Kevin Reilly Fired From NBC?

May 28, 2007
Zap2it.com

Reports: NBC Drops Reilly
'Office' producer Silverman taking role at network

Two weeks after unveiling the network's schedule for 2007-08, Kevin Reilly is reportedly being let go as president of NBC Entertainment.

The change comes after NBC suffered through another season of fourth-place ratings, finishing nearly a full point behind first-place FOX in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic. His job won't be immediately filled per se, but it's expected that Ben Silverman, executive producer of "The Office" and "Ugly Betty," will assume a major role at NBC Universal.

The shakeup, first reported by Deadline Hollywood Daily and later picked up by other outlets, will likely become official within the next couple of days. So far NBC is keeping quiet.

Reilly became president of NBC Entertainment in May 2004, following a stint as head of entertainment at FX, where he established the cable network's original series brand with "The Shield" and "Nip/Tuck." During his tenure at the Peacock, he was responsible for bringing "My Name Is Earl" and "Heroes" to the small screen and championing "The Office." This season he stuck by critical darlings "30 Rock" and "Friday Night Lights" despite low ratings.

Despite those successes, however, NBC has remained stuck in fourth place for most of his tenure as its schedule has lacked the depth of CBS or a monster hit a la FOX's "American Idol." Reilly signed a new contract in March, meaning it probably won't be cheap for NBC to buy him out.

Silverman, a former agent who heads the production company Reveille, will likely have a major oversight role at the network, though his title and exact duties are still being worked out. Reports say he and Marc Graboff, president of NBC West Coast, may split duties involving the network and NBC Universal's syndication and cable businesses.

Reveille productions include "The Office," "The Biggest Loser," ABC's "Ugly Betty" and FX's "30 Days." The company and Silverman have also produced the NBC game show "Identity," USA's "Nashville Star," the American version of "Coupling," "The Restaurant" and Bravo's "Blow Out."

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Wow. That is all I have to say on the matter.

Office/Heroes Faux Promo

You gotta love it! One of the funniest things I've ever seen. Being a gigantic fan of both "The Office" and "Heroes," I was obviously impressed. You can see why. That's just good shit, right there.

The 2007-08 NBC Fall Schedule

Dude, go check out NBC's Fall Preview. Go watch all the videos and look at all the pictures and then come back here and tell me what you think. This is such an exciting time of year! I love it!

NBC Announces Official Fall Lineup

You knew it was coming. The NBC fall schedule is officially here! Prepare to be impressed and disappointed all at the same time. Their presentation to the advertisers starts in about 10 minutes. They should have a page on NBC.com posted at some point today too. I'll have a link when it's up. Read on below.

SUNDAY (fall)
7:00	Football Night In America
7:30
8:00	Sunday Night Football
8:30
9:00
9:30
10:00
10:30
SUNDAY (midseason)
7:00	Dateline NBC
7:30
8:00	Law & Order (new night & time)
8:30
9:00	Medium (new night & time)
9:30
10:00	Lipstick Jungle (new series)
10:30
MONDAY
8:00	Deal Or No Deal
8:30
9:00	Heroes
9:30
10:00	Journeyman (new series)
10:30
TUESDAY
8:00	The Biggest Loser
8:30
9:00	Chuck (new series)
9:30
10:00	Law & Order: SVU
10:30
WEDNESDAY
8:00	Deal Or No Deal (new night & time)
8:30
9:00	Bionic Woman (new series)
9:30
10:00	Life (new series)
10:30
THURSDAY
8:00	My Name Is Earl
8:30	30 Rock (new time)
9:00	The Office (new time)
9:30	Scrubs (new time)
10:00	ER
10:30
FRIDAY
8:00	1 vs. 100 (fall) The Singing Bee (new series/midseason)
8:30
9:00	Las Vegas
9:30
10:00	Friday Night Lights (new night & time)
10:30
SATURDAY
8:00	Dateline NBC
8:30
9:00	drama repeats
9:30
10:00	drama repeats
10:30

MORE MIDSEASON
The I.T. Crowd
World Moves

You know what I'm annoyed with — the placement of "Friday Night Lights." It's like, a hug then a slap. Kevin Reilly did the honorable thing by renewing the series for a second season. But promptly moved it to Friday night where it will surely die. Yes, I know the show has "Friday" and "night" in the title, but that doesn't mean it should go there. I'll watch but I don't know how many other people will.

