or


[06/15/06 - 12:00 AM]
NBC Entertainment and NBC Universal Television Studio Announce New Executive Casting Assignments

[via press release from NBC]

NBC ENTERTAINMENT AND NBC UNIVERSAL TELEVISION STUDIO ANNOUNCE NEW EXECUTIVE CASTING ASSIGNMENTS

Grace Wu Becomes Senior Vice President, Casting, NBC Entertainment, While Steven O'Neill Is Named as Vice President, Casting, NBC Universal Television Studio

Emmy Award-winning Casting Director Jennifer McNamara Becomes Vice President, Casting, NBC Entertainment in New York; Casting Executive Brian Dorfman Also Joins NBC as Vice President, Casting, NBC Entertainment, in Burbank.

BURBANK/UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. � June 15, 2006 � Grace Wu has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Casting, NBC Entertainment, while veteran NBC casting executive Steven O'Neill has been named to take Wu's former position as Vice President, Casting, NBC Universal Television Studio.

In other NBC casting department changes, Emmy Award-winning casting director Jennifer McNamara ("Sex and the City") will become Vice President, Casting, NBC Entertainment in New York � O'Neill's former assignment � while ABC Entertainment/Touchstone Television casting executive Brian Dorfman also joins NBC as Vice President, Casting, NBC Entertainment, in Burbank.

The announcements were made today by Marc Hirschfeld, Executive Vice President, Casting, NBC Entertainment, and Nancy Perkins, Senior Vice President, Casting, NBC Universal Television Studio.

Hirschfeld spoke of Wu, McNamara and Dorfman:

"I'm excited to have Grace Wu returning to the network after her two-year stint at NBC Universal Studio. During the NBC Universal integration, Grace demonstrated her creativity and leadership skills under Nancy Perkins. As my Senior Vice President, she will be supervising the day-to-day casting on both the NBC current series as well as being network casting exec for USA and SCI FI projects. She'll also work closely with me and the network development team as we head into pilot season.

"It was a real coup to have landed Jen McNamara as my new Vice President of Casting at NBC New York. She is one of the best and most well-respected casting directors currently working there. She did a terrific job casting our new '30 Rock' pilot starring Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, and she'll continue to cast the series in addition to supervising casting of the 'Law & Order' dramas, 'Kidnapped' and 'The Black Donnellys,' as well as finding and auditioning new emerging talent on the East Coast.

"I've always respected Brian Dorfman's work at ABC/Touchstone and I'm thrilled he's joining our NBC West Coast team as Vice President Casting. He's got impeccable taste in talent, strong management skills and great relationships with agents, managers and talent. I really feel like I've assembled my 'Dream Team.'"

Said Perkins of O'Neill and Wu: "Like the whole community, I'm delighted to have Steven back in Los Angeles and can't wait to work side by side with him. And as much as I'll miss having Grace at the studio I'm happy we'll get to keep working together when she's back at the network. How lucky am I?"

Wu will report to Hirschfeld. Prior to becoming Vice President of Casting for NBC Universal Television Studio, Wu was appointed Director of Casting, NBC Entertainment, in October 2000 and earlier served as Manager in 1999. During her network term, she supervised casting for "Friends," "3rd Rock from the Sun," "Just Shoot Me," "NewsRadio," "Ed" and "Freaks & Geeks."

Previously, while at Liberman-Hirschfeld Casting Agency, Wu worked on casting for "Seinfeld," "MadTV" and "The Larry Sanders Show."

O'Neill, who reports to Perkins, will be responsible for overseeing all of the studio's vast network and cable television projects.

O'Neill returns to the West Coast after nine years in New York as Vice President, Casting, where his duties included oversight of network, studio and cable channel casting on the East Coast. After joining NBC in 1993 as a Manager, Casting, he was promoted to Director one year later before heading to New York. Earlier in his career, he was a casting executive at Touchstone Television and began as a casting assistant at the CBS network in New York.

McNamara, a two-time Emmy winner for her work casting the fourth and fifth seasons of "Sex and the City," reports to Hirschfeld. She also has served as casting director on NBC's new Fall comedy "30 Rock" (starring Tina Fey), "The Street," "Hope & Faith," among others.

In addition, McNamara has been casting director for many feature films, including "Boys Don't Cry," "Gone Baby Gone" (New York casting), "Mr. Gibb," "Southern Belles" (which she also produced), "Thumbsucker" (New York casting), "Super Troopers" and "Unconditional Love." She also worked as a casting associate on "The Cider House Rules," "Shakespeare in Love" and "Good Will Hunting."

Dorfman comes to NBC from ABC Entertainment/Touchstone Television, where he has been Vice President, Casting for Comedy, since July 2002. He also will report to Hirschfeld. While at ABC, Dorfman also was Executive Director of casting for Comedy.

