Latest in Universal Media Studios

The last top player from the Jeff Zucker regime at NBC is gone. Marc Graboff, a 11-year NBC veteran, will be leaving the network. NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt broke the news to his staff in an email (below). The likable Graboff had been steadily rising in the ranks at NBC, starting off as head of business affairs and…

The international TV market got underway in Cannes this morning with a flurry of announcements. Here are a few titbits: — ITV Studios Global Entertainment, the TV distribution arm of the Brit broadcaster, has sold the new NBC version of Prime Suspect to over 30 territories worldwide. This is despite the show teetering…

EXCLUSIVE: NBC’s sibling Universal Media Studios has assembled a new top executive team under EVP Bela Bajaria, who took the reins of the studio last month. Additionally, UMS is changing its name to Universal Television, reverting to the moniker held by Universal’s TV production company, known for such series as the La…

EXCLUSIVE: After successfully adapting British workplace comedy The Office for NBC, Greg Daniels is taking on another half-hour British format for the network, this time a family comedy. I hear that NBC has put in development a U.S. version of the UK series Friday Night Dinner with Daniels at the helm. It is unclear…

EXCLUSIVE: Israeli formats continue to be a hot commodity. In a competitive situation, NBC has landed the rights to Israeli mystery drama Timrot Ashan, aka Pillars of Smoke, for Peter Traugott’s recently launched UMS-based production company to produce. Search is already underway for a writer to adapt the series…

Peter Tolan has closed a deal to write Sean Hayes’ comedy project for NBC. Tolan will co-pen the script with his producing partner Michael Wimer. As a result, Sony Pictures TV, where Tolan is based with an overall deal, has come on board as a co-producer alongside Universal Media Studios. The comedy will star Hayes as…

EXCLUSIVE: The Office writer-producer Justin Spitzer has signed a two-year overall deal with the studio behind the NBC comedy, Universal Media Studios. Under the seven-figure deal, Spitzer’s first, he will continue on The Office while also developing new series projects. Spitzer’s only previous stab at development was…

Dr. House can be a real pain in the ass, but he is not a monster. Well, that is exactly what veteran House writer-producers Garrett Lerner and Russel Friend have in mind for the leading man in their next series project. The duo has sold a drama project to NBC through their overall deal at Universal Media Studios, the…

Former Showtime executive Danielle Gelber has joined Dick Wolf’s Universal Media Studios-based Wolf Films as an executive producer and EVP. She will work closely with Wolf and Wolf Films president Peter Jankowski on all scripted development for the company. Gelber replaces Nena Rodrigue, who oversaw Wolf Films…

Jason Ritter has signed a development deal with Universal Media Studios to star in a new hourlong drama series from Parenthood and Friday Night Lights exec producer Jason Katims. Our sister site TVLine broke the news today. That means Ritter will stick around at NBC, where his drama The Event aired for one season, and…

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy-winning directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo have signed a two-year exclusive development deal with Universal Media Studios. The two will relocate to UMS from Sony Pictures TV, where they were under overall deals for the past four years. It will be a pretty seamless transition as the Sony TV-produced…

Since NBC Universal’s TV studio Universal Media Studios spun off Universal Cable Prods in 2008, the mothership studio had been developing and producing pilots and series for NBC and occasionally for other broadcast networks, while UCP had been supplying affiliated USA Network and Syfy and, starting last year, other…