The first day of TCA winter press tour is in the books, and I rounded up the highlights from Netflix, ESPN and National Geographic Channel for this Adweek story.
Among the highlights: Tina Fey talked about why her new NBC sitcom, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, ended up on Netflix instead:
Given the grim fate of this season’s new broadcast sitcoms (RIP, Manhattan Love Story, Selfie, A to Z and Bad Judge), Fey couldn’t be happier about her show’s unlikely new home. “All of the networks have had a little trouble launching their comedies this season,” said Fey. “I think more people will find us like this.” For ambitious comedies like Community (which migrated to Yahoo Screen after NBC canceled it last May) or Kimmy Schmidt, “it just makes more sense than broadcast.”
The sad truth: Even NBCUniversal realized that its own network wasn’t the ideal place to nurture Fey’s new sitcom. “The show is made by NBC; it’s in NBC’s best interests for the show to have its best home,” said Fey. “And rather than trying to stick it on NBC between a multicam and a drama, they agreed that this would be the right place for it.”
There’s also lots of detail on Netflix’s grand ambitions to be “something for everyone” and ESPN adding short films to SportsCenter.
NBC Ditched Tina Fey’s New Sitcom—and She Couldn’t Be Happier
