Sixty years ago, Mary Poppins flew down from the sky on her umbrella and changed movies forever. The classic movie (on WTW’s 100 best movies of all time list) featuring an iconic performance from Julie Andrews has stayed in people’s hearts all this time. Now viewers can get a rare behind-the-scenes look at the movie’s making and legacy courtesy of 20/20, with The Untold Story of Mary Poppins airing on Wednesday, November 27, at 9 pm ET/PT on ABC.
The two-hour special is going to include rarely seen footage, photos and stories from those who made the movie and those who have been impacted by it. That will include footage from the Mary Poppins premiere and demos of the movie’s classic songs written by the Sherman Brothers (Richard and Robert). The special will also feature new interviews with Josh Gad, John Stamos, Lin Manuel Miranda, two of Walt Disney’s grandchildren and the movie’s original stars, Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews.
In order to watch The Untold Story of Mary Poppins live you must have access to your local ABC channel. That can be through a traditional pay-TV provider, a live TV streaming service (ie Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV) or a good old-fashioned TV antenna. If you’ve cut the cord on live TV, the 20/20 special is going to become available to stream on Hulu and Disney Plus the next day.
Mary Poppins had its world premiere in August 1964 and quickly became a sensation, becoming the biggest box office hit in the US for 1964 and then going on to win five Oscars, including Best Actress for Andrews. The story of the magical nanny who comes to help the Banks family continues to be a fan favorite.
That’s why this is not the only Mary Poppins-related content set for ABC this week. In addition to the 20/20 special on November 27, ABC will also show the Mary Poppins movie on Thursday, November 28, making for a perfect family movie to watch on Thanksgiving night. It’s streaming on Disney Plus if you prefer to view it there rather than watching it on ABC.
There will be one other treat as part of the Mary Poppins programming. ABC is going to air the broadcast debut of The Last Verse during The Untold Story of Mary Poppins. This three-and-a-half-minute short celebrates the message of connection and hope behind the iconic Sherman Brothers song "It's a Small World" and unveils a new verse written by Richard Sherman in his final Disney contribution.
One thing to note, with the special airing of The Untold Mary Poppins Story on November 27, ABC’s usual Wednesday night lineup, including Abbott Elementary season 4, will not be airing any new episodes.
Again, The Untold Mary Poppins Story: A 20/20 Special Edition airs at 9 pm ET/PT on Wednesday, November 27.
