Revue Studios Revue Studios (first known as
Revue Productions Inc.) was founded in 1943 by
MCA to produce live radio shows; it also produced "
Stage Door Canteen" live events for the
United Service Organizations (USO) during
World War II until it ended in 1945. Revue was re-launched as MCA's television production subsidiary in 1950. The partnership of
NBC and Revue extends as far back as September 6, 1950, with the television broadcast of the anthology series
Stars Over Hollywood (also known as
Armour Theatre), based on radio's
Stars over Hollywood. During the early years of television, Revue was responsible for producing and distributing many television programs. These included
Leave It to Beaver, which ran for only one season on
CBS before going to
ABC from 1958 until 1963. In addition, Revue also made
Alan Hale Jr.'s
Biff Baker, U.S.A. (1952–1953) and all three of
Rod Cameron's
syndicated series,
City Detective (1953–1955),
State Trooper (1956–1959), and
Coronado 9 (1960–1961) and the
Bill Williams Western series,
The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951–1955). It produced
Bachelor Father (1957–1962), for "Bachelor Productions",
Edmond O'Brien's syndicated
crime film Johnny Midnight, based on a fictitious
New York City actor-turned-
private investigator. Revue also produced the 52-episode
Crusader, the first
Brian Keith series, which aired on CBS from 1955 to 1956. Another western produced by Revue and starring
Audie Murphy was
Whispering Smith, which aired on NBC in 1961 and was based on the 1948
Alan Ladd movie
of the same name.
Leave It to Beaver was produced first by
George Gobel's Gomalco Productions, then by Kayro Productions on a back lot at Revue Studios from 1958 to 1963. The ABC sitcom ''
McHale's Navy'' was also produced by Revue from 1962 to 1966. In December 1958, MCA/Revue purchased Universal Studios' 367-acre
backlot to produce television series, then leased it back to Universal for a million dollars a year for a decade. The backlot was renamed Revue Studios, which became the name of the company in 1959. In 1960, a jingle composed by
Juan García Esquivel and
Stanley Wilson was introduced at the end of its productions, which was used in some form until the 1980s. Revue produced later seasons of
The Jack Benny Program for CBS and
NBC and in co-operation with
Jack Benny's J and M Productions (later known as JaM Productions and JaMco Productions),
Checkmate (also co-produced by Jack Benny),
General Electric Theater and
Alfred Hitchcock Presents for CBS,
Studio 57 for
DuMont Television Network, and westerns such as
Tales of Wells Fargo,
The Tall Man,
The Restless Gun and
Laramie for NBC, as well as
Wagon Train for NBC and ABC. The first two seasons of NBC's
The Virginian, based on a film released originally by
Paramount Pictures, whose pre-1950 theatrical sound feature film library was sold to MCA in 1958.
Wagon Train was the only Revue-produced TV show to finish an American television season in first place. In 1962, following its merger with
Decca Records, the then-parent of
Universal Pictures, the studio backlot name was changed back to Universal. In 1963, MCA formed Universal City Studios to merge the motion picture and television arms of Universal Pictures and Revue Studios, and Revue was officially renamed Universal Television.
Universal Television (original) In 1962,
MCA acquired
Decca Records, including the film studio Universal-International Pictures (later integrated into
Universal Pictures). The following year, in 1963, Revue Studios was reincorporated as the original iteration of
Universal Television. Since then, they have made many contributions to television programming, including the production of the first
television film (
See How They Run from 1964), the first
wheel series (
The Name of the Game from 1968), the first rotating series with an umbrella title (1969's
The Bold Ones) and the first two-part television movie (
Vanished from 1971). Universal Television (also commonly known as MCA/Universal) also co-produced many shows with Jack Webb's
Mark VII Limited, such as
Emergency!,
Adam-12 and a revival of the 1951 series
Dragnet. In 1967,
Grant Tinker, formerly employee of NBC was hired to join the studio. He held the position for two years, until he left in 1969 to join
20th Century-Fox Television, and later that year, had to start
MTM Enterprises. He subsequently left Fox in 1971 due to conflicts with running MTM. During the 1970s and 1980s, Universal Television produced shows such as
Baretta,
The Rockford Files,
Murder, She Wrote,
Miami Vice,
The Equalizer,
The Incredible Hulk,
Battlestar Galactica,
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,
Knight Rider,
The A-Team,
Simon & Simon and
Magnum, P.I., many of which received critical acclaim and several TV movie spin-offs after their cancellations. In 1980, Bud Austin has received a production contract with Universal Television to produce television series. One of the more notable contracts was writer/producer
Dick Wolf, whose Universal association began in 1986 with
Miami Vice, then writing for several more shows before creating the hit
Law & Order franchise. In 1987, Universal Television, which by then, was the leading producers in prime time television programming, decided to have six pilots committed for network production value, plus three series for the 1987–88 season, which included development deals with people who already contracted with Universal. In 1990, MCA/Universal Television began the
Law & Order franchise. In 1991, Tom Thayer was named president of the Universal Television arm. In 1993, former Warner Bros. Television senior vice president of production employee Steven J. Papazian joined Universal Television as vice president of production. In 1992, Universal Television signed a deal with several newer talent, plus some returning and existing talent that were offered at the studio, including
Ivan Reitman,
David Burke,
John Leekley and R.J. Stewart. In 1993, St. Clare Entertainment, a company owned by
John Landis had reupped its contract at both MCA TV, MTE and Universal Television, three of the encompassing TV units of MCA via the MCA TV Group. In 1994, Universal Television made a financing partnership with
ABC to help them fund the show
Blue Skies. In 1996, MCA was reincorporated as Universal Studios. Around the same time, Universal was acquired by Joseph A. Seagram and Sons and later acquired the
Multimedia Entertainment and
USA Network. Also that year, Universal Television collaborated with
Warner Bros. Television to develop the series
Spy Game for
ABC, with Universal alumnus
Sam Raimi and
Robert Tapert of Renaissance Pictures, and Warner alumnus
John McNamara producing the series, but it didn't last long, as it only lasted one season on the air. Universal purchased a 50% stake of
Brillstein-Grey Entertainment in 1996 for $75 to $100 million, and included distribution rights to then-new BGE programming such as
Alright Already, and did not include older BGE programs that was grandfathered by the
Columbia TriStar distribution agreement, such as
The Larry Sanders Show for
HBO,
NewsRadio and
Just Shoot Me! for
NBC, and
The Steve Harvey Show for
The WB. They considered buying the other 50% after selling its own television unit to
Barry Diller in 1998. Universal sold its stake in BGE in 1999 and BGE was renamed as Brad Grey Television, though Universal continued to co-produce
Just Shoot Me! and
The Steve Harvey Show until their cancellations.
