My day at the Four Seasons covering NBCUniversal's TV shows

Zachary Levi

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending NBCUniversal's New York Summer Press Day at the Four Seasons Hotel in Manhattan. I have covered several NBC-related events this year, including the "Celebrity Apprentice" finale and the "America's Got Talent" pajama party premiere.  But the thing I attended yesterday was a much larger event -- 28 TV shows, with the talent available for roundtable interviews for each show.

The way these interviews worked is that a certain number of journalists/bloggers (usually four or five) are at each round table, and the actors/reality show stars go from table to table to talk about their show. These interviews usually take 10-15 minutes, which sounds like a short period of time, but a lot of topics can be covered in that time frame.

I thought I was going to be nervous, because this was my first time at as big an event as this. But I really wasn't, and I actually enjoyed asking questions in the interviews!

Some of the shows were new programs, while others have been on the air for a while. The shows I met talent from were:

NBC:
"America's Got Talent": Mel B and several acts on the show
"The Carmichael Show": David Alan Grier and Jerrod Carmichael
"Mr. Robinson": Craig Robinson and Peri Gilpin
"The Player": Philip Winchester
"Law & Order SVU": Peter Scanavino
"Aquarius": Grey Damon and Emma Dumont
"Welcome to Sweden": Josephine Bornebusch
"Miss USA": Cheryl Burke, Thomas Roberts, and Nia Sanchez
"I Can Do That": Jeff Dye
"Heroes Reborn": Zachary Levi (he also is host of Syfy's "Geeks Who Drink")

USA:
"Suits:" Meghan Markle, Rick Hoffman, Sarah Rafferty, and Gabriel Macht
"Graceland": Daniel Sunjata, Aaron Tveit
"WWE Tough Enough": Chris Jericho
"Complications": Jessica Szohr

Syfy:
"Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!": Ian Ziering
"Defiance": Jaime Murray

E!:
"House of DVF": Diane Von Furstenberg
"Hollywood Cycle": Aaron Hines, Nichelle Hines, and Nick Hounslow
"Sex With Brody": Dr. Mike Dow, Stevie Ryan
"The Comment Section": Michael Kosta
"Total Divas": Brie Bella and Nikki Bella

Bravo:
"Odd Mom Out": Jill Kargman and Abby Elliott
"Secrets and Wives": Liza Sandler, Andi Black, and Cori Goldfarb

Esquire:
"Car Matchmaker": Spike Feresten

Hulu/UCP:
"Difficult People": Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner

Oxygen:
"Sisterhood of Hip Hop": Nyemiah Supreme


I am going to write separate articles on the most compelling shows I heard about yesterday, but in the meantime, here are some anecdotes of the highlights of the day:

It was great to talk to Daniel Sunjata and Aaron Tveit of USA's "Graceland" about what difference it makes in portraying a TV role when the actor knows all of the arcs of the season beforehand, such as in HBO's "True Detective," or when the same director works on multiple episodes. Both men are smart and thoughtful.

I remembered hearing about how MLB players and other athletes are huge fans of USA's "Suits," so I asked the cast about that. They got very animated in explaining why this is, and talked about corresponding with some of these famous fans.

If the interview with "The Carmichael Show" stars Jerrod Carmichael and David Alan Grier is any indication, the NBC show is going to be the funniest thing on the air this year. Carmichael had a riff involving "The Golden Girls" and our table that had me laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.

Another show I think is going to be a huge hit: NBC's "The Player," which stars Philip Winchester. The actor explained the high-concept plot to us, which involves rich people gambling on the crime rate in Las Vegas. He even pulled up a trailer of the show on one of the reporter's iPad to show us scenes from the program. Extremely charming man. The show, which is from the producers of "The Blacklist," will be airing right after that program on Thursdays.

Hearing Zachary Levi expound on two projects he is involved in: the 13-episode "Heroes Reborn" series (which Levi made sound interesting, even to a non-sci-fi person like me!) and the "Geeks Who Drink" game show, which evolved from the popular pub game (Squawker Jon and I have played and won at this game in Manhattan!) Very bright, savvy actor.

If you think pro wrestlers are dumb, think again. Chris Jericho of USA's "WWE's Tough Enough" and the Bella twins of E!'s "Total Divas" were intelligent and thoughtful. I asked Jericho about the changes in wrestling over the years, and he explained it in great detail. Brie and Nikki Bella were very smart about branding themselves, and building a future in a tough business.

I am a big fan of "The Soup," so I can't wait to see "The Comment Section," which Joel McHale is producing, and which will air after "The Soup" each week. The idea of the show? Finding the craziest things in comments sections on news websites! (Speaking of which, I got my share of wacky comments this week!)

