Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade viewers were feeling less-than-festive this year.
“Time for the annual torture session that is watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” one person shared via X on Thursday, November 27. “I’m disgusted by [it] every year.”
While Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker brought their A-game for NBC’s broadcast of the 99th annual Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, some fans were not impressed with what actually went down in New York City. Social media was abuzz with critics complaining that the holiday season kickoff did anything except show the parade.
“Please just show the parade,” one X user wrote on Thursday. “I’d rather have more commercials than having to watch celebrities talk. Show the parade! The show is literally called the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, yet we’ve seen less than 2 minutes of it in the past 45 minutes.”
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A second user shared a similar issue.
“NBC: ‘Welcome to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,’” they wrote. “*NBC proceeds to show anything but the parade*.”
One social media user had a lot to say about the “tradition” of the parade overall.
“Here’s 5 seconds of what’s happening in the parade, followed by 18 minutes of someone talking about how cool it is to be at the parade and 21 minutes of ads,” they wrote.
As always, the broadcast kicked off with some key Broadway performances. This year, the Buena Vista Social Club cast, Ragtime cast and stars from Just in Time took the 34th street stage.
Some positive feedback came after the Just in Time performance as fans were blown away by Sarah Hyland’s vocal range. She is currently appearing in the musical as Connie Francis. (She was joined on Thursday by costars Jonathan Groff and Sadie Dickerson.)
When it came time for the floats and performances, there were several mixed reviews about the popularity of singers this year.
“Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade they keep throwing in 30 year old hits every 5-7 minutes to keep us old people engaged,” one person shared via X. “Who’s your favorite?”
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Aside from Mr. Fantasy (if you know, you know) and Conan Gray, 1970s rock band Foreigner performed on the Stranger Things float. Shaggy, Lil Jon, Busta Rhymes and Jewel also got their time to shine.
While Shaggy sang a medley of his greatest hits, including “It Wasn’t Me” wasn’t widely received by the internet.
“Having Shaggy sing ‘It Wasn’t Me’ in between children’s floats at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” one X user wrote, sharing a gif of Jonah Hill shaking his head. Rhymes being on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle float was also confusing to some viewers.
Another social media post wondered why artists who were popular years ago were finally getting their Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade flowers.
“Was the Thanksgiving Day Parade waiting list 20+ years & finally Shaggy, Jewel, Busta etc are finally getting a chance to perform?” someone asked.
Despite the confusion from a solid number of viewers, there were people feeling particularly festive about Thursday morning’s tradition.
“I love Thanksgiving so much,” one X user gushed. “But it’s truly Thanksgiving and the beginning of the holiday season once the @Rockettes do their amazing Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade performance!”
