NBC took center stage Sunday at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour in Pasadena, trumping its place as the No. 1 network in the key adults 18-49 demographic and presenting panels for midseason fare. Among the highlights, the cast of Smash discussed its season two reboot, while chairman Bob Greenblatt defended Donald Trump. Here's a rundown on the day's sessions.
The Celebrity Apprentice: The cast of NBC's reality series talked about the upcoming all-stars edition and revealed that that competitor Trace Adkins changed the show "as we know it."
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Executive session: What a difference a year makes. NBC Entertainment chairmanGreenblatttook advantage of the network's gains this fall to rattle off a list of favorable stats reflecting its move from No. 4 to No. 1 among the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic. Fielding questions from reporters, Greenblatt and NBC Entertainment presidentJennifer Salkealong with NBC alternative and late-night programming presidentPaul Telegdyaddressed such things asTrump's controversial comments surrounding President Obama's re-election, the creative changes onUp All Nightand what went wrong with Animal Practice.
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Revolution: The cast and creators of NBC's breakout drama addressed the long winter hiatus and increased pace of the series when it returns from its winter break in March.
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1600 Penn: "Our show exists in an alternative political universe," said pilot director and EP Jason Winer, promising nothing in the vein of Parks and Recreation's Joe Biden cameo. "We adopt a similar role as The West Wing ... [We acknowledge] that history existed up until a certain point, but then we don't mention anything else." One thing viewers can count on, however, is seeing lots of familiar journalists. Mika Brzezinski, Savannah Guthrie, Joe Scarborough, Chuck Todd and Larry King were all named as upcoming guests.
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Deception: Describing the Meagan Good drama as if Donnie Brasco and the movie Sabrina had a baby, cast and creators of the midseason entry responded to comparisons to ABC's soapy Revenge. Producers also noted the first season would be about identifying the killer in the mystery drama, while season two would explore proving the killer's guilt.
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Grimm: Executive producer David Greenwalt notes he loves the show's Friday night time slot -- especially considering its 9 p.m. spot was where The X-Files lived during its run on Fox.
Do No Harm: "Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde holds up well … we used a lot of stuff straight from the source and tried to incorporate that into the show," EP David Schulner noted of the Steven Pasquale drama. Pasquale, for his part, said has two chairs on set for him to help navigate the wildly different personalities he's portraying.
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The Biggest Loser: Trainer Jillian Michaelsrevealed why she returned the show, and the cast weighed in on this season's twist, wherein three kids will take part in the weight-loss series for the first time.
Smash: New showrunner Josh Safran (Gossip Girl) addressed the new faces and changes ahead of season two of the Broadway drama, telling reporters that there'd be more music but much of the core of the show would remain in tact.
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