NBC drops the jarring first look at Matthew Morrison as The Grinch and gets roasted by Twitter

The Who’s down in Whoville better gird their loins.

NBC dropped a teaser for their upcoming The Grinch Musical and gave fans the first look at star Matthew Morrison as the titular character, on Thursday. 

Twitter did what Twitter does best and quickly roasted the character for the questionable green makeup that looked nothing like the original cartoon or the film version. 

‘On Wednesday, December 9, we’re taking you on a trip to Whoville. Don’t miss the #GrinchMusical starring @Matt_Morrison at 8/7c — only on NBC,’ the network tweeted.

The 15 second clip features Morrison’s voice signing the story’s iconic tune, You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.

Morrison appears on the screen in a green wig, with green makeup and covered in fur but the comparisons to the Grinch character beloved for generations stop there.

He tosses his head back dramatically for the camera and spins around in a model-like pose. 

‘I hate Christmas,’ Morrison says in a voiceover while flashing a wild-eyed scowl.

Twitter wasted no time hammering the actor and NBC for the characters look which – arguably – is missing the signature wide-mouthed, big cheeked face of the original.

‘Why does this look like a SNL skit?’ asks one person. 

‘What did we ever do to you NBC?’ echoed another with a loudly crying face emoji. 

One girl penned: ‘Why do they got Matthew Morrison looking like a street performer’ 

Another added: ‘This needed a trigger warning’ 

It was hard not to compare this version to the spot-on makeup and costuming of the Jim Carrey portrayal in 2000’s live-action The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

‘The superior and definitive version of The Grinch in my opinion Jim Carrey’s performance is too perfect and cannot be replaced,’ on fan wrote on Twitter. 

To be fair, Carrey had to sit in hair and makeup for hours upon hours in order to transform into the Grinch.

The studio famously sent him to undergo CIA torture training to withstand the claustrophobic feeling of the costume and prosthetics. 

‘That first day, the makeup took eight-and-a-half hours. It was like being buried alive,’ Carrey later said.

And, Kazuhiro Tsuji, the makeup artist responsible for Carrey’s green Christmas caper ended up seeking therapy after working with the actor who he accused of being ‘mean’ and ‘difficult’ to work with. 

Morrison’s two-hour musical adaptation of the Christmas tale is currently set to air on December 9 at 8 p.m ET.

Also starring in the upcoming musical are American Horror Story’s Denis O’Hare playing an older version of Max, the Grinch’s dog, with X-Men: Days of Future Past actor Booboo Stewart playing a separate, younger version.

The Lost Girls actress Amelia Minto is set to portray Cindy Lou Who; the rest of the cast, including a child version of Max, is set to be announced in the near future.

The musical is set to be broadcast from the Troubadour Theatre in London.