It’s NBC day at the Television Critics Association tour in Pasadena, California. The day kicked off with an executive session headed by NBC Network Chief Bob Greenblatt, where it was announced the next NBC Live musical will be Hairsprays. Read all about that HERE.
Some other notable tidbits from the session include:
- Things became testy when reporters persisted with questions about Donald Trump – Why did NBC invite Trump to host SNL after parting ways with him just a few months earlier? “That was June or July, when most of us thought he’d be waltzing into the background of the political arena,” Greenblatt admitted. “The poll numbers are astounding. He’s everywhere. We’re not in business with him but he’s one of the most — love it or not — important political figures of our time.” After the 3rd question asking why NBC cut ties with Trump, only to do business with him again, Alternative/Late Night chief, Paul Telegdy stepped in and snapped, “That doesn’t prevent me from booking someone who’s in the public eye on a news program or an entertainment program, if they are either newsworthy or they’re entertaining.” adding, “Does that answer the Donald Trump question? It is as clear to us and it is as clear to the people who produce in our news division and our entertainment division what the differences are.” Whoa.
- Greenblatt has denied Jimmy Fallon has a drinking problem. – “He’s great and he doesn’t have a drinking problem that any of us know about,” Greenblatt insisted. “He goes out and has fun. He’s had some accidents. Aside from that he’s in better shape than he’s ever been. We are always worried about his safety and health, there have been conversations (with him) about that. But the stories are exaggerated.” The “accidents” are in reference to falling last summer, and seriously injuring his ring finger. In Cambridge Massachusetts a few months later, while being honored the the Harvard Lampoon, Jimmy injured his hand holding a bottle of Jägermeister.
- NBC has extended Seth Meyers contract to host Late Night until 2021. “I can’t thank NBC enough for continuing to support our show and this more than makes up for my disappointment in not getting cast in The Wiz,” Seth said in a statement. The host is coming up on 2 years behind the desk, which he took over after Jimmy Fallon moved to the Tonight Show.
- Celebrity Apprentice Could Air in the Fall – Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Celebrity Apprentice is in the middle of casting and is set to tape in the spring. It could hit the airwaves as early as Fall 2016. “When the show moves to L.A., it’s a brighter look to it, it’s kind of California-centric. It’ll have the same kind of crazy energy, but it’ll be — Arnold’s a different personality and I think California will lend a different feel to it,” Greenblatt said to Zap2it. “So it feels like we’re moving from the dark to the light, and I mean that in terms of if you looked at the board room — if you build a board room in 2016, do you think it’d have a big, dark oak table with no windows? The show will feel like that pivot has taken place in all sorts of ways.”
