TV PRESS TOUR

What could have been a ho-hum executive session with ABC President of Entertainment Steve McPherson on the last day of TCA press tour wound up as anything but.

Of course, the TV media were interested in ABC’s hit “Grey’s Anatomy” and its recent confusing foray into ghost conversations, ghost appearances and ghost sex. For weeks, Denny (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) has been visiting Izzie (Katherine Heigl) from his grave, whispering sweet nothings in her ear, and doing sweaty things with her that a family newspaper cannot describe.

This has alarmed critics and many viewers, not only because it happened -- but because it’s happened more than once.

On Friday, McPherson delivered this news bit: “It’s not a ghost, which you will learn. I think when you get to the end of the season and see everything [creator Shonda Rhimes] had in mind, it might not be your cup of tea, but I think you will be surprised at how insightful and smart the story line itself is in terms of the dynamics that it’s creating for the characters that are involved.”

For months, it’s been rumored that Heigl will be leaving the show at the end of the season and that Rhimes is killing her off. Is she seeing a ghost or does she imagine him as a result of a tumor or aneurysm? These were possible scenarios until recently, when Denny and Alex (Justin Chambers) had a conversation when Izzie was not in the room. Unless, of course, Alex is dying too?

When asked about this by a group of reporters after the news conference, McPherson was not pleased.

“Watch the show,” he said. “I’m not going to talk to you about a creative issue on Shonda’s show. He’s not a ghost. You’ll see.”

To be fair, McPherson was already in a sour mood when the question was posed because another reporter had asked why are “so many actors jumping ship?”

Who? He wanted to know. Well, Brooke Smith, the reporter pointed out. And Melissa George. (Not to mention the rumors that star T.R. Knight wants to escape too).

“Melissa George was a guest for one episode,” he said. “I’m not going to answer the question. It’s an absurd question. The only person that’s left the show was Isaiah Washington.”

Wait, what? We’re pretty sure George has been in five episodes this season and her story line wraps up on Feb. 12.

At the Golden Globes on Sunday, George told Entertainment Weekly that even though she was contracted for more episodes, she decided to leave early. In a December interview, she told The Times that she was under contract for at least eight episodes. When asked about that, McPherson appeared to grow angrier.

“She didn’t contract for that many,” he said. “She was a guest. We all know what everybody says when they leave a show. They want to say what works best for them. She was mentioned in one [episode] and is in two others.”

(A quick IMDb check proves the point that she’s been in five episodes so far.)

We then moved on to the exit of Smith, who another reporter pointed out was not a guest star -- she was in the opening credits.

“The character was not working for us and the dynamic with the relationship was just not working for us,” McPherson said about the romance between Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Dr. Hahn (Smith).

“We felt like Sara is such a dynamic character and amazing actress and woman and we weren’t seeing the excitement out of that relationship,” he said. “And then there was some mention that we were upset by the lesbian nature of it. [Callie’s] going to be in a dedicated lesbian relationship on the show. Again, that was an actress who was trying to talk about something in a manner that would serve her.”

And what about Knight, who has not discussed his plans with the media but is rumored to want out? “I’m not going to comment on the behind-the-scenes stuff,” he said. “I think that everything that’s been out there -- stuff gets said that’s correct and some things are wrong. Again, I just wish everyone would do their jobs.”

The media, for one, are trying to.

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NBC’s execs plan a busy spring

Six months after NBC declared that it’s not in the business of ratings, the network has decided that those pesky audience measurements do matter.

NBC President of Entertainment Angela Bromstad and Paul Telegdy, executive vice president of alternative programming, only 10 days into their new jobs, faced the TV media Friday at the Universal Hilton. Bromstad and Telegdy were appointed to their new positions last month when NBC and its production studio merged to become one entity.

Although NBC Universal Co-Chairman Ben Silverman has said that his network is more concerned with profit margins than ratings -- which is reflected in his decision to give the 10 o’clock nightly slot to Jay Leno -- Bromstad said that quality of programming and ratings were her priorities.

“It’s very plain and simple,” she said. “You have to have a long-term strategy and stick to that. There has been a miscommunication, and it’s largely our fault in not communicating it well. I’m new in the job, but I’m not new to NBC. We are constantly being challenged by the people that we work for to come up with different ways of doing things, what’s going to work, different business models, all of that. But at the same time, programmers know that it’s the quality of the show.”

NBC intends to have a busy spring, premiering new dramas “Kings” on March 15 and “Southland” on April 9, along with an untitled comedy starring Amy Poehler on April 9. A new reality series, “The Chopping Block,” will launch March 11. Another drama, “The Philanthropist,” will premiere before the season is over.

Bromstad said the idea is to launch the series at a time when the 10 p.m. slot is available for scripted programming so they can establish their audiences. But these new shows will compete with the rest of NBC’s schedule, and 10 pilots are under development for fall. NBC has picked up “The Office,” “30 Rock” and “The Biggest Loser” for next season.

“We want everybody to know that we’re very much in the scripted business, and we want to use the time slots we have now to launch things that can come back in the fall,” Bromstad said.

The new programming chief was referring to claims that the decision to give Leno a nightly show has angered the creative community because of the loss of jobs it means.

But Bromstad disputed that, saying NBC will execute a time-slot sharing plan in which shows will air for a few weeks and then go off the air temporarily so that others can have their turn. Before she took over the position, Bromstad said she met with Hollywood agents and show runners to explain the new strategy.

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