or


[05/15/11 - 12:24 PM]
Greenblatt: "Apprentice" Will Be Back, With or Without Trump; Other NBC Notes
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- "If [Donald Trump] decides to run for president and is unavailable to do the show, we will bring the show back and there will be somebody else sitting at the head of the boardroom table," NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt told reporters following today's announcement of the network's 2011-12 season lineup (read the full release). "Who that is, we're not even going to really entertain because I'm still hoping we'll have Donald back in the seat."

Other highlights from Greenblatt's press conference:

-- On holding "Smash" until midseason: "We're really taking the full season view of the schedule next year and 'The Voice' is coming back in January and it is an enormous lead-in for any show. And we just thought the compatibility of 'Smash' was so good with 'The Voice' and it's such a terrific show that it deserves to have the best possible send off that we could give it."

-- On their Thursday plans: "We really wanted to change up a good part of Thursday which we're doing from 9:30 on, which meant we wanted stability in the first part of the night. And the competition is just intense from 8:00 to 9:00 and 'Community' holds its own there unlike anything I could have thought. And 'Parks' is a great show which I think in proximity to 'The Office' will do well there. I wanted to open up the time slot after 'The Office' because I think as I said before, trying to get a new comedy hit is a real priority for us and there's better comedy lead in than 'The Office.'"

-- On moving "Chuck" to Fridays: "We wanted to do some re-invigorating on Friday night... We really wanted to get more scripted shows on Friday night. We like 'Grimm' a lot. We didn't want to just put in out there with nothing leading into it. And I personally like 'Chuck.' And I know it's been on the bubble perennially. But I thought if we have a chance of transporting an audience to Friday night it might be with something that has a real loyal following."

-- On their contingency plans for Sunday night if the NFL labor situation isn't resolved: "We're feeling pretty optimistic that football will be there. I think worse case scenario is we might have a delay of games for a few weeks, in which case we've got a contingency plan that we're in the middle of right now to produce several high quality, event, live event reality type shows that will fill out that Sunday."

-- On the status of the "Law & Order" franchise: "'SVU' is really strong for us. And I think going into its 13th year I'd love to have it beyond that. I've noticed the 'CI' ratings are really strong... 'Law & Order: LA' I think we just didn't get it off the ground right. It was put on the schedule without a pilot last fall before I arrived. There was all kinds of chaos going on: the show did well then it was taken off. In a different scenario that might have worked better but we just thought it wasn't a strong enough player to continue into next season."

-- On a proposed Brian Williams-hosted newsmagazine: "We are absolutely developing it. A couple months ago I sat down with Steve Capus, who's the head of the news division, and I said let's try to take these incredible news assets that only NBC has and let's see if we could develop a newsmagazine that was fresh and relevant and entertaining. And that of course lead us right to Brian Williams, who's the best of the best."

-- On the rumor of Jennifer Love Hewitt joining the cast of "SVU": "I think we're going to have both of the returning stars [Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni]. We believe that's the show and I know they both want to be a part of it. Mariska's deal is closed... and I don't think there's any impediment to closing Chris's deal. And the Jennifer Love Hewitt rumor is just a rumor. What we are saying and I think it's really going to be great creatively for the show next year is that there is going to be another detective coming into the show about halfway through the season. And I think creatively that will give both Mariska and Chris' characters an interesting kind of new relationship. Jennifer is somebody that we've been circling. I don't know if that's gonna ultimately come to pass or not but we just want to keep refreshing these concepts especially the older that they get. Mariska also just adopted a child and we're not sure beyond this next season where we'll be with her so we're looking at a lot of different options."

-- On the expense of carrying older series like "SVU" over new ones: "That is a realistic issue. But I have to tell you, I'm new to all these shows and having reviewed a lot of the budgets on them. I am amazed at how efficiently Dick Wolf produces this show. It is not at all out of line even with a show that would be much younger than that. And so we could keep this show going for a number of years as long as the audience wanted it and we creatively kept it really fresh."