Prior to his tenure at ABC, Dorfman served as a Casting Director at Warner Bros. Television, where he worked on the comedy "Two of a Kind and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" Earlier, he served at the studio on staff as an associate casting director on the series pilots for "Trinity" and "The Adversaries." He began at Warner Bros. as a casting coordinator from 1996-97.





  [june 2006]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· 30 ROCK (NBC)
· ED (NBC)
· FREAKS & GEEKS (NBC)
· FRIENDS (NBC)
· HOPE & FAITH (ABC)
· JUST SHOOT ME (NBC)
· SEX AND THE CITY (HBO)
· STREET, THE (FOX)
· WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? (CW)





[06/07/24 - 02:16 PM]
"NBA Finals Presented by YouTube TV" Draws Largest Game 1 Audience Share Ever on ABC with 20.3 Percent and Quadruples Viewership vs. Rest of Television with 11 Million Viewers
Additionally, the audience share in the coveted 18-34 demographic - 49.6 percent - is the largest ever for an NBA Finals Game 1 on ABC.

[06/07/24 - 01:48 PM]
Video: Paramount+ Reveals the Official Trailer and Key Art for the All-New Original Animated Series "Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," Premiering on Friday, August 9
The series is produced by Nickelodeon Animation and Point Grey Pictures, who brought audiences last summer's smash-hit Paramount Pictures film "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem."

[06/07/24 - 01:44 PM]
Video: Prime Video Unveils New Title Sequence and Premiere Date for "The Legend of Vox Machina" Season Three
The third season will consist of 12 episodes, with three episodes premiering every week starting October 3 in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

[06/07/24 - 01:31 PM]
Video: "Exploding Kittens" - Hype Trailer - Netflix
The new animated series based on the best-selling card game premieres July 12, on Netflix.

[06/07/24 - 09:45 AM]
"There She Goes," Feature-Length Romantic Comedy Starring Rachael Leigh Cook and Utkarsh Ambudkar, Starts Production in New York
The film centers on Molly (Cook) and Advay (Ambudkar), who as high school sweethearts seemed destined for their own forever until Molly landed a lead role in the quintessential '90s teen romcom, "There She Goes," and rocketed to stardom in Hollywood.

[06/07/24 - 08:24 AM]
Video: Coming Soon "Follow Me" Season 2 - Official Trailer - Crackle
Each contestant brings their unique talents, backgrounds, and strategic approaches to success - as they engage in business-themed challenges throughout the Bethany Mota hosted series.

[06/07/24 - 08:15 AM]
"Gremlins: The Wild Batch" Unleashes This Fall on Max
Returning series regulars Ming-Na Wen, James Hong, BD Wong, Izaac Wang, AJ LoCascio, and Gabrielle Nevaeh will be joined by an all-star guest cast to be announced at a later date.

[06/07/24 - 07:31 AM]
"The Upshaws" Renewed for Final Season on Netflix
Additionally, "The Upshaws'" penultimate run, Part 6, is slated to premiere in early 2025.

[06/07/24 - 07:29 AM]
Food Network Picks Up "Wildcard Kitchen" for Season Two
In the weekly high-stakes culinary card game, host Eric Adjepong takes over the test kitchen after-hours with an exclusive invitation for three chefs to bring $5,000 to play across three hands of his underground culinary poker game.

[06/07/24 - 07:14 AM]
Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson & Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano Rescheduled for Friday, November 15th
"Our team has worked diligently with all parties involved to reschedule this monumental fight to a date that ensures both Jake Paul and Mike Tyson are fully prepared, with equal training time, as well as allowing us to keep the event at AT&T stadium in the midst of the Cowboys season," said Nakisa Bidarian.

[06/07/24 - 06:01 AM]
Video: "Sprint: The World's Fastest Humans" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Elite sprinters navigate training, media scrutiny and fierce competition in this sports series following their race to become the world's fastest humans.

[06/07/24 - 05:01 AM]
Video: "Kaulitz & Kaulitz" - Official Trailer - Netflix
Twin brothers and superstars Tom and Bill Kaulitz offer a glimpse into their private lives in LA and Germany in this funny and intimate reality series.

[06/06/24 - 03:00 PM]
Apple Renews Hit, Star-Studded Comedy Sensation "Palm Royale" for Season Two
Set in high society Palm Beach in the powder keg year of 1969, "Palm Royale" is a true underdog story that follows Maxine Simmons (Kristen Wiig) as she endeavors to break into Palm Beach high society.

[06/06/24 - 02:00 PM]
"Next on Netflix: Animation" Previews New and Returning Preschool, Family, Adult, Anime Series and Films Coming Up in 2024 & Beyond
Today, Netflix got animated previewing an exciting lineup of animated films and series coming in the next year.

[06/06/24 - 01:59 PM]
Prime Video Announces New Stand-Up Comedy Special "Sam Morril: You've Changed"
Taped at the Historic Wilbur Theatre in Boston, MA which Morril sold out nine times last year, the one-hour special will premiere in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide on July 9 on Prime Video.