Final Upfronts Wrap-Up: Priyanka Chopra, Mariah Carey, James Corden and Nicki Minaj Take Over New York

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Another week in New York for the annual network upfronts -- when the big dogs pimp their new TV wares to advertisers -- ended over a week ago. And as I wrote for Indiewire, the big story of the year was broadcast networks acting, well, like broadcast networks again.

It feels like a rather antiquated practice, yet the broadcast networks still pull in around $9 billion annually -- so it's still a pretty big deal. We don't obsess about the schedules quite as much as we used to, but it's still a fun part of the pomp and circumstance. The networks still put on a show for advertisers -- including Adult Swim's annual late-night Wednesday event, which this year featured Nicki Minaj (above). More highlights from the week:


James Corden does a "Hamilton" parody at the CBS upfront.


Priyanka Chopra opens the ABC upfront.


CBS gives us a sneak peek of the new "Star Trek" series' logo.


Fitz and the Tantrums performs at The CW upfront.


Mariah Carey makes a grand entrance at the NBC upfront.


Kiefer Sutherland introduces his new series "Designated Survivor" at the ABC upfront.


ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey introduces Jimmy Kimmel.


Fox jabs at CBS, notes that "Gotham's" new villain was "Lex Moonves."


NBC Universal stars at the upfront pose behind Kate McKinnon (as Ellen DeGeneres), parodying Ellen's Oscar selfie.


At the Fox upfront, Homer Simpson reminds us that "The Simpsons" will hit an astounding 600 episodes next year.


The "Downward Dog" looms over ABC stars.


"Hamilton" was hot this upfront. Jimmy Fallon did his own parody as well.


Rachel Bloom and Gina Rodriguez on stage at the CW upfront.


Stephen Colbert at Carnegie Hall for CBS' upfront.


The cast of "Empire" performs at Fox's upfront.


The cast of "The Big Bang Theory" offer up "Star Trek" suggestions to new CBS Entertainment president Glenn Geller.


"Supergirl" star Melissa Benoist hits The CW stage with stars of "Arrow," "The Flash" and "DC's Legends of Tomorrow."

KCRW's The Spin-Off: "Empire" and "Masters of Sex" Showrunners Share Their TV Secrets

On the latest special edition of KCRW's The Spin-Off, we run my NATPE chat with "Empire" executive producer Ileane Chaiken and "Masters of Sex" executive producer Michelle Ashford:

Chaiken created the Showtime drama The L Word. Now she is a writer and executive producer on the Fox mega-hit Empire. The hip hop soap opera about the Lyons family and their record label recently came roaring back with a ratings bang.

Ashford is also a television writer and executive producer. She developed the Showtime drama Masters of Sex, which returns for its fourth season later this year.

These are only their most recent projects -- both women have worked in television for more than 20 years. So when we sat down at NATPE we started...where else? At the beginning.

Listen below!

Three Days in Miami with Steve Harvey, Kris Jenner, Harry Connick Jr. and Others

Steve Harvey came to play.

Just a few weeks after his now-infamous Miss Universe debacle, Harvey sat down with me on stage at the NATPE programming conference in Miami, and was game to discuss the whole mess. The host recounted what happened that night--when he announced the wrong winner--and gave new insight into what really went down on stage.

For the record, Steve says he was at every rehearsal, and at no point was it ever mentioned that he would announce the first-runner-up before the winner. So when Miss Colombia's name appeared on the Teleprompter, he named her the winner. He's at peace with what happened now -- especially now that he has apologized to both Miss Colombia and Miss Philippines (the real winner) on his "Steve Harvey" show (and both of those episodes were ratings hits.

But Harvey also says he received death threats after the incident... and he probably won't be visiting Colombia any time soon.

Harvey was such a good sport that he was even cool with me having some fun by opening up the panel by pretending to accidentally introduce the wrong guest.

Beyond that, our half-hour conversation was wide-ranging, touching on everything from the Oscars diversity controversy to Bill Cosby.

The Harvey chat was one of three I did this year at the NATPE programming conference. It's the third year in a row that I've headed down to Miami for the event, which has seen a newfound revival. (I still remember covering NATPE in the 1990s and early 2000s when it was a much different convention, usually in New Orleans or Las Vegas.) More highlights:


Yes, that is indeed me with Kris Jenner and Todd Chrisley, two reality superstars with very different takes on parenting. It was quite a panel.


Talking showrunning with "Masters of Sex" executive producer Michelle Ashford and "Empire" executive producer Ilene Chaiken.


Harry Connick Jr. celebrates the launch of his new talk show.


"Harry Connick Jr." hits the airwaves this fall.


Signs found all over the Fountainbleu hotel, promoting my Steve Harvey chat.


Selfie with Steve!


Miami sunset, as seen from the Fountainbleu.


The legendary Quincy Jones was one of the honorees at NATPE's annual Brandon Tartikoff Awards.

MIKE ON KCRW: Discussing Empire, James Corden and SXSW on "Press Play"

On Monday's Press Play with Madeleine Brand, NPR's Linda Holmes and I discussed the "Empire" finale and more:

Empire has wrapped up its first season. Were fans satisfied with the finale, and can the show keep it fresh for season two? Also, pasty English comedian James Corden will host his first episode of The Late Late Show tonight, taking over from Craig Ferguson. We talk about that and more in our weekly television roundup.

Listen below:



On the March 16 edition of Press Play with Madeleine Brand, I called in from SXSW to talk about TV at the Austin festival and more:

The Jinx is obviously the biggest topic in TV today, but there’s a lot more going on in the land of the small screen. There are new shows premiering this week on television and at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, including the new season of Community in its new home on Yahoo. The interactive part of South by Southwest kicked off Friday -- and these days “interactive” includes online content and streaming as well as TV. We catch up on it all in our weekly television roundup.

Listen below: