It was a tradition that had been going on for years and for the first time since May 2019, NBCUniversal got upfront week in New York started at Radio City Music Hall. Kicking things off with a bang, Kelly Clarkson belted out “Queen of the Night” for the audience at the packed venue Monday morning May 16.
Two hours later and ending things with an even bigger bang, a long red gown and sunglasses-clad Miley Cyrus strode out on stage for a performance of her massive hit “Wrecking Ball,” followed by her rendition of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.”
In between, a very well-produced presentation and we can say this especially in retrospect after attending many of the other networks’ upfronts during the week.
ABC has Jimmy Kimmel and is legendary standup routine he does at upfronts. NBC has Jimmy Fallon – and Seth Meyers– with both coming out on the Radio City stage and cracking jokes, mostly about the competitors.
Fallon, whose hosting portfolio has expanded from “The Tonight Show” to programs including “That’s My Jam” and the upcoming “Password,” got in some digs about CNN+ lasting about a minute and a half. Meyers later got in a crack about the Hollywood Foreign Press Association having less diversity than the Winter Olympics.
It was Jeff Shell’s first upfront, and coming on stage after Fallon was a bit of a tough act but he talked about the additive advantage NBC has with top dramas and comedies as well as NBCUniversal’s cable channels including USA, Bravo and Telemundo, which will televise the World Cup.
Great attention was paid to new streamer Peacock, which has seemingly found solid footing with the success of shows including “Bel-Air,” whose cast came out to take a bow – after a bit of a rocky start. Shell says it allows all the brands to extend their reach and build audiences.
No NBCU upfront would be complete without the “Saturday Night Live” sketch and sure enough there was a funny one centering on a spoof of “The Voice,” where the coaches took a nap instead of pressing their buzzers.
A loud and colorful live segment– and how could it be otherwise – featured a slew of Bravolebrities at a Bravo-con led by ringmaster Andy Cohen.
Later that evening at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in the theater district, it was Telemundo’s time to shine with a presentation of its programming strategy led by Telemundo Enterprises chair Beau Ferrari and a danceable hour-long set from rapper Ozuna.
In addition to the FIFA World Cup and kicking off the TPlus brand on Peacock, the network announced new projects featuring NCIS star Wilmer Valderrama producing a Tom Ryan young adult thriller based on a murder mystery and new seasons of popular series “La Reina del Sur” and “ElSeñor de los Cielos.”
