Results tagged “nbc”

Last night, Jerry Seinfeld, NBC's maybe savior, appeared on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update to join Seth Meyers to question recently resigned Congressman Eric Massa's decision making process. One line from Seinfeld: "I can't stop thinking, if that's snorkeling, what's scuba diving?" more ›

After the Leno-Conan disaster and the Black History Month menu NBC was reportedly so happy to see Jerry Seinfeld show up at the office, it didn’t even care what he was pitching. "If you know the Yiddish term kvelling, that's what the executives were doing. They were rejoicing. Jerry's back! Seinfeld's in the house again!" one source told the Post, adding that “a show based on a guy sitting with a paper bag over his head...would have been green-lighted." But it wasn’t a show about paper bags, or a show about nothing. It was a show about marital spats, which, since airing after the Olympics, has gotten bad reviews and ratings that aren’t much better, causing TV pioneer Al Primo to predict the Marriage Ref will come back to “haunt” Seinfeld and the network that broadcasted it. more ›

Aww. Roots drummer ?uestlove, who questioned the menu choices of NBC's cafeteria in celebration of Black History Month (fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas)... has made peace with chef Leslie Calhoun. She defended her menu after the Twitpic he took of it made it all the way to the Jay Leno show, and now ?uestlove says: "just so yall dont think that im all talk. i presented leslie in our kitchen with flowers and an extremely sizable gift certificate spa treatment with the works." more ›

While it would be nice to blame NBC's Black History Month Menu-tastrophe on Jeff Zucker, the dishes offered yesterday (fried chicken, collard greens and black-eyed peas) were actually chosen by Leslie Calhoun... NBC's black chef. more ›

An NBC employee here in New York broadcasted the network's cafeteria menu from earlier today over the Twitter waves. To celebrate Black History Month, they were offering up a delicious selection of fried chicken, collard greens, corn bread, black eyed peas, etc. But then two hours later the sign was mysteriously removed, leaving diners with a grilled chicken option. It's unclear what could have possibly prompted NBC to change course (ahem, ?uestlove), but we hear employees are excited for St. Patrick's Day, when the commissary will serve Irish Car Bombs. [via Max Silvestri] more ›

Last night Conan O'Brien bid his final farewell to The Tonight Show, with some help from guests Tom Hanks, Steve Carell and Neil Young. We laughed, we cried, then we were treated to an All-Star performance of "Free Bird" as performed by Will Ferrell, his wife Viveca Paulin, Billy Gibbons, Beck, Max Weinberg & the Tonight Show Band, Ben Harper, and Conan himself! more ›

The day is finally here: tonight's Tonight Show will be the last hosted by Conan O'Brien. With the departure deal now signed, the Wall Street Journal discusses how the host will do with that whole nondisparagement clause thing. At any rate, he had no pause when it came to taking shots at the network during last night's show (though Robin Williams did most of the dirty work). He's also joked about some loopholes: like being able to trash NBC in Spanish, or in song. more ›

Finally, Conan O'Brien — with just two more nights behind his Tonight Show desk — has reached an agreement with NBC. According to the NY Times, negotiations went into the night and resulted in a deal that will pay him about $32 million and allow him back on the small screen in 8 months time. The deal was signed around 1 a.m. PCT, and the Wall Street Journal reports that he also secured about $12 million for his staff. more ›

So much news in the Conan O'Brienosphere today. First off, TMZ reports that while the late night talk show host may not get to keep Triumph & Co. he is getting a $32.5 million payout upon leaving NBC and his Tonight Show hosting desk. He is free to move on to another network, but not until September. And since Conan loves his cast and crew, who have been with him since Day 1, you know he looked out for them during negotiations. Rumor has it they are all getting paid severance by the network, grand totaling their payout at around $40 million. more ›

As Conan O'Brien's last week as host of The Tonight Show is upon us (he'll film his final show on Friday), word is that his departure deal may be agreed upon today. While it's already been reported that the host will likely be able to go live on another network as early as September, and will receive a hefty financial payout — the stall seems to be surrounding the characters Conan has created while on the network. more ›

