You know them as ABBA —the Swedish pop superstars behind such enduring feel-good hits as "Dancing Queen," "Take a Chance on Me," "Super Trouper," "Mamma Mia" and "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)," among countless others. But a new music documentary gives you behind-the-scenes insight into the group's core four, Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
Airing tonight, April 19 at 8pm Eastern Time on The CW, the 2024 doc ABBA: Against the Odds celebrates the 50th anniversary of the group's iconic victory as Sweden's first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Waterloo" in 1974. (Fun fact: In 2005, "Waterloo" was chosen as the best song in the competition's history.) The 90-minute film "unveils the epic journey of ABBA’s rise to global fame," per the official synopsis. "Starting with the moment they won Eurovision, it tells the story of how they overcame critical backlash, societal attitudes and marital break-up to deliver their ground-breaking music and prove themselves as a live act."
Helmed by filmmaker James Rogan — who directed other recent musical docs including Freddie Mercury: The Final Act and 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything — the gripping feature documentary uses archival interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, rare photos, personal anecdotes and the group's timeless songs to paint a vivid portrait of one of the world's most beloved and best-selling musical acts.
“What I love in storytelling is a strong outsider story," Rogan told Deadline.
"When you think about ABBA and cut through all the kitsch and costumes you realize there is this band that did something that no other band had done before or since. As a non-anglophone band singing in their second language they conquered the world.”
To tune into tonight's special presentation of ABBA: Against the Odds, you're going to need access to The CW. The network is readily available for anyone with a traditional pay-TV subscription or TV antenna that receives local station signals, but if you've cut the cord, you can also access The CW's programming via live TV streaming subscribers such as Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV and YouTube TV.
Check out the full trailer for ABBA: Against the Odds before tuning into the groovy music doc tonight on The CW.
