During the network’s New Year’s Eve presentation, the popular legal drama Matlock made an appearance, according to Deadline. Roughly 42 minutes into the broadcast of New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash, Lainey Wilson’s performance was suddenly interrupted. After the screen went dark for several moments, viewers were shown a series of promos for shows like Survivor before the network pivoted to an ongoing episode of Matlock. 

Deadline reports that the Kathy Bates (Misery, Titanic)-led drama aired for a significant stretch, punctuated by frequent commercials and network promotions. Throughout the disruption, a ‘technical difficulties’ scroll appeared on the screen, which was later updated to inform viewers that regular programming would resume shortly.

The broadcast finally resumed after a delay of more than 12 minutes. Upon the show’s return, co-host Kreischer took a moment to acknowledge the interruption and speak to the viewers. Addressing the audience, Kreischer explained that a power outage in Nashville had knocked them off the CBS airwaves. He and co-host Hardy lightened the mood by joking that neither of them was responsible for pulling the plugs that caused the blackout, according to Deadline.

The live special was broadcast on CBS and Paramount+ in two blocks: 8-10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. ET/PT. Due to the late conclusion of the East Coast feed, Deadline says the network lacked the time to edit the footage for the West Coast airing, resulting in the 12-minute disruption being included in both broadcasts.