ABC at TCA: New ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee Impresses the Press, 36 Hours into His New Job

He had been on the job less than two days (36 hours, to be exact), hadn't worked on any of the new fall shows he now has responsibility for and had no announcements to make during his first press conference in his new role, but ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee got off to a great start on Sunday, at least as far as the Television Critics Association was concerned.

Unlike so many network executives, including the man he just replaced at ABC, Lee seemed right at home on stage in front of more than 200 critics and reporters, many of whom were determined to get him to talk about the circumstances surrounding his sudden appointment. Without becoming frazzled or seeming the least bit annoyed, Lee politely declined to say anything about the recently departed Steve McPherson. It is no secret that McPherson wasn't fond of appearing twice-yearly at thirty-minute TCA sessions to field questions about his programming. The affable Lee, on the other hand, seemed quite pleased to be there.

Reporters, of course, are obsessed with learning the details about McPherson's departure. That obsession is growing, in part because so many of them are living together at the Beverly Hilton and perpetually fanning each other's interest, and in part because ABC employees would rather disembowel themselves than speak on or off the record about it.

Some reporters thought Disney Media Networks Co-Chair and Disney/ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney might take the TCA stage and address the matter in some fashion, or at least provide a formal introduction for Lee, on account of her being in charge and all, but that didn't happen. Then again, what would she have said, except that she couldn't say anything?

Once Lee was sent out on stage, it was clear he didn't need any executive support at all.

"As much as you can say truthfully, what just happened at ABC?" asked one diplomatic reporter, determined to get Lee to say something quotable.

"I've just been on vacation," Lee casually replied, as laughter erupted throughout the room. (From where I sat, it appeared that Lee was just making an honest statement, rather than humorously dodging the question.)

"I'm not answering your question," Lee politely added. Then he talked about sharing the decision to take on his new responsibilities with his wife. After revealing that he and Sweeney thought he should interrupt his vacation to appear at TCA, and that his wife dared him to do so, Lee again refused the answer the persistent reporter.

"So you want us to believe that you took this job without talking to ABC about what happened to Steve?" another reporter followed.

"I felt very honored to be offered the job by Anne and thrilled to do it," Lee replied, maintaining his cheerful demeanor. "But I don't want to talk about Steve."

"Where were you on vacation?" another reporter with a nose for news wanted to know.

"I was on the beach," he replied. "There was a great rumor that I was in London. But I was on the beach. I was a drive away."

"Which beach?" the reporter demanded.

"Up the coast," Lee said, adding, "Do you want the address?" When the laughter following that question died down, Lee continued. "I'm already in enough trouble with my wife. I'm not giving you the address!"

Asked about programming genres and whether he thought ABC needed more procedural crime dramas (which repeat well) and perhaps fewer serialized shows (which do not), Lee said, "First of all, each show has a different sort of business profile. I mean, let's face it, a comedy could be making you less money in the short-term, may make you less money internationally, but may actually have a much stronger back end in cable in the U.S. If you look at how the successful serialized shows on ABC over the last couple of decades have done internationally, it's spectacular, and the monies that they can charge … but you're not going to get as high a repeat on the core linear network in the U.S. So they all have different profiles.

"I'm actually pleased that we have a couple of really good cracks at procedurals, but I haven't had time to sit down and say, 'What's the perfect mix?'" he continued. "And certainly, I wouldn't say either let's move away from serialized when so many of the brand-defining shows on this network have been wonderful serialized appointment television that nobody can not watch within four hours of it being played, whether it's on the network, on iTunes or on streams. So I think we do have some good cracks at it."

Lee will have much to scrutinize and analyze in the coming weeks, because overall ABC's new fall series have not been particularly well received by critics. Further, these rather bland freshmen join a lineup that is heavy with aging former hits on the decline, most notably Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Brothers & Sisters.

But don't look for him to change things up before the start of the season in September. "We're locked and loaded here," he said. "We're literally weeks away. I've learned over time … you make [late] changes in an entertainment sense, you can make more damage than good. [Shows] are rockets. They have to be built, fueled, loaded, and launched.

"That's probably completely the wrong analogy," he added with a laugh.