5 Takeaways From NBC's Press Day: Bob Greenblatt Plays Trump Card, Neil Patrick Harris Charms

NBC wrapped up the 17-day Television Critics Association press tour Thursday, bringing with it crowd-pleasing talent such as Neil Patrick Harris and Dolly Parton, the cast and executive producer of the new series “Heroes Reborn,” and a several tons of announcements.

NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt kicked off the NBC sessions with a Q&A that was heavy not only on one-liners, but also hot topics such as the network’s breakup with Donald Trump and failings with comedy.

TheWrap looks at the best that NBC had to offer.

1. The Bob Greenblatt Show

Greenblatt didn’t deliver an exhaustive manifesto on the present and future of television a la FX Network President John Landgraf’s prediction of a TV-content bubble. What he did do was give the loosest and most one-liner-packed performance of the tour. Asked whether “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”s’ Emmy nominations made him regret giving the show to Netflix, Greenblatt responded, “We’re whores for Emmy nominations.” Told that the NBC “killed” the original “Heroes” through bad scheduling, he joked of revival “Heroes Reborn”: “I’m going to kill this now.” But he saved his best material for former “Celebrity Apprentice” host Donald Trump. When one reporter proposed a drinking game in which everyone at the Beverly Hilton drink whenever a question about Trump was asked, Greenblatt responded, “We could do that in life.”

Also Read: 'Celebrity Apprentice' to Return for 2016-2017 Season With New Host

NBC

2. All the News That Fits

The NBC executive session was also notable for including more breaking news than any other session of the tour. Among the announcements: Jimmy Fallon extending his deal to host “The Tonight Show” for six years, “American Ninja Warrior” being renewed, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” moving to the network, a deal with Keshet, Rihanna joining “The Voice,” Common joining “The Wiz,” and a bunch of new comedy projects.

3. And Here’s Some More News!

News also comes up organically at TCA, or at least as organic as anything gets announced in the TV industry. Among the news straight from the stars’ mouths, we learned that Dolly Parton’s next NBC TV movie will be based on her hit song “Jolene.”

From Dick Wolf’s Chicago-based TV drama trifecta, we now know that the next mega-crossover — which also includes his “Law & Order: SVU” — will air in February. Later in the day, “Best Time Ever” host Neil Patrick Harris revealed that Ricky Martin and Reese Witherspoon will be among the guest actors on the new series’ freshman run.

Also Read: Common, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley Join NBC's 'The Wiz Live!'

4. “Best Time Ever” Executive Producers Charm Exhausted Critics

Neil Patrick Harris may be the most charming man in Hollywood. The most charming woman may be his “Best Time Ever” executive producing partner, and she isn’t even from this country. That said, the accent didn’t hurt the effort.

TV critics — exhausted at the end of a very long Summer Press Tour — were entertained by both NPH and Siobhan Greene, who helped create the British version of the upcoming NBC show.

While Harris promised “a bunch of cool shit,” Greene guaranteed that by the end of the eight-episode season, we’ll all “be gagging for more.” Over the remainder of their Beverly Hilton stage time, there were approximately 148,837 other really enthusiastic comments between the two.

Also Read: NBC Renews 'American Ninja Warrior' for Season 5

5. I Need a Hero

“Heroes” didn’t “save the cheerleader” — the show’s original mission statement — but the world seems to be doing just fine. Creator Tim Kring confirmed that Hayden Panettiere’s character, Claire, died a year before the events on the current installment of the series, “Heroes Reborn.”

While Claire is dead, her father, Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman), is a series regular, and is the only character from the original series who will appear in every episode. Other returning characters, including Masi Oka’s time-traveling Hiro and Sendhil Ramamurthy’s Monhinder, will appear in a couple of episodes each.

The 13-episode miniseries kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 23, on NBC. Kring did leave an opening for potentially more “Heroes” after this story concludes.

The Scene at TCA: Funny, Frank and Flippant Quotes From Summer 2015 TV Press Tour (Photos)

