History YMMV / Hairspray

** Ariana Grande being cast as Penny Pingleton. The complaint being that the character Penny is white, while the actress/singer Grande is Italian-American and noticeably much more dark-skinned than her white cast mates.

** Of course this doesn't apply to Amber in the 2007 film because it's easy to see that she would be much better off without Velma and the fact that it's impossible to hate BrittanySnow.

* FanPreferredCouple: In the 2007 film, Tracy and Seaweed due to their onscreen chemistry, especially since in the movie, Link's role of actually helping Tracy escape is cut and it's generally felt he did nothing to earn back her affections, besides felling sorry about his actions and dancing with her and Lil Inez in the climax. (Though the show becomes integrated because of his dance with Inez, which can redeem him to some).
** Also, the almost BelligerentSexualTension of [[RunningGag Corny Collins and Amber competing in hogging cameratime]] has made Corny/Amber surprisingly popular.

* HarsherInHindsight: In the original film, Amber's parents try to bomb the climactic concert. Just five months after Ariana Grande played Penny in the 2016 live show, a terrorist attack killed 22 people and injured dozens more at one of her concerts.

** Ariana Grande being casted to play Penny Pingleton. The complaint being that the character Penny is white, while the actress/singer Grande is Italian-American and noticeably much more dark-skinned than her white cast mates.

** Ariana Grande being casted to play Penny Pingleton. The complaint being that the character Penny is white, while the actress/singer Grande is Italian-American and slightly more dark-skinned than her white cast mates.

* FanPreferredCouple: Tracy and Seaweed, particularly due to the 2007 film, where Link's role of actually helping Tracy escape is cut and it's generally felt he did nothing to earn back Tracy affections in the movies climax, besides felling sorry about his actions and dancing with her and Lil Inez. (Though TV becomes integrated because of his dance with the latter, which can redeem him to some).

** Viewers accustomed to the 2007 movie had to be mindful that the 2016 teleplay was filmed ''live'', and thus the actors didn't have the luxury of multiple takes and lipsynching to prerecorded songs. All the singing and dancing was done in real time, and sometimes you could see the actors losing their breath near the end of an energetic performance.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: In the original movie, when running from the police Tracy, Penny, Link and Seaweed run into a couple of beatnicks who invite them to get naked and smoke weed, and offer to iron the girls' hair. Our clean cut heroes naturally are freaked out and run away. However, Tracy and Penny using a ''clothing'' iron to straighten their hair becomes a RunningGag later on in the movie.

** Ariana Grande being casted to play Penny Pingleton. The complaint being that the character Penny is white, while the actress/singer Grande is Italian-American and slightly dark-skinned.

** Ariana Grande being coasted to play Penny Pingleton. The complaint being that Penny is white while the actress/singer Grande is Italian-American and slightly dark-skinned.

* DesignatedHero: Tracy, Edna and Maybelle in the original 1988 movie can often be as mean-spirited as the people they oppose, and in the climax both Maybelle and her daughter Li'l Inez resort to flat-out ''hostage-taking and terrorism'' of the governor to get what they want.

* FanPreferredCouple: Tracy and Seaweed, particularly due to the 2007 film, where Link's role of actually helping Tracy escape is cut and it's generally felt he did nothing to earn back Tracy affections in the movies climax, besides felling sorry about his actions and dancing with her and Lil’Inez

* FanPreferredCouple: Tracy and Seaweed, particularly due to the 2007 film, where Link's role of actually helping Tracy is cut and it's generally felt he did nothing to earn back Tracy affections in the movies climax, besides felling sorry about his actions.

%%* CrossesTheLineTwice

* FanPreferredCouple: Tracy and Seaweed, particularly due to the 2007 film, where Link's role of actually helping Tracy is cut and it's generally felt he did nothing to earn back Tracy love in the movies climax, he just felt sorry about his actions.

* FanPreferredCouple: Tracy and Seaweed, particularly due to the 2007 film, where Link's role of actually helping Tracy is cut and it's generally felt he did nothing to earn Tracy in the end other than feel sorry about his actions.

** Creator/JohnTravolta's performance as Edna in the 2007 movie felt questionable to viewers who noticed that he didn't have as much experience performing in drag as Divine and Harvey Fierstein did (plus he required a lot more padding).

* UnintentionallySympathetic: It's easy to feel sorry for Amber in the 2007 movie's finale. She falls off the set hard enough to hurt her ankle (you can see her limping a little afterwards), loses her boyfriend and award, and her mother's televised fall from grace happens right after Amber [[GracefulLoser accepts defeat with unexpected maturity]]. Then again, it's debatable whether this sympathy was unintentional here.

** NBC took "I Know Where I've Been" UpToEleven with Jennifer Hudson's powerful voice. The other actors were visibly moved by her performance--Garrett Clayton (Link) had tears in his eyes at the end--and critics universally agreed that she stole the show.

** A better example is Amber from the ''original'' movie. While she lacks the JerkassWoobie / JerkassFacade elements from the musical and doesn't get a HeelFaceTurn, she still doesn't do all that much to deserve the constant crap she receives. It doesn't help that Tracy really isn't any better in this movie and is much a jerk to Amber as Amber is to her; a far cry from the sweet [[ThePollyanna Pollyanna]] of the musical.

** NBC took "I Know Where I've Been" UpToEleven with Jennifer Hudson's powerful performance, which moved the audience ''and'' the other actors. At one point Garrett Clayton (Link) had tears in his eyes.

** NBC took "I Know Where I've Been" UpToEleven with Jennifer Hudson's powerful performance, which moved the audience ''and'' the other actors. At one point you can see Garrett Clayton (Link) with tears in his eyes.

** NBC took "I Know Where I've Been" UpToEleven when Jennifer Hudson's powerful performance made the other actors cry. At one point you can see Link have tears in his eyes because of this.
** In the 2007 version, Queen Latifah's cover of "I Know Where I've Been" signifies the segregation the blacks are going through.
*** Before that, when Negro Day is cancelled, little Inez laments on how she will never get to be on the show.

* EarWorm: Velma might be a racist, conniving RichBitch, but her solo ''will'' get in your head. "Front step, cha-cha-cha..." Actually, most of the songs are so catchy and upbeat, they'll stay in your head for days.

** Critical reception and ratings for NBC's version took a dive from their production of ''Theatre/TheWiz'' the previous December, and FOX's ''Film/{{Grease}}'' in between. Fans of the 2007 ''Hairspray'' movie also couldn't resist unfavorably comparing NBC's actors to its cast. However, this telecast did manage to win three Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the most of any live NBC musical of TheNewTens thus far.

* ToughActToFollow: Critical reception and ratings for NBC's version took a dive from their production of ''Theatre/TheWiz'' the previous December, and FOX's ''Film/{{Grease}}'' in between. Fans of the 2007 ''Hairspray'' movie also couldn't resist unfavorably comparing NBC's actors to its cast. However, this telecast did manage to win three Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the most of any live NBC musical of TheNewTens thus far.