  [may 2011]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· APPRENTICE, THE (NBC)
· CHUCK (NBC)
· COMMUNITY (YAHOO)
· GRIMM (NBC)
· LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT (USA)
· LAW & ORDER: LOS ANGELES (NBC)
· LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT (NBC)
· OFFICE, THE (NBC)
· PARKS & RECREATION (NBC)
· SMASH (NBC)
· SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NBC)
· VOICE, THE (NBC)
· WHITNEY (NBC)





[11/21/24 - 04:01 PM]
"Rugged Rugby: Conquer or Die" Premieres December 10: A Battle for Supremacy Begins
In the shadows of Korea's rugby world, seven teams engage in a fierce battle of strength, strategy, and teamwork - all vying to be crowned champion.

[11/21/24 - 04:00 PM]
ABC Presents a Two-Night Special Event To Commemorate the Diamond Anniversary of "Mary Poppins"
First, "The Untold Story of Mary Poppins: A Special Edition of 20/20," a two-hour special from ABC News Studios chock full of rarely seen footage, photos and stories from the film's living legends, airs Wednesday, November 27 on ABC and streams next day on Hulu and Disney+.

[11/21/24 - 01:32 PM]
2024 International Emmy Nominees on Hulu
Check out these Emmy-worthy international series streaming on Hulu.

[11/21/24 - 01:12 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Semifinals Is Top Program of the Night in Adults 18-49 and All Key Women Demographics
The spectacular season 33 penultimate episode grew over the previous week's 500th episode celebration in both Total Viewers (5.19 million vs. 5.13 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.75 rating vs. 0.71 rating), hitting a season high in Total Viewers.

[11/21/24 - 01:05 PM]
NBC Orders Five Additional Episodes of Its Friday Night Comedy Hit "Happy's Place"
The "Happy's Place" premiere has hit 14 million viewers across all platforms.

[11/21/24 - 12:14 PM]
NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and Believe Entertainment Group's "Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids" Is Now Available to Rent on Amazon Prime
The feature-length documentary captures the incredible true story of the dolls, leaving nothing untouched, including the fundamental dispute over who originated the idea.

[11/21/24 - 12:14 PM]
MGM+ Renews Sci-Fi Horror Series "From" for Season Four
The series is set to return to production in Nova Scotia in 2025, and premiere in 2026.

[11/21/24 - 12:00 PM]
What's New on Max This December
Watch the debuts of HBO originals "Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North," "Nature of the Crime," and "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story," Max originals "Creature Commandos," "Fast Friends," "Rose Matafeo: On and On and On," and season two of "Bookie," and Warner Bros. film "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice."

[11/21/24 - 11:00 AM]
HBO Renews Original Late-Night Comedy Series "It's Florida, Man." for a Second Season
The season one finale debuts Friday, November 22 and the first season is available to stream on Max.

[11/21/24 - 10:32 AM]
Taylor Sheridan's "Landman" Explodes with Over 5M Global Viewers Across Paramount+ and Linear Preview
The series also secured the #1 spot for a U.S. premiere in Paramount+ history within its first three days.

[11/21/24 - 10:31 AM]
Video: "Ronny Chieng: Love to Hate It" - Sneak Peek - Netflix
Filmed over a five-night sold-out run in Honolulu at the historic Hawai'i Theatre, this extremely personal special hilariously unpacks the indignities of the IVF process, the pitfalls of being a man on the internet, American politics and the place of the older generation in today's world.

[11/21/24 - 10:06 AM]
CNN Renews "Have I Got News for You" for a Second Season
Produced by Hat Trick Productions for CNN Originals, "Have I Got News for You" concludes its 10-episode freshman season on Saturday, November 23 at 9pm ET/PT on CNN.

[11/21/24 - 10:04 AM]
"CMA Country Christmas" Returns Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 8/7c an ABC and Next Day on Hulu and Disney+
Filmed in Nashville in front of a live audience, the festive special showcases one-of-a-kind musical performances of Christmas classics from Country Music's biggest stars.

[11/21/24 - 10:01 AM]
Netflix Brings "Squid Game" to Los Angeles with Immersive Fan Event & US Premiere Set for December 12th, 2024
The interactive event, which will give fans a chance to compete for their seat at an exclusive advance screening, will feature director Hwang Dong-hyuk, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, and more cast members from Season 2.

[11/21/24 - 10:00 AM]
HBO Documentary Films' "Nature of the Crime" Debuts December 10
Over a period of four years, filmmakers Ricki Stern and Jesse Sweet follow Todd Scott and Chad Campbell: two men involved in violent crimes as teenagers who have since served more than 30 years of their sentences and have each been eligible for parole for more than a decade.