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)





[06/05/26 - 04:00 PM]
Video: "Among Us" - Official Trailer - Paramount+
Based on the global gaming phenomenon, "Among Us" follows a group of eccentric Crewmates who must root out an Impostor in their midst before they fall victim to its villainous designs.

[06/05/26 - 02:00 PM]
ABC's Most-Watched NBA Finals Game 1 Since 2018 with Average Audience of Nearly 17M Viewers (16.93M)
Game 1 peaked with nearly 20M viewers (19.63M) at 11 p.m. ET.

[06/05/26 - 01:23 PM]
ABC News Is No. 1 in Total Viewers on Sunday Morning, Friday Evening and in Late-Night
"20/20" stood as Friday's No. 1 program on broadcast and the No. 2 program on all of broadcast and cable in all key target demos on May 29.

[06/05/26 - 10:01 AM]
"Lioness" Season Three: Mission Accepted the Espionage Thriller Returns August 2 on Paramount+
From Paramount Television Studios and 101 Studios, the intense female-led espionage thriller continues on a global scale, with chaos ensuing as the Lioness team is deployed on its most personal assignment yet.

[06/05/26 - 09:06 AM]
"They Will Kill You" Begins Streaming Exclusively on HBO Max June 12
The film stars Zazie Beetz, Myha'La, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham, and Patricia Arquette.

[06/05/26 - 09:06 AM]
FOX Sports Announces Return of "FOX Saratoga Saturday" and Summer Racing Schedule
Beginning Saturday, July 25, FOX delivers six consecutive Saturdays of live racing from historic Saratoga Race Course, culminating with the DraftKings Travers on Saturday, August 29, on FOX.

[06/05/26 - 08:25 AM]
U.S. Department of Education Announces Mario Lopez Will Host "Presidential 1776 Award" Special
The special will be broadcast Tuesday, June 30, (8:00-9:30PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream the next day on Paramount+.

[06/05/26 - 08:04 AM]
"In the Eye of the Storm" - New Season Premieres Sunday, June 28 on Discovery Channel
Told through firsthand accounts and mobile phone footage filmed by everyday people caught in the eye of the storm, each episode captures the chaos, courage and resilience of both unsuspecting citizens and those who dive into the chaos for search and rescue.

[06/05/26 - 06:31 AM]
"That Thrifting Show with Lara Spencer" Will Return for Season 2 on Freeform and Hulu
Spencer announced the news on "Good Morning America" today.

[06/04/26 - 03:03 PM]
"The Mystery of Richard Simmons - A Diane Sawyer Special" Soars Over 10 Million Total Multiplatform Viewers Across ABC, Disney+ and Hulu
On its encore telecast on Monday, "The Mystery of Richard Simmons - A Diane Sawyer Special" averaged 2.704 million Total Viewers and ranked as the night's No. 1 program on broadcast.

[06/04/26 - 03:02 PM]
Documentary Uncovers the Harsh Realities of Living on Skid Row - the Epicenter of Los Angeles' Homelessness Crisis
"Finding Mango: To Live and Die on Skid Row" premiere Friday, June 5, at 8 p.m. EDT on Disney+, Hulu and 24/7 streaming news channel ABC News Live.

[06/04/26 - 01:15 PM]
Starz Greenlights "Power: Legacy" with Joseph Sikora and Michael Rainey, Jr. Reprising Their Iconic Roles
"Power: Legacy" sees the return of Tommy Egan to New York, where he partners with Tariq St. Patrick to take the city by storm.

[06/04/26 - 01:04 PM]
ESPN Presents Comprehensive UFL Postseason Coverage, Culminating with the 2026 United Bowl on ABC & ESPN Deportes
The UFL playoffs begin Sunday, June 7, on ABC at 3 p.m. as the defending UFL champion DC Defenders take on the Orlando Storm in the Storms' inaugural UFL season, as both teams look to punch their championship ticket.

[06/04/26 - 12:04 PM]
Discovery Channel June Programming Highlights
This June, look for all-new seasons of "Expedition Unknown," "In the Eye of the Storm," and "Contraband: Seized at the Border."

[06/04/26 - 11:01 AM]
FX's "The Marriage Plot" Limited Series Ordered for FX and Hulu
Sadie Sink is attached to star and executive produce the project, which will be adapted from the acclaimed novel by Jeffrey Eugenides.