Getty Images
“In the tradition of working with Carlton Cuse, I don’t know anything that’s going on.” -- "Colony" star Josh Holloway
Getty Images
“It’s hard to talk about that without sounding sexist ourselves.” -- "Reign" showrunner Laurie McCarthy on balancing work and home lives during female showrunners panel
Getty Images
“This is amazing! I have a TV show!” -- "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" star Rachel Bloom on breakout role
Getty Images
“At that time we weren’t looking to do another DC project.” -- CW president Mark Pedowitz on passing on "Supergirl"
Getty Images
“Stay open minded, dude.” -- "Billions" star Damian Lewis' advice to viewers
Getty Images
“And so, now I feel actually more freed up,” -- Stephen Colbert on dropping his "Colbert Report" character for "The Late Show"
Getty Images
“His enthusiasm was contagious.” -- "Limitless" star Jake McDorman on Bradley Cooper
Getty Images
“A bizzaro world honor.” -- "Angel From Hell's" Kevin Pollak on being killed off of "Mom"
Getty Images
“He’s gonna be more in the background.” -- DC Comics Chief Creative Officer Geoff John on a potential Superman appearance on "Supergirl"
Getty Images
“Boo” -- CBS entertainment chairman Nina Tassler on the network's Emmys performance
Monty Brinton/CBS & Francis Specker/CBS
“Full penetrative sex.” -- "The Mindy Project's" Ike Barinholtz on the difference between the show on Fox and on Hulu
Getty Images
“With all of our new originals, we will release episodes weekly” -- Hulu Head of Content Craig Erwich
Getty Images
“Now, for my two cents, I don’t see Trump going away easily for NBC. I don’t know how it’s going to play out.” -- Reelz CEO Stan E. Hubbard
Getty Images
“It’s not a whodunit, there’s no mystery.” -- "Fargo" showrunner Noah Hawley on how to write a “Fargo” story.
Getty Images
“Nothing wrong with colorful brutality.” -- "Bastard Executioner" creator Kurt Sutter
Getty Images
“We tried pretty hard.” -- "The League" showrunner Jeff Schaffer on getting Tom Brady for a Deflategate episode
Getty Images
“This is simply too much television.” -- FX CEO John Landgraf warning of a television bubble about to burst
Getty Images
“OK, here she is now. How did she get to where she’s at right now?” -- Lee Daniels teasing an "Empire" prequel following a young Cookie Lyon
Getty Images
“Bye Felicia.” -- "Empire" creator Lee Daniels shutting down woman suing the show claiming Cookie Lyon was based on her
Getty Images
“They were terrific, but I’m really happier — I’m going to dare to say that — to be here." -- "Rosewood's" Lorraine Toussaint on her last show, "Forever"
Getty Images
“It has been an incredible year for minorities, and I’m blessed to be in the forefront of that.” -- "Minority Report" star Meagan Good on TV diversity
Getty Images
“The Olsen twins cried a lot, so it was hard to get a take, that’s pretty accurate,” he said. “So I said, ‘get rid of ‘em.’” -- John Stamos revealing he almost got Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen fired from "Full House"
Getty Images
“Rob tell the truth! We’ve dated for years!” -- "Grandfathered" star John Stamos heckling Rob Lowe during "The Grinder" panel
Getty Images
“Unlike that girl, who apologized and resigned, we wanted to bring our queen bee character to some sort of awareness about her behavior.” -- "Scream Queens" creator Ryan Murphy revealing that Emma Roberts' character was inspired by viral sorority email
Getty Images
“Every single actor in every single scene at some point is given one direction, which is: ‘OK, now do the scene as if you’re the killer,'” -- "Scream Queens" star Jamie Lee Curtis on the plan to reveal the killer
Getty Images
“It’s a little bit of an odd result.” -- Fox CEO Gary Newman on "Empire's" Emmy Snubs
Getty Images
“I was really excited about getting involved in TV again, and it was great to get a call from Don.” -- Former "Gossip Girl" star Chace Crawford on returning to TV with "Blood & Oil"
Getty Images
“It’s a lovely thing that you’re saying, but I’m not answering that.” -- Shonda Rhimes refusing to answer a question about her legacy in television
Getty Images
“You could send him over to Meredith and I could cut his vocal cords out.” -- "Grey's Anatomy" star Ellen Pompeo on how Shondaland would deal with Donald Trump
Getty Images
“We’re crashing cars and we’re doing the whole thing — it’s gonna be awesome,” "The Goldbergs" creator Adam Goldberg on the series' "Risky Business" episode
Getty Images
“That’s kind of how I grew up on ‘Community,’ where it’s all about the ensemble.” -- "Dr. Ken" star and EP Ken Jeong on the show's ensemble
Getty Images
“It’s very important to us to not be violence porn.” -- "Wicked City" creator Steven Baigelman on the show's violence-against-women plot
Getty Images
“Any actress in the world would want to play Alex Parrish ... She’s the female Jason Bourne.” -- "Quantico" star Priyanka Chopra on her first TV role
Getty Images
“She’s a star. She’s an iconic ABC star. We think the entire world will be talking about [her].” -- ABC President Paul Lee on "Quantico" star Priyanka Chopra
Getty Images
“It can be tough to work with your ex … Especially when your ex is a pig.” – Kermit the Frog after announcing his split from Miss Piggy
Getty Images
“We won’t be getting into arguments over politics and current events, but we might be getting into debates about the politics of hair.” -- "FABLife" host Tyra Banks on how the show differs from "The View"