I'm a little disappointed at the absence of "Business Class" — a comedy pilot with Mark Valley and Horatio Sanz. I guess it wasn't as funny as it sounded. That and "Winters" from the producers of "House." Sometimes what sounds good on paper isn't quite the same on screen.

Everything else looks pretty good. I thought "Bionic Woman" would pair well with "Heroes," but my gut was to put "Journeyman" in that timeslot and that's what NBC did. So my predictions turned out all right. I'll probably do a little more in-depth look later in the week or next week.

Last-Minute Fall TV Predictions: NBC

As promised, my predictions for the NBC fall schedule. The network makes its official announcement tomorrow afternoon, so that's when we'll have the real scoop. Until then, here's how it breaks down. On the left, in bold type, are my new predictions — my educated guesses. On the right are the predictions I made weeks ago with the information available at that time. Check it.

SUNDAY
7:00	Sunday Night Football	Sunday Night Football
8:00
9:00
10:00
MONDAY
8:00	Deal Or No Deal	Deal Or No Deal
9:00	Heroes	Heroes
10:00	The Bionic Woman	Journeyman
TUESDAY
8:00	Chuck	Scrubs
8:30		Andy Barker P.I.
9:00	Lipstick Jungle	Winters
10:00	Law & Order: SVU	Law & Order: SVU
WEDNESDAY
8:00	Friday Night Lights	Friday Night Lights
9:00	Journeyman	Studio 60
10:00	Medium	Law & Order: CI
THURSDAY
8:00	My Name Is Earl	My Name Is Earl
8:30	The Office	The Office
9:00	Business Class	Business Class
9:30	30 Rock	30 Rock
10:00	ER	ER
FRIDAY
8:00	Life	Chuck
9:00	Las Vegas	Las Vegas
10:00	Law & Order	Law & Order
SATURDAY
8:00	Dateline NBC	Dateline NBC
9:00	repeats	repeats
10:00	repeats	repeats

And I've changed my mind about the rest. For each network, I'll post my predictions the day before their official presentations. That means tomorrow you get ABC.

Big TV News, Part 1: The Peacock

There's some rather cool news floating around in the days before the upfronts begin.

We'll start with NBC. Michael Ausiello at TV Guide seems to know everything about what's coming up for NBC and ABC this week. Both networks have yet to announce anything officially, so just know that this is still speculation.

According to Ausiello, NBC is renewing Friday Night Lights for a second season! — which I couldn't be more thrilled about. I thought, like most people, it would be an insufferable series about a bunch of football players and their annoying friends and overbearing parents. But it's so not. I can't even begin to describe the quality of writing and acting. I highly recommend a viewing of the DVD when it's released this summer.

The other good news is that Scrubs will be back for a seventh (and regrettably final) season next year. It'll only be 18 episodes (instead of the usual 22 or 24). I've watched and loved this show since season one. I'll be sad to see it go. I hope — no, I know the writers will do a bang-up job closing out the show.

Anyway, NBC has also apparently given series orders to the pilots they plan to announce pick-ups of this fall. And the winners are... Chuck, Journeyman, Life, and rather unbelievably, The Bionic Woman. Those are just the dramas. No word on comedies yet, it would seem.

I'm a little annoyed in that I don't think "The Bionic Woman" will be any good from everything I've read. I also expected them to pick up "Winters" — the pilot written by David Shore ("House") and starring Famke Janssen ("X-Men"). I'm also pretty sure NBC told the producers of "Lipstick Jungle" to start staffing up, so I don't know.

Regardless, we find out how everything goes down for sure on Monday afternoon. Now, stay tuned for an ABC update tonight.