How CBS Friended NBC and Launched Jennifer Aniston's Career

The networks had just finished their annual Upfront presentationsamp160in New York City amp160CBS was on a threeyear winning streak in primetime and our focus was on making it four amp160As is always the case we were very aware of what our competitors were doing and were intently listening to the industry buzz amp8230 and nothing we were hearing felt all that threatening amp160NBC had finally retired its perennial time period winner LA Law from its Thursday 10 pm time slot and we jumped in with David Kelly39s new hospital drama Chicago Hope the pilot of which had broken every audience testing record amp160When NBC countered with its new hospital drama ER we didn39t flinch amp160This was the year we were going after Thursday night amp160While they were returning two hit comedies in Seinfeld and Mad About You they were relying on two new shows to get the audience to 10 pm always a risky play and one of them was titled FriendsPilot season was and is an insane process but especially so then when broadcast networks were the principal buyers of highend shows amp160With everyone chasing the limited supply of the best talent behind and in front of the camera the dealmaking and strategizing gets both complicated and at times viciousamp160 The underlying reality is that we39re dealing with the very fragile careers of a lot of talented people in the process of playing this very expensive high risk game of chance and chance it is because as William Goldman famously said about show business quotNobody knows anythingquot amp160If we knew what would work every show would amp8230 and the reality is that most everything doesn39tSo back to our story amp160Many times networks and producers will cast an actor in quotsecond positionquotamp160 What that means is that they39re willing to take a chance that the show in first position to which the actor is contracted will fail to go forward amp160Once cancelled the actor is then free and the quotsecond positionquot contract becomes primary amp160After the new shows were announced that May we like the rest of our competitors went through the list of shows that didn39t make the schedule for which we still had options to continue to order new episodes amp160For us one of those shows was a comedy titled Muddling Through about a single mom trying to make ends meet amp160The show hadn39t performed well in its spring trial but we hadn39t killed it yet amp160Cast as the eldest daughter was a young actress that we loved named Jennifer Aniston amp8230 and this new comedy for NBC Friends had cast her in quotsecond positionquotWe had a decision to makeamp160 If we ordered more episodes at a cost of 3M even if the show didn39t work which based on the evidence we already had was highly likely we39d be taking her away from Friends NBC and Warner Bros the studio that was producing it amp160My team our studio partners and I went around and around and as it always does when you have the top job the decision fell to me amp160I knew in my head and heart that our show would fail for a host of reasons despite the very talented folks not named Jennifer Aniston who had worked on it amp160Ordering more shows would only be about trying to damage a competitor amp160In Hollywood it has been said quotIt39s not whether or not you win it39s more important that the other guy losesquot amp160Despite that dictum it went against the grain for me to deprive an actress of a chance for real success just so I could play the game by investing 3M in something I didn39t believe in all just to hope for but not guarantee damage to a competitorAnd so I made my decision and gave Jennifer Aniston the freedom to be Rachel GreenNow if you39ve never heard the saying quotno good deed goes unpunishedquot I promise this story will help you remember and repeat it amp160Not only did Jennifer become one of America39s biggest stars and Friends a huge hit but in the process our Thursday dreams went down the drain amp160One of the new comedies that NBC had scheduled did fail as we had assumed but Friends was such an obvious hit in the making that NBC began to run it twice both before and after Seinfeld then the No 1 comedy on TV amp160The show and the night were off to the races and of course ER and that Clooney fellow did quite well at 10 pm amp160With those shows powering its primetime lineup NBC overtook us amp8230 and we were forced to quotmuddle throughquot and regroup and rebuildAnd oh by the way there was another thing that happened amp160Warner Bros the studio for both Friends and ER was run by Les Moonves whose dream was to be a network president amp8230 and in June of 3995 his dream came true and he replaced meSo what39s the moral of the story amp160First let39s focus on how amazing it is that what starts out as a relatively small decision can turn into something truly life altering amp160Aside from the obvious impact it had on everyone from Jennifer Aniston to Les Moonves to me Friendsamp160made an enormous impression on our culture amp160Like all welltold stories such shows have special meaning for the people to whom they39re toldamp160 Here people numbering in the hundreds of millions have been touched by this showamp160 But that39s only clear in hindsight amp160When the decision had to be made there was no way to know what the full consequence would be amp160Just like so many of the decisions that all of us have to make every day I made that decision trusting in what I believed was right as well as what I thought was smartClearly things didn39t work out the way I39d planned yet as I look back on that moment 25 years ago I39m not sure I39d do much of anything different amp160I still don39t think spending 3M on something you don39t believe in is a good investment just because it might harm someone else amp160I39d rather place my bets on creating positive outcomes every time amp160More to the point though making decisions large and small are quotgut checksquot and I define quotgutquot as the synthesis of your head and your heart that defines your characterAs this story shows you really can39t be sure which decisions will ultimately prove themselves to have been quotthe big onesquot so it39s important to bring your best to every decision that you make amp160In that moment 25 years ago I tried to be true to my own beliefs the things that I still believe define meamp160 I39ve had my ups and downs but time has taught me that when you39re blessed with a loving family good health meaningful work and a few good friends the rest of the wins and losses take on a different meaning no matter how the outside world might be keeping score amp160You realize that if anything in your past had changed especially the things that define you then you likely would have lost it allSo Jen whether you know me or not we39ll be friends foreverClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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How CBS Friended NBC and Launched Jennifer Aniston's Career

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Peter Tortorici

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How CBS Friended NBC and Launched Jennifer Aniston's Career

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