“You can’t be the dirty Oprah.” -- "FABLife" host Tyra Banks on the difficulties of her last daytime talk show
Getty Images
“I think a ‘Downton’ movie could be a wonderful thing.” -- Executive Producer Gareth Neame on the end of "Downton Abbey."
Getty Images
“I love the idea because I don’t see enough of that on the air any place … and I think it’s a rich idea.” -- Norman Lear on his plans for a reboot of "One Day at a Time" featuring three generations of Latina women
Getty Images
“I think what’s going on is outrageous. It’s absolutely terrible and wrong and ill conceived.” -- "Doctor Who" showrunner Steven Moffat on BBC's potential for pulled government funding
Getty Images
“‘The Muppet Show’ to me, and ‘Sesame Street’ … they’re in the same world as ‘SNL.'” -- "Nature Cat" star Bobby Moynihan
Getty Images
“As a Chinese-American kid growing up here, there was not many role models I could look up to on the big screen.” -- "Into the Badlands" star Daniel Wu
Getty Images
“I can say Lexa shows up early. So you’re not going to have to wait desperately to see her.” -- "Fear the Walking Dead" star Alycia Debnam-Carey on her return to The CW's "The 100"
Getty Images
“There’s going to be plenty of encounters of the Walker type." -- Showrunner Dave Erickson on "Fear the Walking Dead"
Getty Images
"Everything that I portrayed during filming has happened to me as far as dancing, or everyday life. It’s completely authentic. There’s no frills to it.” -- "Flesh and Bone" star Sarah Hay on the series' depiction of ballet
Getty Images
“It’s not a cop show, a doctor show, or a lawyer show. Those shows make me want to hang myself as a viewer.” -- "Ash vs. Evil Dead" star Bruce Campbell on Starz series
Getty Images
“One of the pleasures of my career is to connect people of whom I am a fan, and I’d been a fan of Patrick’s for a number of years and of Jonathan’s [Ames] work.” -- "Blunt Talk" creator Seth MacFarlane on star Patrick Stewart
Getty Images
“I can’t really tell you [much], but I think when you see what she’s up to in the show, you’ll appreciate what a clever idea [it is].” -- "Doctor Who" showrunner Steven Moffat on Maisie Williams' role
Getty Images
“I don’t think about it ... It’s just not relevant to anything I’m doing.” -- Former "Beverly Hills, 90210" star Luke Perry on Lifetime's unauthorized tell-all movie
Getty Images
“We always want the show to feel authentic, but the first season of the show we make no apologies for.” -- "Leftovers" creator Damon Lindelof
Getty Images
“We all have our own journeys.” -- Greg Louganis, subject of upcoming HBO doc "Back on Board," on fellow Olympian Caitlyn Jenner
Getty Images
“I was really disappointed in him.” -- "Ballers" star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson on Hulk Hogan's racist rant
Getty Images
“I’m open to anything Dan and David would want to do [with Game of Thrones], but no conversations yet.” -- HBO programming president Michael Lombardo
Getty Images
“A cross between Machete and Marcia Brady.” -- Danny Trejo describing his "From Dusk Till Dawn" character
Getty Images
“We’re not about violence and we’re not about gore. And if any torture is involved, we don’t show that. What we do show, is the consequence of the crime.” -- Sara Kozak, Senior Vice President, Production of Investigation Discovery
Getty Images
“I think the beauty of the bravery of Nat Geo is actually that they’re letting us de-sanitize the story of Thanksgiving and that whole part of our history." -- Actor Raul Trujillo on his TV movie "Saints & Strangers"
Getty Images
“Let me put it this way. If a person has 9,000 tweets and five of them are not to your taste. What I heard is, ‘This person has 8,995 tweets that weren’t offensive.'” -- New 'Daily Show' Host Trevor Noah on his Twitter controversy
Getty Images
"“MTV brought us up and said ‘Hey, it’s lunchtime.’ We had no idea what to do! They gave us a lunch break and everyone was freaking out, like ‘We can’t sit down. We can’t take lunch.'" -- YouTube star Todrick Hall on his new MTV show "Todrick"
Getty Images
“My own community ostracizes me and thinks of Nelly Fags and Butch Lesbians are sort of the pariahs of the community.” -- Lea DeLaria comparing her life story to that of her "Orange Is the New Black" character
Getty Images
"With this [show], there’s no time for dicking around." -- "Master of None" showrunner and star Aziz Ansari on his new gig.
Getty Images
“A million dollars an episode is kinda ridiculous ... Let’s be honest, that’s a lot of money.” -- "Grace and Frankie" showrunner Marta Kauffman on "Friends" cast's $1 million per episode
Getty Images
“I don’t think anyone else needs to hear me bitch about E!” -- Chelsea Handler, host of an upcoming four-film Netflix documentary series
Getty Images
“Playing a trans character on a show being shepherded by Lana Wachowski, I knew I would be protected and represented in a way that trans people have never been represented before on TV,” -- "Sense8" star Jamie Clayton
Getty Images
"We don’t need dragons, we’ve got cocaine!" -- "Narcos" star Pedro Pascal on similarities between new show and "Game of Thrones"
Getty Images
“Comedy is born out of the most unfortunate of circumstances." -- "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" star Tituss Burgess
Getty Images
“I don’t have to defend Adam Sandler." -- Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos on network's four-picture deal with "Pixels" star
Getty Images