Every Super Bowl is a new adventure, but this year’s might seem a tad less new.
It will be the third time in the last four years for Patrick Mahomes (shown here) and the Kansas City Chiefs … and Tony Romo’s third time as analyst … Jim Nantz’s sixth doing play-by-play … James Brown’s 11th anchoring the pre-game show.
The half-time star, Usher, has been there before, albeit briefly, And “Tracker,” the post-game show? It stars Justin Hartley, who was in a post-game “This Is Us,” in 2018.
Well, familiar is good sometimes. Here’s a look at the Super Bowl marathon.
PRE-PRE-GAME:
There will be lots of super-chat all week on ESPN and other channels. And CBS has:
— The “NFL Honors,” 9-11 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 8), with awards ranging from Most Valuable Player to the Hall of Fame. Keegan-Michael Key returns as host.
— “Super Bowl Greatest Commercials,” 8 p.m. Friday (Feb. 9).
— “The Countdown Show” and “That Other Pregame Show,” at noon and 1 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 10).
— “Super Bowl Soulful Celebration,” 8-9 p.m. Saturday. It’s the 25th year for this event, which has awards and a gospel choir of pro players. Other music will be from stars of gospel (Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary) and beyond (Robin Thicke, Earth, Wind & Fire).
PRE-GAME:
The marathon begins Sunday (Feb. 11) on CBS and Paramount+; all times are ET:
— 11:30 a.m.: “NFL Slimetime.” Nate Burleson and Young Dylan host a kid-oriented preview, with brief interviews and, one assumes, the dumping of slime. Nickelodeon will join for this show, then depart to show cartoons until game time.
— Noon: “Road to the Super Bowl,” the annual hour from NFL Films.
— 1 p.m.: “You Are Looking Live.” A half-century ago – well, 49 years, actually – CBS launched “NFL Today.” It was, the network says, the first half-hour preview show to sweep across games in the whole country. It led TV coverage – at least until Fox arrived 19 years later, with its hour-long version. This special looks at the history and includes two of the original people, Jayne Kennedy, 72, and Brent Musberger. 84.
— 2 p.m.: “NFL Today.” Now we see the current “NFL Today” – in the bloated, four-hour Super Bowl form. Brown, who anchored that original Fox show in 1994, anchors, with Phil Simms, Bill Cowher, Nate Burleson, Boomer Esiason, JJ Watt and more.
— 6 p.m.: The action moves to the stadium in Las Vegas, with Nantz, Romo and Tracy Wolford, plus Evan Washburn, Jay Feeley and rules analyst Gene Steratore. Reba McEntire sings the National Anthem; also, Post Malone does “America the Beautiful” and Andra Day does “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
THE GAME
This is at 6:30 p.m., with Nickelodeon joining for its own kid-friendly version. And yes, some of this will seem familiar.
The Chiefs won in 2020, lost in 2021 and won in 2023. They would have been there in 2022, too, if they hadn’t blown a 21-3 lead in the conference championship game.
This year felt different, however, because of a sharp slump. During other regular seasons, their won-loss record was 14-2, 12-5 and 14-3. This time, they had a dreadful 3-5 stretch; they got back on track late in the season, then won three playoff games (two of them tight) to reach the Super Bowl.
Now they play the San Francisco 49ers, in a rematch of that 2020 game. The 49ers were 12-5 in the regular season, got a bye in the first playoff round, then needed two come-from-behind wins to get to the Super Bowl.
The 49ers are led by quarterback Brock Purdy, the Chiefs by two guys – quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelse — who also star in commercials and pop culture. It’s that familiarity thing.
HALFTIME SHOW
Usher takes the stage, possibly joined by others.
Some acts – including Rihanna last year – do it all themselves. Others add guest stars; that’s how Usher reached the stage in 2011, doing a song with the Black Eyed Peas.
AFTER THE GAME (possibly 10 p.m., probably later)
Nickelodeon departs for its own debut, “Rock, Paper and Scissors.” (Keep in mind that it’s animated and its main characters are named Rock, Paper and Scissors; others include Putty and Baron Von Snootsberg.)
And CBS has its post-game slot, which can draw a huge audience. Nine months ago, as two strikes loomed, the network announced “Tracker” would get the spot.
“Giving us this time early on – with an impending strike and everything – was an incredible vote of confidence,” said producer-director Ken Olin.
Afterward, “Tracker” will stay on Sundays, following “The Equalizer” – which took that same Super-Bowl-to-Sunday route three years ago, to quick success.
That required putting more episodes together before and after the strikes, Olin said. “There’s no point in launching a show after the Super Bowl” if more hours aren’t ready.
He’s a former “This Is Us” producer (and former star, on “Thirtysomething”) who now has one of that show’s people as its star.
That’s Hartley, in a classic, strong-and-silent role. Bouncing off a troubled past, his character tracks down missing people, using helpers he rarely sees. “He’s trying to fiill this void that’s probably unfillable,” Hartley said.
AND MORE?
After local newscasts, Stephen Colbert will have a latenight hour — possibly at 11:35 p.m., but maybe much later. His guests will be John Krasinski, Ryan Gosling and Jon Stewart – who was Colbert’s “Daily Show” boss and will return to anchor “The Daily Show” (Mondays only) the next day.
There will also be a new “After Midnight” – which might start way after midnight.