The official Times Square New Year’s Eve lineup includes live performances by KT Tunstall, Journey and Karol G among other appearances throughout the evening Friday, highlighting a slew of options to help ring in 2022 while Omicron continues to surge.
Co-organizers the Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment’s annual and official Times Square event, which shares the NYC stage with ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest among other network specials, is set to kick off its commercial-free live coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET Friday. The festivities, which includes the swearing in of new New York City mayor Eric Adams, culminates with the lighting, raising and drop of the New Year’s Eve Ball atop One Times Square.
You can follow the night’s official livestream on Deadline below.
Jonathan Bennett is hosting and Jeremy Hassell is co-hosting the livestream show, while Journey and Karol G will perform exclusively for the live broadcast of New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. CNN’s annual New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen also will air elements of the Times Square celebration that will hit its peak when the Waterford crystal ball makes its 60-second descent at midnight as it has every year since 1907.
The Times Square livestream will also be available at TimesSquareNYC.org, NewYearsEve.nyc, LiveStream.com/2022 and TimesSquareBall.net, as well as via an 18-hour broadcast on VYNE where you can choose from multiple camera feeds in Times Square.
With New York like others around the world facing a rise in Omicron cases as the latest Covid-19 variant surges, additional restrictions are in place for the Times Square celebration, with proof of vaccination and masks required for attendees, which usually number 58,000 inside the viewing areas but will drop to 15,000 Friday, with no visitors being admitted until 3 p.m. ET, which is much later than past years.
The restrictions have impacted NYE productions, with LL Cool J having to bow out as a main performer of ABC’s 50th showing of Rockin’ Eve at the last minute after a positive Covid test, along with Chlöe, and Fox saying it decided to cancel its New Year’s Eve Toast and Roast special hosted by Ken Jeong and Joel McHale, and which had also been slated to originate from Times Square.
Here’s what the networks have planned for Friday’s primetime coverage as of Thursday midday, with all taking what they are calling a wait-and-see approach, planning to follow New York City’s guidance surrounding the annual celebration.
Deadline will update this post if there are further changes, but for now:
Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest (ABC)
The longtime king of NYE ratings is celebrating its 50th anniversary and will kick off at 8 p.m. with venues in Times Square, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Puerto Rico. The host lineup includes includes 17-time host and EP Ryan Seacrest in Times Square with first-time co-host Liza Koshy, co-host Billy Porter from New Orleans, and co-host Roselyn Sanchez in Puerto Rico, site of the show’s first Spanish-language countdown and where Daddy Yankee is set to perform.
The Times Square music lineup, as noted above, still includes Journey and Karol G.
Ciara will host the L.A. event with a fuller music lineup that includes AJR, Avril Lavigne with Travis Barker, Big Boi and Sleepy Brown, Don Omar with Nio Garcia, French Montana, Macklemore with Ryan Lewis and Windser, Måneskin, Mae Muller with rapper Polo G, Masked Wolf, OneRepublic and Walker Hayes among others.
New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash (CBS/Paramount+)
Bobby Bones and Entertainment Tonight‘s Rachel Smith will ring in the New Year live (8-11 p.m. ET/PT, 11:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. ET/PT) with a five-hour broadcast culminating with the famed Nashville music note drop at midnight.
The country lineup of performances includes Jason Aldean, Jimmie Allen, Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Luke Bryan, Elle King, Miranda Lambert, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Cole Swindell and Zac Brown Band from venues throughout Music City.
2021: It’s Toast! (NBC)
Today regulars Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager will host a two-hour primetime special beginning at 8 p.m. featuring light-hearted and humorous moments from the year as well as the buzziest viral videos, trends, bloopers and pranks.
The network said the show will also feature interviews with Michael Bublé, Andrea Canning, Mike Cabellon, Akbar Gbajabiamila, Willie Geist, Brad Goreski, Jonathan Graziano & Noodle, Savannah Guthrie, Ed Helms, Lester Holt, Matt Iseman, Sheinelle Jones, Carson Kressley, Preacher Lawson, Harry Lennix, Loni Love, Vella Lovell, Howie Mandel, Josh Mankiewicz, Chris Mann, Craig Melvin, Alex Moffat, Keith Morrison, Dennis Murphy, Amber Ruffin, Al Roker, Jana Schmieding, Ainsley Seiger, Chris Sullivan, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin, Mike Tirico, Lisa Vanderpump and Johnny Weir.
Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party Hosted by Miley Cyrus and Pete Davidson (NBC/Peacock)
Following the It’s Toast! special is the two-hour special (10:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. ET) hosted by Miley Cyrus and Saturday Night Live‘s Pete Davidson, produced by SNL creator/executive producer Lorne Michaels.
Guests will include Billie Joe Armstrong, Saweetie, Anitta, Jack Harlow, 24kGoldn, Kitty Ca$h and others.
New Year’s Eve Live with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen (CNN)
Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen return for their fifth year together beginning at 8 p.m. ET in Times Square, handing over to Don Lemon, Alisyn Camerota and comedian Dulce Sloan in New Orleans at 12:30 a.m. ET. CNN correspondents will contribute from Las Vegas, Key West, FL, Minneapolis and Puerto Rico as well as New York.
Among the planned highlights: Katy Perry will headline from her new Las Vegas residency, with guest stars expected to include William Shatner, Patti LaBelle, Earth, Wind & Fire, Duran Duran, Amanda Gorman, Patti LuPone, David Arquette, Leslie Jordan and Cheri Oteri among others.
All-American New Year 2022 (Fox News)
Fox News Channel’s special (10 p.m.-1:30 a.m. ET/PT) hosted by Fox & Friends Weekend co-hosts Will Cain, Rachel Campos-Duffy and Pete Hegseth will air live from the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, with various FNC contributors joining with coverage from Times Square and the French Quarter in New Orleans and cities including Tampa, FL and Charleston, SC. Cameos are expected from FNC personalities Jeanine Pirro, Dan Bongino, Ainsley Earhardt and others.
Musical acts will include Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry, John Elefante former lead singer of Kansas, Ken Block and Drew Copeland of Sister Hazel, and Lindsey Ell and house band Sixwire.