Pete Davidson, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and ‘SNL’ Stars Throw a Few Zingers at Peacock and NBC
variety.comMichael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeThe network upfronts are back — sort of. NBCUniversal kicked off the return of in-person upfronts presentations to advertisers, the first since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
And just as the conglom had started to do even before the pandemic, the presentation was more about the company as a whole, and less about individual networks (except for a lengthy performance-based pitch for “Bravocon”).The event didn’t even mention NBC’s fall schedule or timeslots, instead focusing on NBCU offerings, divided by genre.
Still, a lot of the old upfronts-style trappings remained, from suits touting their wares to stars coming out and making cracks about their corporate owners. “TV is the only place where you can lie through your teeth about how great everything is and call it upfront,” Seth Meyers quipped. “Let me be upfront with you.
Half the shows won’t make it through the year… I don’t need to tell you, the last few years have been transformative — not just for the TV business but across all industries.
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