Don't Kill the Messenger with Movie Strategist Kevin Goetz

Bob Greenblatt (Television Executive & Producer, Tony-Winning Broadway Producer) on Building Hits at Fox, Showtime, NBC, and Broadway

Kevin Goetz / Bob Greenblatt Season 2026 Episode 99

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 57:52

Send Kevin a Text Message

Bob Greenblatt joins host Kevin Goetz for a conversation that follows the television executive through four separate turnarounds, from a struggling young Fox Network to the top of Showtime, NBC, and WarnerMedia Entertainment. Greenblatt helped develop Beverly Hills, 90210, The X-Files, and Party of Five at Fox, produced Six Feet Under, turned Showtime into a creative rival to HBO with Weeds and Dexter, ran NBC during the network's return to number one with The Voice and This Is Us, and later helped launch HBO Max. He's also a five-time Tony-winning Broadway producer.

Learning the Business from Peter Chernin and Scott Rudin (07:05): After an MBA and film school, Greenblatt credits his mentors Scott Rudin and Peter Chernin for the real education in how to give notes and run a company without losing the creative instinct.

Launching Fox with Beverly Hills, 90210 (16:15): Greenblatt walks through developing 90210 from Barry Diller's original idea, hiring an unproven Darren Star to write it, and watching the 90-minute pilot test through the roof. Its breakout success helped define the young-adult demo strategy that built the network.

American Beauty, and the Birth of Six Feet Under (26:14): Greenblatt recounts partnering with David Janollari to launch their production company, signing sitcom writer Alan Ball without realizing he'd also written a script called American Beauty, and sending that script to HBO right as the film became an Oscar-winning phenomenon. HBO ordered Six Feet Under straight off the page.

Turning Around Showtime and NBC (36:12): Greenblatt explains his pattern of leaving a job once it stops changing, his preference for buying over developing, and how he rebuilt Showtime around original series like Dexter and Weeds. He also details how The Voice gave NBC the lead-ins it needed to climb back to number one.

Executive Mentors and the One That Got Away (42:25): Asked to name the greatest network executive in television history, Greenblatt points to Brandon Tartikoff and Grant Tinker's "first be best, then be first" philosophy. He also revisits Profit, his short-lived anti-hero drama that paved the way for Dexter, and his famous pass on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

The Green Room  and The Rockford Files (51:28): Greenblatt previews current projects at his production company The Green Room. He closes by discussing his Broadway work on Ragtime, and his memoir, The Rockford Files.

Host: Kevin Goetz
Guest: Bob Greenblatt
Producer: Kari Campano
Writers: Kevin Goetz, Darlene Hayman, Nick Nunez, and Kari Campano
Audio Engineer: Gary Forbes (DG Entertainment)

For more information about Bob Greenblatt:
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Greenblatt
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0338612/
Playbill: https://playbill.com/person/robert-greenblatt-vault-0000116172

For more information about Kevin Goetz:
- Website: www.KevinGoetz360.com
- Audienceology Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Audience-ology/Kevin-Goetz/9781982186678
- How to Score in Hollywood: https://www.amazon.com/How-Score-Hollywood-Secrets-Business/dp/198218986X/
- Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Substack: @KevinGoetz360
- LinkedIn @Kevin Goetz
- Screen Engine/ASI Website: www.ScreenEngineASI.com

People on this episode