“Coming from 20th Century Fox Television, I’ve worked with Ryan Murphy for a long time and while he is a guy who pushes the envelope THE NEW NORMAL is his love letter to families,” said NBC entertainment president Jennifer Salke when asked during NBC’s Executive Session at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Los Angeles to address the boycott being called by the anti-gay organization One Million Moms. “I’ve read the first three episodes and they’re are exploring storylines that come back to this warm relatable heartfelt place about responsible parenting, change in lifestyle once you start having children, and pursuing your dreams. The title is not meant to push idea that it’s a more ‘normal’ family than everybody else. It’s just meant to bring a family show to the public that captures the zeitgeist, and what’s going on in the country right now and being more inclusive. The normal family isn’t a gay family, it’s just a different family.”
For those of you who may have been slightly underwhelmed with last season’s less than SMASH-ing first season, brace yourself for news that should be music to fan’s ears. Crediting new showrunner Josh Safran with coming in and pitching a new vision of the series, Salke promises a real plan in place resulting in things coming together that are more consistent. For his part, former Broadway Producer and current NBC chairman Robert Greenblatt is very proud of SMASH on so many levels, but does promise some exciting new changes after a first season that had some ups and downs creatively, “Adding Newsies Jeremy Jordan, Jennifer Hudson in three of the first four episodes to our six central characters, we’re just really excited. We just started shooting episode one and I’m really excited about it.”
“Almost every reality franchise does two cycles a season,” said Greenblatt when asked if he is concerned about diluting the success of THE VOICE with a second cycle in the fall. “We’re obviously cautious, but we’ve done some things to the format to make it a better show.” Added Paul Telegdy President of alternative and late-night programming at NBC Entertainment, “We found a way to keep the competition between the judges going through the latter stages of the competition.
Think a thirteen episode commitment combined with a move to Friday night spells doom for the denizens of Greendale COMMUNITY college? Think again! At least according to NBC chairman Robert Greenblatt who would love nothing more to see COMMUNITY flourish on Friday while promising that fans of COMMUNITY are going to get the same show that they have loved from the beginning despite visionary creator Dan Harmon not being at the helm.
“Those Thursday comedies which the critics love and we love tend to be a bit more narrow than we’d ultimately like as we go forward,” was how a surprisingly candid Greenblatt responded when asked about the future of NBC’s roster of critically acclaimed ratings anemic laughers. So just what does this mean for the future of say a PARKS AND RECREATION and/or COMMUNITY? According to NBC entertainment president Jennifer Salke, subtle changes to your favorite shows. “These creators are trying to embrace the idea of staying true to who they are but opening things and trying to be a little more inclusive to what could potentially be a broader audience. As a network, we are in this awkward stage of trying to take what’s working and expand it out. Some of our new comedies might seem more commercial than others, but they fall in line with shows that could be on Thursday night. NBC is an evolving comedy brand.” 