I ended up watching an episode of "Odd Mom Out" when I got home after meeting Jill Kargman and Abby Elliott. It is a pretty funny show, with a plotline about spinning that I could totally relate to.

Anyhow, I will expound more on the interviews of the day in separate articles. I have a lot of audio recordings to go through!

My night at the "America's Got Talent" pajama party premiere at the Ritz-Carlton, and the talent I have that should get me on the show!

Me outside the Ritz-Carlton

So I got to attend the Season X premiere of  NBC's "America's Got Talent" tonight. Talk about living the dream! This was a pajama party in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel at Central Park South, and it was a lot of fun. And I am not kidding about the PJ party stuff -- this was held in a swanky hotel suite, and they gave us all bathrobes and slippers emblazoned with the "America's Got Talent" logo.

Anyhow, this has absolutely nothing to do with baseball, so I giving you fair warning to bail if you are not interested. But if you are interested in "America's Got Talent" and/or my life, keep on reading! There is also a gratuitous shot of me in bed!

Here is how my evening went:

The Ritz-Carlton is just as beautiful as I expected it to be. And the
staff is very friendly, too. I went up to the event, and the NBC

Me in the Ritz-Carlton lobby

staff was just as friendly. They gave me a white robe and slippers to wear (and keep!), in keeping in with the pajama party theme of the night. The robe was cool, and the slippers were even
better! Newsflash -- I hate wearing dress shoes, whether they are heels or flats. I would prefer to go through life in sneakers, or (even better), slippers! So that was awesome!

They had a terrific spread of food -- shrimp (my all-time favorite food), lots of fancy cheeses (another passion), prosciutto (another fave), lots of dips and hummus, and sushi-grade tuna. Waiters walked around with egg rolls, sliders, and pizza. Oh, and there was a dessert setup, too, with ice cream with your choice of fancy toppings. As good as everything looked, I really tried to pace
myself. I just got to fit into the skirt for the first time ever; I didn't want to get out of being able to fit into it!

Some of the show's contestants.

Oh, and they had an open bar, too. with wine, champagne, and mixed drinks. I enjoyed some champagne and white wine. (I have learned my lesson to never drink red wine at such a party, after somebody accidentally bumped into me at a gathering a few months ago and got the red wine I was holding all over my outfit!)

NBC also had a slew of ways to get into the spirit, with ways to have GIFs and selfies made of yourself. Will post them as soon as I get them! I also tweeted and Facebooked throughout the night, with NBC's hashtags.

There were also plenty of TVs to watch the program on, as well
as Howie Mandel, Nick Cannon, and Mel B from the show working the room. In addition, some of the contestants, including the real-looking boy band Triple Threat and the hypnotist dude, were in the suite. I talked to the hypnotist for a while -- he was the guy who got noted germophobe Howie Mandel to shake hands! The hypnotist, whose name is Chris Jones (he was the guy who looked like Drake!) has tattooed on his arm that he is going to win the Chicago Marathon and finish it in a record time! I thought that was pretty cool, but don't expect any ink from me with any such race promise!

A gratuitous shot of me in bed!

As for the rest of the suite, I also checked out the swank bathroom at the Ritz. It had a luxurious shower stall, a fancy tub, and a restroom facility with a phone and some crazy buttons on the commode to do all sorts of wacky things that I didn't even understand! I didn't want to have an "I Love Lucy" type catastrophe ensue, so I didn't try them out, though.

As for the "America's Got Talent" premiere, I have to say that I really enjoyed the show. It had a great mix of silly and excellent entertainment. The judges have great chemistry, and the pacing of the show was good as well. It will be on my summer list of things I will be watching every week. Even though Howard Stern is on the show, it really is relatively wholesome, family entertainment!

Some of the contestants are silly, but most are pretty talented! I admire people who can do things I can't. My voice is horrible, my dancing is no great shakes, and I cannot hypnotize people or be a ventriloquist. There was one thing that got to me, though -- the woman who said she was professional cuddler. Good grief. If that is a skill, then what about my Squawking? Give me a good subject to write about, a laptop, and 45 minutes, and I can write a blog post better than anybody else out there.

Me looking extremely pleased with
myself at the end of the night.

And yes, I am willing to have a contest on this!

So listen, "America's Got Talent" producers. I want to be on the show! I know that watching me fulminate while I type may not make the most riveting TV, but I still contend that my skill is much harder to achieve than professional cuddling!

To my fellow bloggers out there, especially the baseball ones, let's do a contest on this!

Anyhow, all in all, it was a fabulous evening. Check out "America's Got Talent" on NBC this summer!