Olympics and ‘Hairspray’ on NBC’s agenda

Notes and quotes from the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills, aka the Death March With Cocktails:

During NBC’s portion of this lengthy hoedown, Robert Greenblatt, the network’s entertainment chief, took the stage before a horde of journalists and tried to mimic Donald Trump.

“Good morning, everybody,” he said. “Welcome to NBC where we’re committed to making television great again.”

Nary a laugh was heard. … Crickets.

“Oh, wow,” Greenblatt said. “This is a tough crowd.”

And a cranky one. At this writing, some of us have been embedded in the tour for eight days and still have eight more to go. Amid a relentless barrage of TV industry babble, it’s difficult not to feel listless at times — even as temperatures in the Beverly Hilton ballroom plunge into

“Ice Road Truckers” territory.

“I feel like we should do some jumping jacks,” said Greenblatt, trying to pump up the energy.

At least he has reason to be excited. It has taken a few years, but there is life again in the Peacock. Greenblatt tossed out a bunch of positive ratings figures and boasted that NBC would have finished the most recent season as No. 1 among the coveted 18-49 demographic had CBS not aired the Super Bowl.

Of course, this summer NBC has the Olympics, which figures to deliver robust ratings — if all goes well. (More on that later.) And the network is bullish on its new shows, including a heavenly comedy starring Ted Danson and Kristen Bell called “The Good Place,” and the family drama “This Is Us.” Greenblatt beamed over the fact that the online trailer for the lat- ter show has accumulated more than 90 million hits.

Moreover, there are some fun projects in the pipeline. Set for December is a star-studded special to celebrate singer Tony Bennett’s 90th birthday. Also arriving that month is “Hairspray,” NBC’s latest live musical production. The cast is wow-worthy: Kristin Chenoweth, Jennifer Hudson, Harvey Fierstein, Rosie O’Donnell, Martin Short and pop star Ariana Grande, among others.

That said, lots of the “Hairspray” buzz should belong to a wide-eyed newcomer. Maddie Baillio, a college sophomore from Texas landed the lead role after surviving an opencall audition that drew 1,300 young women.

“Yeah, this is surreal. … I was number 344, and after four callbacks, I got the part,” Baillio told reporters. “(This experience) is like the ultimate master class for me.”

In January, NBC will again air the Golden Globe Awards, and the network has one of its own—“Tonight Show” funny man Jimmy Fallon — serving as host. Greenblatt, of course, gave that choice a big thumb’s up, saying Fallon’s playful humor is a good match for the “spontaneous and uninhibited” awards show.

Also set for January is a new installment of “The Celebrity Apprentice” with Arnold Schwarzenegger taking over for Donald Trump. And speaking of the Republican presidential candidate, a reporter pressed Greenblatt on whether NBC should accept any “responsibility” for launching Trump into pop culture.

“Isn’t it TV’s job to create celebrity?” Greenblatt replied, before pointing out that a big-screen film helped Ronald Reagan become a national figure. That would be the one and only “Bedtime for Bonzo.”

READY FOR RIO: Representing NBC’s massive Olympics team, Bob Costas, Mary Carillo and executive producer Jim Bell appeared via satellite to field some questions about the network’s coverage of the summer games, which begin in earnest this weekend.

“I am pleased to report that preparations are coming along great,” Bell said.

Still, they can’t escape the much-publicized concerns about the Zika virus, crime, pollution and government instability.

Costas acknowledged that every host site has faced problems in the run-up to the Olympics, but not to this degree. He promised that NBC’s coverage would not “shy away” from those problems.

“There are serious issues here, and it will be a story at the back end of this if they surmount those issues and put on a successful Games,” he said. “So we’re watching to see how that turns out, almost the same as we’re watching to see how the individual competitions turn out.”