or


[08/01/11 - 10:49 AM]
Greenblatt: "We Want to Restore NBC to Its Leadership Position in Quality"
By Brian Ford Sullivan (TFC)

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- "I think like anyone in a job like this, I will take all the credit for the shows that work and blame people who are no longer at NBC if they don't," NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt joked at the start of the network's executive session at the TCA Summer Press Tour.

Greenblatt was on hand to tout the Peacock's freshman series, manage expectations considering its status as the fourth place network and make a few programming announcements:

-- Bela Bajaria has been tapped to oversee the revamping of Universal Media Studios. She comes from CBS where she served as SVP, Cable Programming for CBS TV Studios, and SVP of Movies and Miniseries for the network.

-- Greg Daniels has inked a new overall deal with Universal Media Studios. "It's a new deal to develop all kinds of programming but we also want to emphasize animation which is something Greg is very key on getting back into."

-- Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's Gary Sanchez Productions likewise have set up shop at the studio.

-- NBC is developing a new comedy to star former network mainstay turned producer Sean Hayes. "It's [early] but we're honing in on an idea that I'll let you know more about in the coming weeks." He adds that they have "an incredible writer/creator" to spearhead the project. "I really think it's time for him to star in a comedy again."

-- "The Voice's" Adam Levine is developing a new comedy at the network. "He's expanding his growing empire," Greenblatt adds. Dick Wolf ("Law & Order") likewise is behind a new firefighter drama to be written by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas ("3:10 to Yuma"). "We're very happy to get them in the tent."

-- Michael Buble will topline a new holiday special produced by Ben Silverman and Lorne Michaels.

-- On the producing side, Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner are developing "Celebrity Game Night," a reality game show pilot in which celebrities crash people's weekly game nights. "That will be going forward in the next few months."

-- Greenblatt reveals that "The Voice" will indeed premiere following the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 5. The series will then move into its regular home on Monday, February 6 at 8:00/7:00c leading into the launch of "Smash" that same night at 10:00/9:00c.

-- Greenblatt affirms that Mariska Hargitay, despite a purported reduced workload, will be in every episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" this season.

-- As far as his goals for the season: "We want to restore NBC to its leadership position in quality. We're going to do attention getting shows. Hopefully we will have patience to see those attention getting shows get [their] shot at success."

-- "Yes, I wasn't complete surprised," Greenblatt says with regards to KSL's decision not to air "The Playboy Club." "That brand name is very polarizing. The show isn't all that revealing shall I say. But that station in Utah, they don't program 'Saturday Night Live.' They don't take 'Saturday Night Live' so I think when you look at that market they have decisions to make for their own audiences."

-- On if shows from his previous home, Showtime, could work on NBC: "I think those shows work in those smaller universes where you're not really expecting, where the business model isn't based on the most people watching your show." He would later add, that being said, "I think we've got to find ways to conceptually excite the audience."

-- On the decision to pass on "I Hate That I Love You": "It's just a pilot that didn't ultimately come together. I loved the script and sometimes these pilots go through the process and get all of the elements working. And it's just a pilot that didn't quite come together."

-- "I would be thrilled if it continued to do what it was doing," Greenblatt said about his expectations for "The Office" going forward. "There's a new actress coming besides [James] Spader," he added coyly without giving a name. "I think as the season goes on you'll see a couple of, this is a playground for really extraordinary comic actors... I think there's going to be a few people that are going to come in and sort of guest star as the season goes on. But I didn't mean to tease you with there's some big name to be revealed that's coming."





  [august 2011]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
 


· CHICAGO FIRE (NBC)
· HOLLYWOOD GAME NIGHT (NBC)
· I HATE THAT I LOVE YOU (NBC)
· LAW & ORDER (NBC)
· LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT (NBC)
· OFFICE, THE (NBC)
· PLAYBOY CLUB, THE (NBC)
· SMASH (NBC)
· UNTITLED ADAM LEVINE PROJECT (NBC)
· UNTITLED SEAN HAYES PROJECT (NBC)
· VOICE, THE (NBC)





[09/08/26 - 09:04 AM]
Terror on Tubi Continues with First Look Photos of "R.L. Stine's Pumpkinhead 2"
Cassandra Peterson, famously known as Elvira, joins Bean Reid and Adeline Lo in spooky sequel premiering October 9.

