The CW has acquired Freddie Mercury: The Final Act, and will premiere the documentary, about the Queen singer’s farewell concert, April 20. BBC Studios produced the film, which tells the story “of how the legendary Queen frontman's friends mounted an epic tribute concert in his honor to raise awareness and fight shame around HIV/AIDS.”

Mercury died as a result of AIDS in 1991. Following his death, Queen staged the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium. 

The Final Act features interviews with Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen, among other rock stars, and offers extensive footage from the concert and behind-the-scenes rehearsals, including performances by Elton John, George Michael, David Bowie, Annie Lennox and more. 

A Rogan Productions film for BBC, Freddie Mercury: The Final Act is directed by James Rogan and produced by Dan Hall. ■ 

ABC hosts The Queen Family Singalong, with various artists performing Queen songs, Nov. 4. The one-hour special is the fourth installment in ABC’s Singalong franchise. Singer Darren Criss hosts. 

Adam Lambert, who was on American Idol in 2009 and went on to be the singer in Queen, will perform “The Show Must Go On.” Derek Hough and Alexander Jean do “Another One Bites the Dust.” Among other performances, Fall Out Boy sings “Under Pressure, OneRepublic sings “We Are the Champions” and Jimmie Allen and Miss Piggy duet on “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”

Additional performances will be announced. 

From England, Queen was fronted by Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991. The movie Bohemian Rhapsody was about the band. 

The Disney Family Singalong premiered in April 2020 and ran again a month later. The Disney Holiday Singalong happened in late November 2020. 

The Queen Family Singalong is produced by Done+Dusted. Executive producers include Patrizia Di Maria, RJ Durell, Nick Florez, Hamish Hamilton, Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan.

ABC airs documentary The Show Must Go On: The Queen + Adam Lambert Story on Monday (April 29). Lambert was the runner-up on American Idol in 2009, when he first shared the stage with Queen. He joined the band in 2012. Queen + Adam Lambert opened the Oscars in February, stirring up the crowd with “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.”

Queen’s original singer, Freddie Mercury, died in 1991. The band has enjoyed a resurgence fueled primarily by the film Bohemian Rhapsody, with Rami Malek playing Mercury. Malek shares his thoughts in The Show Must Go On, as do Simon Cowell and Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor.

Show Must Go On executive producer Matt Lombardi spoke with Multichannel News about what the film offers that Queen fans won’t get elsewhere, and what Lambert brings to Queen that Mercury perhaps didn’t.

MCN:Why was ABC the right partner for this?
Matt Lombardi: Everybody wants a piece of Queen these days. This is a documentary that was in production, unbeknownst to us, long before Bohemian Rhapsody became the highest-grossing biopic of all time. As we all were watching the movie and Rami Malek ring up award after award, we were all thinking, “Wow, this band is hotter than it’s ever been.”

Between American Idol featuring prominently in the story and that it’s now an ABC show, coupled with the band’s show-stopping performance at the Oscars, it made perfect sense for ABC to be the home for this.

MCN:Did old-school Queen fans warmly embrace Adam or was there hesitancy?
ML: Any time you have a replacement singer in a band, the audience is going to be a little skeptical. What changed it for me, because I’m one of the old-school Queen fans, is seeing them perform. When we go see a band that’s been around this long — it’s like [ABC News contributor] Chris Connolly said, they’re wizards — they transport us into a different time. As long as you have somebody who can sing the songs and keep the music alive, I think you’re just grateful. But you’ve got to be able to pull it off, and Adam does more than that. He has such a voice and is such a performer. Given his history and personality, it’s a perfect fit. I think Queen fans feel satisfied that they’re getting their fix and at the same time seeing a fresh breath for these timeless songs.

MCN:What does Adam bring to Queen that maybe Freddie never did?
ML: He’s got a youthful exuberance. He’s got the benefit of his own experience. He’s got a similar story to Freddie’s but in some ways it’s different; he came of age in a different time. Adam has a very rich history in musical theater, performing since I think he was 6. And he’s American — he knows how to play to an American audience because he’s been onstage here since he was so young. On American Idol, from the get-go you’re on display for millions of people. You have to win the room from Day One. As daunting a task as [fronting Queen] is, Adam knew how to play to the room. Especially when more than half the room is probably skeptical.

