Sunday is NBC day the Television Critics Association summer press tour, and it’s going to be a long one.
The morning starts bright and early at the Beverly Hilton with some remarks and newsy tidbits from NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt, who has plenty to crow about given the network’s recent reversal of fortunes in the ratings.
Even so, you can expect reporters to hold Greenblatt’s feet to the fire about last season’s poorly performing Thursday night comedy block and how he plans to fix it.
Seth Meyers is here to chat about his upcoming hosting duties for the Primetime Emmy Awards airing Aug. 25. That’s a MONDAY. I imagine there will be some questions about the unusual and risky scheduling move from Sunday nights.
Other NBC panels today include Katherine Heigl’s upcoming political thriller “State of Affairs,” Debra Messing’s cop drama (with weird comedic undertones), “The Mysteries of Laura” and the Hellblazer comic book-inspired series “Constantine.”
A trio of new comedies also are on tap, the most promising being “Marry Me” from former Glencoe writer David Caspe. It stars Caspe’s new bride, the uber-talented Casey Wilson (“Happy Endings”) and Ken Marino (“Childrens Hospital.”) Like “Happy Endings,” it’s set, but not filmed, in Chicago.
TCA is rightfully focused on the upcoming fall season, but it’s nice when we get to learn something about existing shows, too. Some interesting things are bound to come out of a shorwrunners panel featuring John Eisendrath (“The Blacklist”), David Greenwalt (“Grimm”), Jason Katims (“Parenthood,” “About a Boy”) and Matt Olmstead (“Chicago Fire,” “Chicago P.D.”).
Be sure to write me an email at lrackl@suntimes.com if you have any questions for Olmstead. I’m interviewing him separately after the panel.
After a long day, it’ll be time to head to NBC’s “All Star Party,” where we get the chance to mix and mingle with stars from a slew of NBC shows. I’m not sure who exactly will be there, but if you have a burning question about an NBC show drop me a line. I’ll try to get it answered for you.
ICYMI, Saturday was my first day at this summer’s press tour. I arrived just in time for the Reelz Channel panel, where the biggest news was about a new reality series featuring relatives of Michael Jackson. After the panel, I asked the network CEO about the fate of the god awful suburban-set reality show “The Capones.” Here’s what he said.
