Nina Tassler, President of CBS Entertainment, just addressed us and offered up the following bits and pieces of information:
* Regarding NBC’s decision to give Jay Leno their 10 PM slot, “Our first reaction was to say, ‘Thank you.'”
* The success of importing “Flashpoint” from Canada has opened the door for CBS to explore different business models, and the network is exploring other potential situations as well.
* CBS will hopefully be doing a deal with Alex O’Loughlin and they are still trying to develop a series for him…so, basically, nothing’s really changed on that front. (She said approximately the same thing back in July.)
* John Mayer is in the final stage of negotiations to have a music / variety / sketch show on the network, though whether it will be a special, a series, or merely a pilot remains to be seen.
* She is very happy with Drew Carey on “The Price Is Right,” but when asked if we would be seeing a change in host, she said, “I hope not.” Mixed signals or just a poor choice of words…?
* She loved the concept for “The Ex List,” but it failed in its execution. “It never found its traction; it never found its pulse.”
* There will be an “NCIS” spin-off, which is only appropriate, given that that series spun off from “JAG.”
* They were extremely proud of the way it was executed and was received, but, “No, we’re not going back to ‘Swingtown.'” Sorry, Ross.
