NBC at TCA: Executive Session Live-Blog

NBC is the final network presenting at the Television Critics Association, and NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt and NBC Entertainment President Jennifer Salke are taking to the stage to speak with reporters.

Follow along for a live-blog…

9:47 AM: We’re getting a sizzle reel of NBC shows — lots CHICAGO shows featured.

9:49 AM: Greenblatt says it’s great to have Jay Leno in the house; he was just here for CNBC’s new series, JAY LENO’S GARAGE.

9:50 AM: “Of course, I cancel SMASH, and [CW president] Mark Pedowitz wows you with a musical number,” Greenblatt says of CW’s CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIND presentation at TCA.

9:52 AM: Greenblatt is very aware NBC is at the end of the tour, so he’s keeping things concise. AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR has been picked up for another season.

9:53 AM: Greenblatt loves the changes Seth Meyers has made to his show this past week. And Fallon has been locked in to the host of THE TONIGHT SHOW until 2021.

9:55 AM: Rihanna has signed on to be the key adviser this season on THE VOICE.

9:57 AM: “We’ve been in a difficult transition,” Greenblatt says of finding a new comedy. “Frankly we struggled to find those new anchor shows.” He says the Friday block is not a graveyard…he thinks UNDATEABLE is one of the smartest shows on TV right now.

9:58 AM: “We’re very proud of this show, and hopefully we’ll be able to return one or both of these shows to the schedule,” Greenblatt says of CARMICHAEL (and MR. ROBINSON).

9:59 AM: NBC has ordered a new show from Mike Schur A GOOD PLACE. And Tina Fey and Robert Carlock are EPing a new comedy show from writer Tracey Wigfield about a woman working at a cable news station…and her mom goes to work there, too.

10:03 AM: NBC is now premiering HEROES REBORN as a two-hour event. THE BLACKLIST premiere is now being pushed to 10/1.

10:04 AM: NBC has nabbed the rights to the animated movie, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS.

10:05 AM: No CELEBRITY APPRENTICE this year — they will produce another cycle for the 2016-2017 cycle, sans Trump.

10:07 AM: Greenblatt says “we’ll have to see how this plays out” in terms of potential possible working with Trump again.

10:08 AM: “I think we’re always mindful of decline and wearing out our welcome,” Greenblatt says of THE VOICE. He says they could possibly decrease it from two cycles a season, though.

10:09 AM: “We’re very careful about reviving old shows,” Greenblatt says, because it’s difficult to get right. And Salke says HEROES was a case where they were approached by the creators.

10:10 AM: “We’re whores like Emmy nominations like anybody else,” Greenblatt says of the KIMMY SCHMIDT Emmy love for Netflix. They realized NBC wasn’t the right home for it, though. He says “it’s a great show, it seems to be really embraced.”

10:11 AM: “I’ve helped kill other things, but not [HEROES],” Greenblatt jokes. He says that Tim Kring thinks it would have benefited from always having a shorter episode order.

10:13 AM: “He was a legend…Kathy’s part of the family, she’s great, we’re wishing her the best,” Greenblatt says of Frank Gifford’s passing.

10:15 AM: Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are going to be pitching a new faith-based show soon to NBC.

10:17 AM: “We love Craig, he’s been on this network for the past six years with PARENTHOOD,” Greenblatt says of COACH. He and the EP came to see NBC and they think it’s a great idea. Salke calls it a “family show.”

10:19 AM: “If it works, ALF is next,” Greenblatt jokes of COACH.

10:19 AM: “I’m never going to apologize for renewing a show I think is creatively [strong]…I think it’s a great show,” Greenblatt says of AQUARIUS. He’s very proud of it, and they were able to put the entire season out early because it was all done on time.

“People thought better of the network…for having a show that could be binged than they otherwise would be,” Greenblatt says. He says 6% of the AQUARIUS audience watched the show online. But he says he’s happy to be bringing the show back because he loves it.

10:24 AM: “Whether you agree with what he says, he says it without a filter,” Greenblatt says of Donald Trump.

10:25 AM: “I’m a live junkie,” Greenblatt says of UNDATEABLE LIVE. “Not only do I like it, personally, but I think it’s one of the tools we have to make the audience watch when we program it.”

10:28 AM: “He’s been working his ass off,” Greenblatt says of Neil Patrick Harris. He’s been going around the country doing work for this upcoming live event series.

10:31 AM: “It was a little show. We love Greg Poehler and Amy, but it was just a little show we didn’t think had enough of an audience,” Greenblatt says of WELCOME TO SWEDEN.

10:32 AM: “You know why we delayed it? We wanted to give it the best chance,” Greenblatt says of THE CARMICHAEL SHOW.

10:33 AM: Could Trump return to CELEBRITY APPRENTICE? “Absolutely not.”