MCN:What would Freddie think of Adam fronting Queen?
ML: The best source for that is the band. They say Freddie would marvel at Adam. Roger Taylor says there is no one who can out-sing Adam Lambert. That’s a pretty high compliment, because Freddie had a pretty damn good voice. They will tell you Freddie would love that Adam is fearless and just a bold, raw talent.

MCN:What will the viewer take away from this film?
ML: One thing we went to great lengths to do is remind everybody that Freddie Mercury was in his own way groundbreaking. In many ways, he set the stage for Adam Lambert’s success. Freddie did not have a family that was supportive of his sexuality; therefore he was closeted for most of his life. Adam had a very different experience, perhaps because Freddie helped pave the way. He had a supportive family, supportive fan base, and the industry has evolved in many ways. He was able to be a lot more comfortable in his own skin.

What’s cool about the film is you’ve got the history of the band — you learn a little bit more even than you do in Bohemian Rhapsody — and what Freddie was like and what he went through. Cut to all these years later and their new frontman owes a lot of his success to Freddie. It’s a tale of two incredible talents that both had the good fortune of fronting one of the great rock bands of all time.

MCN:Did you come away from the production with one Queen song stuck in your head?
ML: The one I keep singing is “Fat Bottomed Girls.” It’s the last song in the film. “Radio Ga Ga” is another. You couldn’t see Queen in a small club — part of the Queen experience is thousands and thousands of people. Freddie had the unique ability to get the entire room involved. Adam, because of the way he had to win people over week after week on American Idol, has the same innate ability to get everybody involved, and everybody singing. “Radio Ga Ga” is one of those songs where everybody is singing.

In the long tradition of band leaders and kazoo masters like Spike Jones, Freddy Mercury and Frank Zappa, Cablevision Systems CEO and JD & the Straight Shot front man Jim Dolan is offering a unique twist on the popular ALS “Ice Bucket Challenge,” passing out thousands of kazoos at Madison Square Garden Thursday night in an effort to raise $100,000 for the charitable organization.

Dolan, who also serves as executive chairman of Madison Square Garden Co., will attempt to break the world record for largest kazoo ensemble, set in 2011 by the BBC at Royal Albert Hall. At that record-setting performance, 5,190 kazooists (as they are called) played Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries and Eric Coates’ Dambusters March at Royal Albert Hall. Dolan will pass out about 6,000 kazoos (emblazoned with his band’s logo) and will be joined by several celebrity guests as he attempts to soundly break the record.

Dolan and his band are scheduled to be the opening act for The Eagles at The Garden on Thursday, Sept. 18. They are expected to hit the stage at 7:15 p.m. The kazooing will commence with the song “Governor’s Blues,” which includes a kazoo solo by Dolan.

Dolan and his band performed Tuesday on Fox station WNYW’s Good Day New York morning program to help prmote the effort. Here’s a clip.

JD & The Straight Shot, which just released its latest CD – Where I’ve Been – would be the latest in a long line of Rock N’ Roll kazooists. Several top rock acts have used the instrument – or its cheaper comb-and-tissue paper equivalent – including Jimi Hendrix (in Crosstown Traffic); Frank Zappa (in Hungry Freaks, Daddy) Queen’s Freddy Mercury and Roger Taylor (in Seaside Rendezvous) and Pink Floyd (in Corporal Clegg).

The ALS ice bucket challenge has been a runaway Internet hit for the ALS Association. As of Sept. 16, more than 3 million people have taken the challenge – posting videos on Facebook dumping ice water over their heads and asking friends to do the same or donate to ALS – and have raised an estimated $113.6 million for the organization which funds research and provides assistance to people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Dolan is no stranger to raising money for good causes. He is on the board of directors of The Lustgarten Foundation, an organization he founded and wich is dedicated to finding a cure for Pancreatic Cancer, a disease that claimed his friend and mentor, former Cablevision vice chairman, in 1999.