What a difference a year makes. At last year’s upfront presentations in New York City, just as the networks and streamers were rebounding from the pandemic, along came another shutdown. It was the WGA’s writers strike, which the actors honored before they too voted to walk off the job later last summer.
This year, talent and of course content was king once again as advertisers, ad buyers and media got their first looks at what’s coming down the pipeline.
Here are some of the highlights:
NBCUniversal
The family of networks kicked things off in grand style at Radio City Music Hall with a star-packed presentation that began with the NBC orchestra rising up on the stage and performing iconic theme songs to the delight of the audience.
Channeling his own Beyoncé, Jimmy Fallon emerged strumming his guitar and singing some spoof songs in celebration of his 25 years at the network and 10 for his late night show.
NBCUniversal Media Group chairman Mark Lazarus told the crowd, “We can do it all with zero compromise, investing in content, technology and overall excellence.”
NBCUniversal Studio Group chairman Donna Langley introduced the first trailer for what’s sure to be a smash hit, “Wicked,” with stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande showcasing classic moments from the Broadway musical.
Seth Meyers did an inspired standup set with jokes about buying Paramount with a $20 bill he found on the street and roasting former ad sales chair Linda Yaccarino, who went over to Elon Musk’s X just days before last year’s upfront, putting Mark Marshall in the driver’s seat.
Speaking of hot, the upcoming Paris Summer Olympics were on full display with Kevin Hart, Mike Sirico and Snoop Dogg talking up the games. There was other big Snoop news: He will join the coaching panel of The Voice next season along with Michael Buble, Gwen Stefani and Reba McEntire, who just took home the trophy for Season 25 of the hit music competition show.
In honor of Snoop, Buble performed an impromptu rap on stage before launching into some of his standards. Little Big Town also hit the stage with a rousing preview of their Christmas special complete with confetti and streamers that showered down on the audience.
And the icing on the cake in this highly entertaining presentation was Kelly Clarkson, taking the mic to perform two of her biggest hits, “Stronger” and “Since U Been Gone.”
Telemundo
That evening, it was Telemundo’s turn to showcase how it connects advertisers to strategic audiences with premium entertainment.
Saturday Night Live’s breakout star Marcello Hernández was the messenger for that message as he regaled the audience with stories of growing up in Miami before he made it to the stage at 30 Rock’s famed Studio 8H as a supporting cast member of SNL.
He repeatedly hit upon the strength of the Latin audience. “Our music is better, that’s not my opinion. Shakira has more monthly Spotify listeners than Beyoncé, with all due respect to the bey hive. Don’t kill me, I love Beyoncé,” he said. “Our sports are bigger, Lionel Messi has 33 times as many followers as Tom Brady. I know, and Tom Brady married a Brazilian woman in case you’re wondering.
“And of course our food is better, right? Which is why in grocery stores salsa is outselling ketchup. Because remember, it is always Taco Tuesday and it is never Meat Loaf Mondays.”
Taking over The Shed’s impressive McCourt space, Telemundo’s tight presentation focused on its recent ratings wins over archrival TelevisaUnivision, while landing some jabs at its competitor.
“We constantly change and give our audiences what they want, while others continue to do the same thing, night after night, week after week, year after year,” said Luis Fernandez, Telemundo’s newly named chairman.
FOX
It was all about the F-word at Fox’s Monday afternoon upfront at Manhattan Center. Not just for Fox, but for Jamie Foxx, and for the middle letter in Tom Brady’s catchphrase, LFG (Let’s Fucking Go.)
Not to mention another top talent well-known for his fondness for the F-word, Gordon Ramsay, who can’t be bleeped when he’s live on stage.
Yes, Foxx is back with his daughter on “Beat Shazam” and Ramsey will be hosting “Food Stars” with Lisa Vanderpump. But it was the GOAT himself, Tom Brady, who was center stage, just a week after his live roast on Netflix made global headlines.
In a reported 10-year, $375 million deal, the seven-time Super Bowl champion will be joining Fox NFL Sunday as an analyst as the season culminates in the big game on Fox in February, another F-word bandied about frequently during the presentation.
Amazon
Amazon held its first-ever physical presentation during upfronts Tuesday morning at Pier 36 – and the star power it brought out was undeniable.
Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Will Ferrell, Octavia Spencer, Hannah Waddingham and Aldis Hodge were among the A-listers promoting their movies from Amazon MGM Studios and shows on Prime Video.
