NBC Scraps Hillary Clinton Miniseries
1:57 PM PDT 9/30/2013 by Lesley Goldberg
“After reviewing and prioritizing our slate of movie/mini-series development, we’ve decided that we will no longer continue developing the Hillary Clinton miniseries,” the network said in a statement Monday.
“After reviewing and prioritizing our slate of movie/miniseries development, we’ve decided that we will no longer continue developing the Hillary Clinton miniseries,” the network said in a statement Monday.
ANALYSIS: Who Loses Most in NBC's Hillary Clinton Nightmare [5]
The news comes hours after CNN Films opted to cancel its planned documentary [2] on the former Secretary of State and First Lady after pressure from Democrats and Republicans.
NBC announced in July that it was developing a four-hour miniseries based on Clinton starring Diane Lane, with plans to air the effort before Clinton was likely to announce her candidacy for president. The project was due to be written by Frozen River's Courtney Hunt and would have recounted Clinton's life as a wife, mother, politician and cabinet member from 1998 to the present. The script would have started with Clinton living in the White House as her husband Bill Clinton is serving the second of his two terms as president and would have included her likely run for president.
PHOTOS: From Bill Clinton to Ryan Seacrest: 17 of Hollywood's Biggest [6]Philanthropists [6]
But the announcement by NBC entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt sparked an almost instant political firestorm. The Republican National Committee voted Aug. 16 to boycott NBC (and CNN) during the 2016 presidential primary debates -- even though no script had been written and nothing had been put into production. The project also enraged segments of NBC's new division. Political director Chuck Todd called the Clinton project a "nightmare," and chief foreign-affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell said the concept was a "really bad idea given the timing."
Sources told THR [5] that CEO Steve Burke was not pressuring Greenblatt to drop the mini, but many within the company believed the project would never come. Fox Television Studios declined to produce the mini, ostensibly for financial and not political reasons. Other studios have passed on the Clinton mini, including NBCUniversal's own Universal Television. An NBCU source told THR that Burke was aware of the project before Greenblatt announced it, but sources with ties to the network believe the entertainment president did not seek Burke's blessing of flag the deal.
This is not the first time Greenblatt has had to face pressure for a political-themed mini. During his tenure at Showtime, he dumped plans for The Reagans mini there after conservatives attacked the project.
For NBC's part, the network is developing another controversial Johnny Carson mini based on Bill Zehme's long-gestating book Carson the Magnificent. After announcing the project Sept. 19, Greenblatt told THR that he won't produce the mini without the blessing of Carson's family [7] and expressed optimism that it would work out.
Beyond the Carson mini, NBC is also developing [8] an updated remake of Rosemary's Baby and a new version of Stephen King's Tommyknockers. Also in the works is Mark Burnett's limited series Plymouth and a follow-up to History's The Bible, among others.
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Links:
[1]
http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nbc-scraps-hillary-clinton-miniseries-639210&media=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/blog_post_349_width/2011/06/chanel_gallery_3_2011_a_p.jpg&description=NBC Scraps Hillary Clinton Miniseries
[2]
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cnn-films-cancels-hillary-clinton-639091 [3]
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nbc-news-chuck-todd-calls-608945 [4]
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nbc-orders-hillary-clinton-rosemarys-594405 [5]
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nbcs-hillary-clinton-nightmare-who-609787 [6]
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/bill-clinton-ryan-seacrest-17-591022 [7]
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nbcs-johnny-carson-miniseries-hinges-635437 [8]
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/nbc-orders-hillary-clinton-rosemarys-594405I guess too many people who have talked about the Clintons are somehow dead or in prison. Gee, that didn't influence the decisions by any chance?
