Toward that end, he kicked things off with a conversation about NBC’s new hit and “rare gift from God,” The Voice. Greenblatt explained why the network was holding it until spring — so they could figure out a format that has it go for longer than ten weeks and grow it into a reliable, long-term blockbuster. He then showed a clip reel for The Voice that was nothing short of masterful: a really excellent cut, and also, lordy, what a boon this whole thing has been to Christina Aguilera, whose face gets pride of place in all the promotional materials, and thus gets promoted every time the show does. After the video, Greenblatt was sure to mention mid-season show Smash, lest anyone mistake its 2012 premiere date for anything less than total network confidence.
Greenblatt then did a walk-through of the schedule, night by night. The Sing-Off, which will keep The Voice’s spot warm for it on Monday nights, would have looked better had it not aired right after The Voice’s promo, which was a lot more substantial.
And now the last clip of the upfront! And, not going to lie, Smash, a Greenblatt favorite, looks great. Debra Messing plays a producer who is putting together a musical based on Marilyn Monroe, and she and her director, producer (Anjelica Huston), and writer are auditioning Marilyns. One of them is played by Katharine McPhee, who is clearly the star of the show, Messing and Huston’s bigger names aside. McPhee sings Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” (NBC: Now promoting Christina Aguilera on all platforms!), and it’s great.
To end the show, Greenblatt wants to leave us with three thoughts: “We know we have to rebuild this network.” There will be no “scrimping” at the margins; NBC is going to pay up. And finally, “We know this is all going to take time.” Until then, though, NBC has The Voice and Christina Aguilera, who comes out to sing. She performs with the Roots and some backup singers. People are leaving in earnest now, but, it. is. not. over. Aguilera calls out Cee Lo. He sings “Crazy.” And it’s still not over! Marianne Gambelli comes back out, but NBC has already made its point: NBC, the musical channel, with a solid development slate, is going to be a serious player again. Seriously.
