wiz," NBC's 2015 live musical, and "Grease."

With two networks now airing live productions, can the two make their shows feel different enough? Are NBC and Fox risking viewer fatigue?

The ratings for particularly 鈥淲iz鈥� and 鈥淕rease鈥� show that the interest is still there, even though the form is perhaps no longer a novelty. And Fox鈥檚 鈥淕rease鈥� production took a different approach than the NBC productions, with NBC usually trying to present their shows as picture-perfect but Fox showing the cast backstage, among other touches.聽

If the two networks continue to keep their productions different enough that their shows won't feel like more of the same and continue to select shows like 鈥淲iz鈥� and 鈥淕rease鈥� that will attract wide interest, we may be seeing more of these live productions for years to come.