“Craig would have loved it” was a common refrain heard in the lobby of the Television Academy’s Wolf Theatre on Sunday night at the conclusion of Thespians Go Hollywood, a tribute to the life and work of the late prolific film, TV and Broadway producer Craig Zadan. Not only would he have loved it, he could have produce…

Kristin Chenoweth, Harry Connick Jr., Sean Hayes and Debra Messing are among the artists announced today as participants in the upcoming benefit honoring the late producer Craig Zadan. Also included in the line-up: Bernadette Peters, Martin Short, Jennifer Hudson, Audra McDonald, and Renee Zellweger. Called “Thespians…

I hear that NBC chairman Robert Greenblatt is in negotiations to leave the network after nearly eight years. Talks are ongoing, with a resolution expected as early as this weekend. Reps for NBC declined comment. Rumors about Greenblatt’s pending departure started circulating during Emmy weekend. They largely were…

"Netflix is less attractive to me," MGM TV and Digital Group president Mark Burnett said today at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills. "I want to own my IP around the world," he added, touting his preference for overseas sales and franchising as opposed to a single worldwide license fee like the…

The Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) has received a helping hand from Chairman of NBC Entertainment Robert Greenblatt. He has made a sizable personal donation to the EdTA’s JumpStart Theatre program. The generous donation was celebrated at the cabaret benefit “Thespians Go Hollywood” and helps the EdTA give…

Robert Greenblatt is staying put at NBC, which is coming off one of its strongest seasons in years. According to sources, the NBC Entertainment Chairman is close to renewing his contract with NBCUniversal, which is up at the end of the year. Greenblatt declined to comment on his contract negotiations during an…

An embarrassment of riches on the NBC schedule is one of the reasons it initially was hard for the network to find a spot for the second season of Timeless. “We don’t mean to be disingenuous to fans, but we have a lot of things that are doing well, and when you look at the whole schedule, it’s honestly hard to find a…

“I have no concerns … whatsoever,” NBC Chairman Bob Greenblatt insisted at TCA, when asked if he’s concerned Jimmy Fallon is less relevant in today’s Donald Trump-fueled late-night war. “I think that will even itself out – I say laughingly,” Greenblatt said, of his former Celebrity Apprentice star who is these days so…

"The most engaging social shows tend to be the higher-rated shows [for NBC]," NBC Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt told Chris Hardwick today at an NAB Show session in Las Vegas. The pair used the panel to discuss the art of creating on-demand and mobile content, leaving a digital footprint, and how networks…

It’s a good bet that Robert Greenblatt had never shared a dais with Julius “Dr. J” Erving. Yet there they were in New York this week, the NBC Entertainment chairman and the NBA Hall of Famer, the duke of dunk, raising a glass to director Kenny Leon at the Mr. Abbott Awards. Leon may seem a little young, at 61, to be…

Hairspray has more lives than a cat. I am talking about the now-several incarnations of the property, which started as an independent cult-hit film from director John Waters in 1988. It later was turned into a Tony-winning Broadway musical in 2002, followed by a hit film version in 2007 and now is morphing into a live…

Donald Trump towered over the Television Critics Association’s Summer TV Press Tour 2015 like a “Great, Great Wall.” Stephen Colbert, making his first press-tour appearance as David Letterman’s replacement on CBS’ Late Show, was supposed to be the star of the confab, but he too got sucked into the Trump…