Mel's Diner
Interviews with TV industry figures over their favorite meals.
WBTV’s Roth: ‘Nikita’ Big Part of The CW’s Future
With 26 Warner Bros. TV-produced series now slated to air on the broadcast networks next season, WBTV President Peter Roth says it is “another satisfying year” for the studio. WBTV is in business with all of the networks–with five new series on NBC’s schedule alone after being shut out of the network’s 10 p.m. hour last year by The Jay Leno Show. WBTV’s un ...... Read More
Comments (2)Odds On Lottery Winner Staying in Station Biz Not So Long
The odds of matching all six numbers in Tuesday’s Mega Millions lottery in which an L.A. TV station employee won some $266 million are mind boggling: 1 in 175,711,536, according to the AP. So what are the chances the winner will keep working in the station biz? I submit they’re not nearly as long as you might think. As of Friday morning, Jacki Wells Cisneros, who was working Tuesday ...... Read More
Comments (1)Tom Bergeron: Whispers With America's Most Underrated TV Host
Who: Tom Bergeron, Host, ABC’s Dancing With the Stars and America’s Funniest Home Videos Where: The Whisper Lounge, The Grove, Los Angeles When: late lunchtime, April 24, 2010 The Dish: The irony of meeting the low-key Tom Bergeron at The Whisper Lounge at The Grove in L.A.’s Fairfax District, at the same moment throngs of people dressed in green lined up for a Ryan Seacrest-h ...... Read More
Comments (0)All In For Fox Cable’s Flannery
Will Flannery was an avid poker player; so in the months since the Fox Cable Networks exec died suddenly in September 2009, at 38, his pals figured a poker game would be a good way to raise money for Flannery’s daughters’ college fund. But over a couple of lunches Flannery’s last two bosses, Fox Networks President of Affiliate Sales and Marketing Mike Hopkins and DirecTV Execu ...... Read More
Comments (1)TCA 2010: Pie ‘n Burger ‘n Brian Williams
The Langham Huntington in Pasadena, which is host this week to the TCA press tour (Complete Coverage of the Winter Press Tour), is a luxury hotel set on 23 acres and features a Michelin star restaurant and a world-class spa. But none of the landmark estate’s offerings are apparently as compelling to NBC Nightly News’ Brian Williams as a local burger joint. The anchor, who is known to ...... Read More
Comments (0)A 'GMA' Recipe for George
Now that it’s official, George Stephanopoulos started the job as co-anchor of Good Morning America Dec. 14, Mel’s Diner would like to serve up an idea for how Stephanopoulos can wear the sunshiny morning-show-chef’s hat and serious-political-journalist-guy hat simultaneously: Take a look at what we do here. We understand Stephanopoulos’ concern about preserving his hard ...... Read More
Comments (0)Carlton Cuse, Shawn Ryan and Fastfood Flashbacks
Lost executive producer Carlton Cuse had the kind of flashback we love at Mel’s Diner the other day during a phone interview. I called him to talk about Lie to Me showrunner and The Shield creator Shawn Ryan, who we featured in B&C’s Fifth Estater column Sept. 21 (Related: The Truth About Shawn Ryan) Cuse gave Ryan his first staff writing job, on Cuse-created CBS drama Nash Bridg ...... Read More
Comments (0)Turner's Michael Wright Working on His Six-Pack
WHO: Michael Wright, executive VP/head of programming, TNT, TBS and Turner Classic MoviesWHERE: Iroha Sushi, Studio City, Calif.WHEN: Aug. 26, 2009THE DISH: TNT will probably again stick with six scripted series next summer, as it did this season for the first time. However, that doesn’t mean summer 2010 will feature the same half-dozen originals currently on the network. “I used to ...... Read More
Comments (0)FX's John Landgraf Wants To Bring the Noise...Again
RELATED: FX’s Landgraf: Sports Would Change Network’s Game WHO: John Landgraf, President-General Manager, FX Networks WHERE: Versailles, Culver City, Calif. WHEN: June 2009 THE DISH: When FX launched edgy Emmy-winning drama The Shield in 2002, it proved what was then thought impossible: A basic cable network could be home to one of the best original shows on TV. And as the ...... Read More
Comments (0)Lionsgate TV's Kevin Beggs: A Guide's Guide
WHO: Kevin Beggs, Lionsgate TV Programming and Production President WHERE: Julienne, San Marino, Calif. WHEN: April 27, 2009, lunch THE DISH: How’s this for some good news: There is a new buyer in town. Shortly after Lionsgate, the indie studio behind the huge horror franchise Saw and TV series Mad Men, Weeds and Crash, acquired TV Guide Network for $255 million in March, the network made a ...... Read More
Comments (0)Sue Naegle's New Recipe for HBO
WHO: Sue Naegle, President of Entertainment, HBO WHERE: Le Pain Quotidien, Studio City, Calif. WHEN: April 2009 THE DISH: It’s just a few weeks shy of a year since Sue Naegle made her big career shift when we meet for breakfast at the casual, quiet Le Pain Quotidien in Studio City. She left her 16-year stint at talent agency UTA to become president of entertainment at HBO on May 1, 2008, an ...... Read More
Comments (5)Good morning, TV Biz Twitterers. What’s for Breakfast?
Does anyone really care about what other people eat for breakfast? It’s a legitimate question prompted by the proliferation of meaningless info in the social-networking media age. Here at Mel’s Diner, of course, the answer is often “Yes.” I care more about what folks in the TV industry have to say over their meals (particularly during an interview with yours truly) than ...... Read More
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