Yesterday it was confirmed that Conan would likely be leaving NBC with a nice settlement and the freedom to pursue opportunities at other networks. Last night the Wall Street Journal reported that the two parties are close to closing in on a final agreement, with a financial settlement that could put $25M to $40M in Conan's pockets. The deal is reportedly going to be reached this weekend — a meeting was scheduled for this morning. more ›

Yesterday we mentioned there were some rumors going around that Conan O'Brien's last Tonight Show would being next week, and today it's confirmed. The Daily Beast reports that the host is leaving NBC, receiving a payout and is welcome to pursue other network opportunities before his contract expires. more ›

Yesterday Jay Leno issued his own open letter to the People of Earth, and even though it was just a parody, we imagine it wouldn't be far off from what the man himself would have to say. Which would be nothing in comparison to Our Hero Conan O'Brien's letter. But the big news today is Conan is leaving NBC. According to Bill Simmons, at least, "Next week is Conan's final week hosting the Tonight Show. His staff is trying to book big guests so he goes out with a bang. It's true." more ›

Last night, Our Hero Conan O'Brien delivered his monologue on NBC's Tonight Show just hours after sending out a statement questioning that same network's choice in reshuffling their late night hours. He was rightfully applauded by many yesterday for declaring he would not stay on as host if the legendary time slot was pushed, as well as for the class he exhibited in delivering that news. (He even broke down talking to his staff, who have been with him since the beginning.) more ›

Following his assault on NBC for their recent decisions during his monologue last night, Conan O'Brien has announced that he will not host The Tonight Show if it is moved to follow Jay Leno at 12:05 a.m. more ›

When Conan O'Brien took on hosting duties of The Tonight Show, he had a team of lawyers negotiating his terms. Unfortunately, they neglected to specify a time slot, meaning NBC could put Conan on at whatever time they wanted, as long as he was still hosting The Tonight Show. more ›

When we asked last week if Conan O'Brien should stick around NBC after they gave Jay Leno his old time slot back — leaving Conan to decide whether he wanted to stay and air later, or leave — you said he should LEAVE! Well, yesterday we heard of rumors he may be moving to Fox... and now the Wall Street Journal has printed that rumor, too, saying the talk show host has already met with the rival network. more ›

Rumors that Jay Leno will get his nighttime slot back from Conan O'Brien were confirmed today by NBC. The switch comes after the failure of The Jay Leno Show, a prime-time clone of The Tonight Show which "didn't meet affiliates' needs," according to Jeff Gaspin, chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment. more ›

This week was filled with speculation about what would happen to Conan O'Brien now that Jay Leno is taking his old 11:30 time slot back. Conan has allegedly yet to make a decision about his next move, or whether or not he'll stay at NBC... but last night he finally addressed the rumors on his show: more ›

With word coming in yesterday that Jay Leno would be reclaiming his 11:30 p.m. time slot on NBC, the question mark was where Conan O'Brien would land in the shake up. TMZ now reports that network execs are letting him decide if he wants the midnight to 1:00 a.m. slot; "if he does, Leno's show will only be a half hour. If Conan walks, Leno will get a full hour." more ›

Today the cast and crew of 30 Rock took over the NY1 newsroom, and Pat Kiernan has done a terrific job of live-blogging and Twittering behind the scenes — including a note to his future self, saying, "Just had a nice chat with Alec Baldwin. Turns out he's a regular NY1 viewer. Must be nice next time there's a tabloid headline on In the Papers." Speaking of In the Papers, there was a missed opportunity for comedy gold by not turning over today's segment to Tracy Jordan. more ›

