Franklin Theatre proves popular for TV premieres

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FRANKLIN — Along with movies, concerts and plays, the Franklin Theatre has capitalized on the excitement around TV premieres.

Seats were reserved quickly for last fall’s premiere of “Breaking Bad,” January’s premiere of National Public Television’s “Downton Abbey” and Thursday’s “Sherlock.” All were shown free.

“It’s that sense of community with 300 other people who also love the show,” said Brian Solomon, marketing and communications manager. “It’s definitely more fun than watching it at home.”

With little promotion, the showings were sold out within a week.

For the third year, the theater will show the Super Bowl, at 6 p.m. Feb. 2. Free tickets are available.

The theater, built in the 1930s, was redesigned to be a world-class music venue but seeks to offer a variety of programming to reach many audiences, offering everything from top-dollar live music and theater events to $5 and free events.

“These events allow us to introduce people to the theater that might not otherwise visit us,” Solomon said. “We hope they’ll come back in the future.”

After showing “Downton Abbey,” which also was a fundraiser for NPT, its success led to scheduling Thursday’s “Sherlock” opener.

“We have a terrific relationship with Nashville Public Television allowing us to premiere ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Downton Abbey’ before they air,” he said.

Future TV showings aren’t determined yet.

“If we see something getting a lot of attention, we’ll look into it,” Solomon said. TV premieres won’t interfere with regular music nights.

For more information and showtimes, go to www.franklintheatre.com