Instead of making a distinction between television and film, they were fused together into genres like action, comedy, young adult, unscripted, sci-fi and sports.
Witherspoon’s Elle Woods was in a pink world long before Margot Robbie’s in “Barbie,” and the actress appeared in full pretty in pink “Legally Blonde” regalia to announce a prequel to the iconic movies.
And not much could top Alicia Keys performing “Empire State of Mind” sans Jay-Z. Except the after-reception filled with themed activations, food and drink and that gift bag filled with swag including an Amazon Fire TV Stick.
Disney
Disney is known for its family-friendly entertainment, but things got a bit R-rated at its upfront presentation at Javits Center, beginning with Ryan Reynolds welcoming the day not too far into the future when “Deadpool & Wolverine” will bring what he called “cocaine content” to Disney+.
Emma Stone introduced CEO Bob Iger, admittedly his first time speaking to an upfront audience since, wait for it, 1994.
He talked about radical changes that have transformed the business and lauded some of his top executives including Dana Walden, sitting next to prolific creator Ryan Murphy, who will have four new series coming to various platforms over the coming year.
The lengthy presentation encompassed upcoming programs on Hulu, Disney+, FX, ABC, ESPN and National Geographic.
Jimmy Kimmel’s always anticipated set did not disappoint with disses, and springboarding off the success of ”The Golden Bachelor,” he suggested a new (um, raw-dogging) show called “The Golden Retriever.”
Screenvision Media
Nothing says you’re playing in the big leagues like having your upfront event at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Screenvision Media had a whole night’s worth of festivities Tuesday night at the venue, beginning with a cocktail and hors d’oeuvre pre-reception, an engaging presentation and an afterparty in the ballroom with panoramic windows looking out at Columbus Circle.
All of that was planned for the packed house that attended. But what no one could’ve known about was the surprise and very welcomed guest.
Yes, in the midst of the continuing drama and legal proceedings in the “Rust” shooting case in New Mexico, Alec Baldwin unexpectedly appeared to tout the company’s in-theater ad offerings in a big way.
The actor joined Screenvision CEO John Partilla for a lengthy Q&A about his extensive, decades-long movie career, complete with clips of some of his best-known roles. The crowd loved it.
And they enjoyed hearing chief revenue office Christine Martino hammer home the point that movie audiences are the most attentive of any audience. In fact, the entire event’s message was summed up in the tagline “Attention in Action,” with that phrase printed on sippy cups that were handed out later in the evening.
“The fact is cinema delivers massive reach, engaging 50 million people every month that planned, paid money and made the effort to go to the movies,” Martino told the audience, noting that many of those 50 million have jettisoned traditional cable packages.
And then Baldwin made a re-appearance with Martino to enact a famous scene from “Glengarry Glen Ross” (in which he starred alongside Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin and Ed Harris) and its iconic catchphrase, “ABC, always be closing.”
But for this event, it was Baldwin telling them, “Always buy cinema.”
Warner Bros. Discovery
Get excited, all of you “Game of Thrones” and “House of the Dragon” legions of fans. A new prequel is coming, not in the winter but in the fall of 2025, so look out for “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” a new addition to the World of Westeros.
HBO and Max Content chairman and CEO Casey Bloys took to the stage at the theater at Madison Square Garden Wednesday morning to walk the audience through many of the new and returning shows headed to Max, including new seasons of “HoD” and “Hacks.”
The crowd, especially the Carries, went nuts, as much as you can first thing in the morning, when he brought out Sarah Jessica Parker to talk about the upcoming season of “And Just Like That,” the follow-up to her iconic series “Sex and the City,” which recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of its cable premiere.
What would a younger Carrie do differently, Bloys queried of SJP. “Don’t have an affair with Big or lose Aidan’s dog,” she replied, along with the advice to “get a financial planner.”
Guests of “The White Lotus” don’t need one, as they’re among the 1%. But it was thrilling to see some of the new cast of Season 3 in an amusing clip reel shot on location on Thailand, where actors including Walton Goggins, Parker Posey, Jason Isaacs and Carrie Coon are sworn to secrecy about creator Mike White’s newest plotlines.
It wouldn’t be WBD without CNN’s illustrious lineup of news anchors and reporters, or Chip and Joanna Gaines’ latest fixer-uppers.
Or, last but not least, Shaq and Conan, two tall guys with nothing else in common but comedic riffs.