[09/08/26 - 09:01 AM]
AMC+ Debuts First Look at Final Season of "The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon," Premiering in 2027
Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winner Jimmy Smits joins series stars Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride in the highly anticipated new season set in Spain.

[09/08/26 - 07:31 AM]
Video: Trick or Treat - Dexter's Back Paramount+ Announces "Dexter: Resurrection" Season 2 Premieres October 30 with Teaser
The second season finds Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) caught between two killers - one with decades of notoriety and a lifetime of kills behind him, and the other a fresh young face terrorizing New York in ways no one has ever seen.

[09/08/26 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "4 Blocks Zero" - Official Trailer - HBO Max
The beginning you've never seen.

[09/08/26 - 07:01 AM]
Prime Video Doubles Down on Young Adult Programming with Biggest-Ever International Originals Slate Following Global Breakouts "Off Campus," "Culpables" and "Maxton Hall - The World Between Us"
To mark the moment, Prime Video hosted the Obsessed Retreat: Class of '26 (September 7-8), a two-day immersive event in the Bavarian Alps.

[09/08/26 - 03:01 AM]
"The Child" Is Coming to Netflix on November 27, Following Its Cinema Premiere on November 13
"The Child" tells the story of Mariaje (Belén Cuesta) and Nicasio (Karra Elejalde), the mother and grandfather of one of the children who died in a gas explosion in a town in the Basque Country in October 1980.

[09/08/26 - 02:54 AM]
Disney+ & ESPN Unveil Key Art for "Max vs 100", Live on September 16
The live event will see four-time Formula 1 World Champion and Oracle Red Bull Racing Driver Max Verstappen attempt to overtake 100 drivers at Silverstone, one of the sport's most iconic circuits.

[09/08/26 - 01:31 AM]
"Our Fault: London": First Look Images Released By Prime Video
"Our Fault: London," starring Asha Banks and Matthew Broome as the beloved Noah and Nick, will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in 2027 in more than 240 countries and territories around the world.

[09/08/26 - 01:21 AM]
Prime Video Releases First Official Images from "Boys of Tommen"
"Boys of Tommen" follows the forbidden love story of Johnny Kavanagh, the star rugby player on the verge of a pro career, and Shannon Lynch, the talented but painfully shy new girl at the prestigious private school of Tommen College in Ballylaggin, Ireland.

[09/08/26 - 12:01 AM]
Video: "Less of a Stranger" - Official Trailer - Netflix
As the leader of Polish rock band Lady Pank, Jan Borysewicz shapes a generation with his music - while a string of family tragedies shapes him.

[09/07/26 - 08:01 PM]
Video: "Mononoke The Movie: Chapter III - The Curse of the Serpent" - Official Trailer #2 - Netflix
When tragedy strikes within the walls of the Ooku, twisted human passions and festering grudges spawn the Medicine Seller's most fearsome opponent yet.

[09/07/26 - 05:01 PM]
Video: "The Scandal" - Official Trailer - Netflix
In Joseon, a secret proposal ignites hidden desires in a gifted noblewoman, a famed lover and an unsuspecting lady caught in their dangerous game.

[09/07/26 - 07:01 AM]
"Beyond Society", The Documentary Series Created by J.A. Bayona and Carlos Torres, Arrives on Netflix on December 18
The rescue was only the beginning, but what came after deserves to be told too.

[09/07/26 - 01:31 AM]
Four Acclaimed Directors, Four New Stories: Emmy Nominated Anthology Film Franchise "Lust Stories" Unveils Third Installment, Premieres September 18 on Netflix
Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, Shakun Batra, and Vishal Bhardwaj are among the featured directors.

[09/07/26 - 01:01 AM]
Netflix Announces That Production Begins Today in the UK on Feature Film "The Inbetweeners 3", A Continuation of the Hugely Popular Sitcom and Its Two Record-Breaking Films
Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison and Joe Thomas will reprise their roles as Will McKenzie, Jay Cartwright, Neil Sutherland and Simon Cooper.