NBC touts new fall offerings at TCA Summer Press Tour

The broadcast portion of the 2014 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour began Sunday with NBC presenting talent and executives from its new fall shows.
NBC TCA

Among the highlights of the sessions:

In the NBC executive session, NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt, NBC Entertainment President Jenniger Salke and NBC President of Alternative and Late Night Programming Paul Telegdy announced that Christopher Walken will play Captain Hook in NBC’s Peter Pan live event in December. We danced with joy.

NBC will import Red Nose Day from the UK, and do a programming event in May 2015 to raise funds for charity. And continuing the trend among the broadcast networks, NBC isn’t treating summer as a “throwaway season,” and they’ve been impressed with The Little Summer Show That Could The Night Shift. NBC execs downplayed CBS adding Thursday Night Football to the lineup, almost like they were sticking their heads in the sand. Other topics included the crossover in Emmy categories, and how the comedy/drama lines are stretched for competitive advantage. And as far as cable shows overshadowing broadcast in Emmy nominations, Greenblatt suggested jokingly that they bring back the CableAce Awards. We agree.

Seth Meyers will host the Primetime Emmy Awards in August, and the talk show host and former SNL writer and cast member is primed. Meyers was candid about the broadcast, saying how crucial the first 10 minutes are because the audience becomes more “disappointed” as the show progresses. Jokes that would hit in the first part of the show don’t hit an hour later. I suggested that they just make the Emmys broadcast 10 minutes long. Meyers also said that he would’ve loved to have seen one of the clones from Orphan Black get nominated for an Emmy. Seth Meyers is funny.

NBCUniversal President of Research and Media Development Alan Wurtzel presented “Managing Change: Understanding Total Audience Viewing,” discussing the difficulty in capturing accurate and timely total viewership numbers in an age when nonlinear, mobile, DVR and VOD viewing are becoming the rule, not the exception. It was interesting, but perhaps too much math for most of us in the room, and the debate on Twitter focused more on the pronunciation of “VOD.” #TeamVeeOhDee Oh, and a great question was raised: Why does VOD force you to watch the same commercial 30 times?

Next up was the State of Affairs panel, with star Katherine Heigl asked to respond to the common perception that she is “difficult” to work with. She responded diplomatically, “I certainly don’t see myself as being difficult,” and says she has never intentionally tried to be. Alfre Woodard says she hopes the show’s use of the phrase “Madame President” will perhaps warm people up to the idea in real life.

NBC TCAFor the dramedy The Mysteries of Laura, we learned that Debra Messing is a natural at using stage firearms, a skill that was not put to enough use when she was on Smash.

The Marry Me panel set the TCA record for the use of the word “f*ck” (though it didn’t become an official stat until 1993). Tim Meadows says, “I get cast as a black guy all the time.” I talked with Meadows some more at the NBC party for our 7 Questions column. Sadly, we did not drink Courvoisier together.

Constantine, the series spinoff of the comic book Hellblazer and the 2005 movie Constantine, features blond and British Matt Ryan as John Constantine. We talked more with costar Charles Halford, a delightful, thoughtful vegan from Utah who is perhaps best recognized for his disturbing role on True Detective. The series will switch up featured characters, with Lucy Griffiths exiting as Liv and Angelica Selaya entering as Zed. EP David S. Goyer says a lot of Constantine’s friends will be killed off, and there will be several DC Comics Easter eggs in the pilot.

Kate Walsh stars in Bad Judge, the new sitcom about a brilliant judge (Walsh) who leads a wild life when the robe comes off at the end of the day. EP Anne Heche is fascinated by the idea of judgment, and those people who have been given the authority to judge others. Heche wanted to depict a woman with responsibilities who is unafraid to live out loud.

One of the best fall comedies also offered one of the best panels of the day as the cast and EPs of A to Z discussed the omnipresence of the bearded best friend on TV, and star Cristin Milioti addressed her polarizing role as “The Mother” in the final season of How I Met Your Mother. The incredibly charming, down-to-earth Milioti isn’t on social media and missed a lot of the uproar over the show’s finale. She said she read some blog comments once and it turned out to be a big mistake.

Finally, “Showrunners Confidential: NBC’s Dramas” featured David Greenwalt (Grimm), Jason Katims (Parenthood/About a Boy), Matt Olmstead (Chicago Fire/Chicago P.D.) and John Eisendrath (The Blacklist) discussing their programs and the extensive duties of the showrunner. Probably the greatest bit of wisdom was that the best thing the showrunner can do is to hire the right people and then do nothing.

Photo: (Top) Credit: Trae Patton/NBC;
Credit: Christopher Polk/NBC

About Ryan Berenz 2166 Articles
Member of the Television Critics Association. Charter member of the Ancient and Mystic Society of No Homers. Squire of the Ancient & Benevolent Order of the Lynx, Lodge 49, Long Beach, Calif. Costco Wholesale Gold Star Member since 2011.