Prior to 1993, Super Bowl halftime shows weren’t the popular-culture spectacles they are today. They usually had themes, such as “Winter Magic” or “Be Bop Bamboozled,” and they were not widely popular. In 1992, FOX decided to air a live episode of In Living Color, its hit comedy sketch show starring the Wayans Brothers, to compete with halftime programming on CBS, which was airing the game. The In Living Color episode drew over 20 million viewers and sparked changes to the Super Bowl halftime show moving forward. The following year, for Super Bowl XXVII, Michael Jackson gave an epic performance, and the halftime show has been a cultural phenomenon and mass media extravaganza ever since.