After months of talks, cable giant Comcast has made a deal with General Electric for NBC. According to the NY Times, "The agreement will create a joint venture, with Comcast owning 51 percent and G.E. owning 49 percent. Comcast will contribute to the joint venture its stable of cable channels, which includes Versus, the Golf Channel and E Entertainment, worth about $7.25 billion, and will pay G.E. about $6.5 billion in cash, for a total of $13.75 billion. For now, the network will remain NBC Universal, but ultimately Comcast could decide to change the name." Fun facts: GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt and other execs "intend" to keep their offices at 30 Rock and want the GE logo to remain at the top of the building. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] The local chapter of the union that represents nearly 3,000 of the NBC's producers, writers and technicians is threatening to walk out during the network's "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" special tonight—potentially denying millions of viewers the pleasure of seeing a light switch get flicked. The show is supposed to be broadcast tonight starting at 8 p.m., hosted by Jane Krakowski (30 Rock) and Zachary Levi (Chuck). Musical guests include Aretha Franklin, Rod Stewart, Rob Thomas, Alicia Keys, Jo Dee Messina, Barry Manilow, Shakira, The Muppets, and The Roots. more ›

The animal rights advocates at PETA wanted to run this commercial during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on NBC. However, the organization says they were told their "family-friendly announcement against abusing turkeys" didn't meet network standards. "The station asked us to give more information about the cruelty behind turkey slaughter to back up the statements made in the ad. But even after we sent the network this New York Times article chronicling the grisly facts about turkey factory farming, it nixed the ad." They say they had a kid-centric audience in mind when they created it, but we imagine if any kids listened to the ad they might choose to go hungry this Thursday! more ›

New Jersey's 2nd favorite son Bon Jovi has signed on to become the first "artist-in-residence" at NBC. In a feature in this week's Observer, Felix Gillette traces the strange pairing, profiling both the pragmatism of self-described CEO Bon Jovi, as well as NBC's love of synergy and refusal to acknowledge criticism. more ›

Everybody in New York knows that Thanksgiving is about one thing and one thing only: self-promotion. So it is with honor for our melting-pot of a country that NBC has reportedly banned the cast of 'Glee' from performing at the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The cast of the hit Fox show was set to sing their hit cover of "Don't Stop Believin'" for the 83rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but apparently NBC didn't want to showcase their rivals' hit show. But wait, now who will provide the traditional Journey sing-along our forefathers fought for? more ›

Last night, Conan O'Brien officially took over hosting duties for The Tonight Show and opened the show with a taped bit that showed him running across the country from NYC to LA (with scenic stops at the Wrigley Field in Chicago, St. Louis Arch, and a Victorian Doll Museum somewhere else). more ›

Everyone's an expert! 50-year-old newscaster Brian Williams is getting into the music blogging game with a "new music reporting project" called BriTunes (pronounced like iTunes). Let's just say the original BriTunes is less than thrilled about this, however Mr. Williams says, "I didn't name this thing, but I did come up with the idea." The idea of music blogging? So ahead of his time. He continues, saying, "I have always loved identifying good music and good groups—discovering them early (bar bands are best) and following them through their journey. While we'll interview some established musicians, mostly I'd like this to be a place where people can sample some of the great music being created every day." He starts with the band Deer Tick, who have been around since 2004 and are currently on a major national tour, which included plenty of dates with Jenny Lewis earlier this year. more ›

Talk about a hot mess, the Project Runway powers-that-be barely made it work but word is that the show will finally be able to hit airwaves again. Earlier this year the finalists for the yet-to-be-aired season weren't even allowed to show their faces at their own Fashion Week shows because of the legal battle, but now it's being reported that "the long and bitter litigation over the hit reality series came to an end Wednesday when the Weinstein Company, which owns the show, agreed to pay NBC Universal a settlement fee, acknowledging it had improperly sold the show to a competitive network without giving NBC a right to match the offer." This past September NBC successfully prevented Lifetime from airing the show, and now the Weinstein Company will pay NBC a fee for the right to move the show to Lifetime. Expect the new season to air this summer, and according to their deal, there's five more years to come! more ›

Jerry Seinfeld is returning to television, but this time he's behind the scenes. The NY Times reports on the new reality series he's producing for NBC called The Marriage Refs, but he told them, “This is going to be a comedy show; I’m not interested in the reality of it.” The show, a brainchild of the comedians, will focus on "funny marital spats," but will be more like The Honeymooners than Dr. Phil (noting that TV therapy never works). Each episode will have a theme and will capture arguments based on this theme, footage of which will be used by a marriage ref in picking a winner of the argument. Hmm, we were hoping he'd make the judge-appointed butler idea a reality. more ›