Angela Bromstad is NBC's survivor.
Two years ago, Bromstad, then president of NBC's television production studio, made what was seen as a suicidal career move. After losing a power struggle over control of the network's programming, she walked away from her job.
Fast-forward to last November. NBC's fall prime-time schedule had collapsed, Bromstad's nemesis at the network was long gone, another rival was about to be shown the door, and NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker desperately needed to restore order to NBC after two tumultuous seasons with Ben Silverman in charge.
In a twist worthy of a TV movie, Zucker, who had sent Bromstad to London in 2007 to ramp up international production operations, called his loyal lieutenant back to Los Angeles and handed her the job she had wanted two years earlier. In January, she became NBC's chief programmer of dramas and comedies -- the fourth executive to hold the post in 19 months.
Bromstad parachuted in during television's busiest time of the year -- pilot season -- when network executives pick new comedies and dramas for the coming fall schedule. Days after arriving, she ordered 11 pilots. "I didn't have a lot of time to sit around and ponder things," she said.
Only a few weeks earlier NBC had laid off dozens of veteran program executives in a restructuring that combined the network and production studio program development teams into one unit, which Bromstad, 47, now manages.
The pressure is on to revive the fourth-place network as it heads into the all-important advertising selling season. Bromstad's first big test comes tonight, when NBC premieres two new programs: "Parks and Recreation," a sitcom that borrows a page from "The Office" and stars "Saturday Night Live" alum Amy Poehler; and "Southland," a gritty police drama about L.A.
One of Bromstad's early calls was to put "Southland" in the marquee 10 p.m. Thursday slot, and shuffle to Sunday night the lavish drama "Kings," starring Ian McShane. "Kings," which costs about $3 million an episode to produce, had been championed by Bromstad's predecessors. But Bromstad had doubts that a drama about a modern-day king who struggles with moral dilemmas and family conflicts would work on network television.
"The objective now is to broaden the network out, to give it a wider appeal," she said.
