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Is NBC's Ben Silverman About to Be Cancelled?
Posted by Defamer Hollywood at 9:40 AM on July 31, 2008
A while back, those savvy kids over at New York magazine's Vulture posed the provocative question: "Is Ryan on The Office a thinly veiled Ben Silverman?" In a case of life imitating art imitating life, it looks like Silverman may follow in his fictional wunderkind's footsteps: rumours are flying that the NBC co-chairman is about to be fired. Says Page Six:
Ben Silverman might not last long as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment if the Peacock network's fall schedule doesn't boost its sagging ratings.
Silverman's summer lineup - featuring plenty of reality shows like "Celebrity Circus," "Baby Borrowers," "Nashville Star" and the remake of "American Gladiators" - has been a disappointment.
There is scepticism over NBC's fall lineup, as well. After NBC airs the Beijing Olympics, it's pinning its hopes on a new version of "Knight Rider," "Lipstick Jungle" (which barely got renewed), "My Own Worst Enemy" starring Christian Slater and a US version of Australian sitcom "Kath & Kim" with Molly Shannon and Selma Blair.
"If the fall is as bad as the summer, someone will have to take the blame, and it won't be [NBC chairman and CEO] Jeff Zucker," said one network insider.
Still, the insider promised that if Silverman did have to be fired, they'd at least take a page out of the maestro's playbook and replace him with a high-concept studio head imported from England or Colombia, — or, failing that, they'd simply resurrect something from the 80s. Is the corpse of Brandon Tartikoff still available?
[Photo Credit: Getty Images]
- NBC BOSS' 'FALL' FROM GRACE [Page Six]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
CatherineTrammell
Posted 10:00 AM 31/7/08
Don't you toy with my emotions, Kyle Buchanan! Don't you ride in here on your first day and drop news like this!
I'm going to find my Ben Silverman High t-shirt right now! Whatever happened to that damned prom anyways!?
CatherineTrammell
NoWireHangers
Posted 9:54 AM 31/7/08
Next time, please incorporate that Ben-Silverman-with-peacock-talons picture into the post. Maybe it's the NBC peacock swooping in for his head? Something high concept like that.
NoWireHangers
StylusPictures
Posted 10:39 AM 31/7/08
You know what? Because you guys use that picture so often, someone has to invent a word to describe that expression on his face. What the hell is that? It sure as fuck isn't a smile. It's sort of a clenchy, smiley, worried look. I'm at a loss...
StylusPictures
CatherineTrammell
Posted 11:18 AM 31/7/08
@StylusPictures: It's a Silverman
CatherineTrammell
Desk_hack
Posted 11:58 AM 31/7/08
@StylusPictures: That, my dear, is classic coke-jaw. I never once believed that pot was his drug of choice.
Desk_hack
gwendemarco
Posted 2:00 PM 31/7/08
Dear Jeff: We're working hard to fix what ain't working! Put the concepts into groups and here's what they said:
Baby Gladiators - Quick read, easy sell, provactivo. Will play well in the South, like towns in Kansas and Iowa.
Celebrity Star - Celebrities become stars. Redundant maybe, but packed celebrity goodness viewers crave.
Nashville Borrowers - It just sounds cool. We're working to flesh it out. Or is it flush? LOL.
My Own Worst Lipstick - Hiring the gal who ideated this. She's da bomb!
Peace out!
Your Benji
gwendemarco
Imnotatnbc
Posted 4:23 PM 31/7/08
If I worked at NBC which I TOTALLY SWEAR I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT, I would tell you that Silverman has graced the Burbank offices with about the same frequency as hit shows.
Imnotatnbc
picardia
Posted 4:51 AM 1/8/08
This ignoramus can't be fired fast enough.
I will say that I have liked his support for "30 Rock," but that seems to be the lone sane act of his entire tenure.
Yes, I may still be bitter over "Bionic Woman."
picardia
Decebal
Posted 5:00 AM 1/8/08
Is he related to Joe Francis, or at the very least share the same dentist?
And no that is not a smile, his lips are parted, but that's about it. Kind of like a wolf asserting his dominance over the coke lines.
Decebal
joag95
Posted 3:29 AM 1/8/08
They'll probably replace him with Bonnie Hammer. I think they'll be too skittish to try anything out of the box after dealing with Silverman's crap for the past year.
joag95