EMKA, Ltd. is the holding company responsible for a majority of the pre-1950
Paramount Pictures sound library. As an official part of the
Universal Pictures library, they are part of the company's television unit, Universal Television.
MCA Television Entertainment During the 1970s and 1980s, MCA TV, the syndication company, had a production shop that produced shows like
Probe, which aired on ABC.
MCA Television Entertainment (or
MTE for short) was founded in 1989 as the telemovie and cable division of Universal Television. It primarily dealt with made-for-TV movies, and television shows like
Dream On that were made for cable networks like
HBO. It was also a producer of first-run syndication programming for the
Hollywood Premiere Network, which was distributed by MCA's own syndication arm
MCA TV, as well as
KCOP-TV in Los Angeles and
WWOR-TV in New York, such as
They Came from Outer Space,
Shades of L.A. and
She-Wolf of London, but it only lasted one season from 1990 to 1991, but it didn't last long. In 1990, Michael Landsbury was named vice president of series programs, Angela Mancuso as vice president of production, and Michael Houbrick was named assistant director of publicity, at the studio. One of the most notable clients of MTE was Papazian-Hirsch Entertainment, who produced a bulk of these television movies and series for the studio. In 1996, it was renamed as
Universal Television Entertainment (or
UTE for short) to align with MCA's rebranding as Universal Studios. It was eventually renamed
Studios USA Pictures in 1998, and merged into USA Cable Entertainment in 1999. MCA Television Entertainment was also a collective branding for their units owned and operated by MCA, and it absorbed Universal Family Entertainment and Universal Cartoon Studios in 1996.
Studios USA Television USA Networks Inc. was founded by
Barry Diller when he bought Universal's major television assets in February 1998. Among its assets were the USA Network and Sci-Fi Network cable channels along with series such as
Law & Order. Additionally, the company would own the
HSN, the Ticketmaster Group and several television stations. In 1999, USA Networks formed its own film and home media divisions when they acquired
October Films and several production and distribution assets of
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment for $200 million. Most of the new shows produced under the Studios USA name bombed after only one or two seasons; only
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,
Law & Order: Criminal Intent and
The District were deemed to be big hits. Although the latter two were cancelled, in 2011 and 2004 respectively, the former is still an ongoing show. In 2000,
Clyde Phillips has signed an overall deal with the studio to develop scripts made for the studio. On December 17, 2001,
Vivendi Universal agreed to acquire USA's entertainment assets for an estimated $10.3 billion; the transaction closed on May 8, 2002. Under the deal,
Barry Diller became chairman of Vivendi Universal Entertainment. USA Networks is currently known as
IAC. Shortly afterwards, Studios USA Television was merged with Universal Studios Network Television, producers of NBC's sitcom
Just Shoot Me! to form Universal Network Television.
PolyGram Television/Universal Network Television In 1997,
PolyGram created not only its syndication unit, but a network unit for long-form television movies and drama series, which was a rebranding from the former UK-based
ITC Entertainment television division of PolyGram. It was headed up by Bob Sanitsky, who headed the combined syndication and network divisions. In 1998, it signed a deal with
Meg Ryan and her Prufock Pictures to set up her projects at the studio. In early 1999, shortly after Seagram and Universal completed their deal to acquire PolyGram, PolyGram Television was absorbed into Universal's TV and Networks division (which consisted of Universal's international television operations). Universal would sell the ITC film and television library to
Carlton Communications, and the pre-1996 film library to
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Shortly afterwards, PolyGram Television was then retained by Universal, opting Bob Sanitsky out of the unit. Universal however then launched Universal Studios Network Programming to inherit the Brillstein-Grey productions, such as the upcoming
Work with Me, and the existing Brillstein-Grey shows
Just Shoot Me! and
The Steve Harvey Show. In 2001, NBC had an option agreement with Universal Network Television to keep
Just Shoot Me! on the air to 2003. In June 2002, Universal Studios Network Television was also merged with Studios USA Network Television around the same time. In 2003, writer
John Ridley signed a deal with the studio. Also that year, longtime Universal executives Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly left the studio to start out 25C Productions, a production company affiliated with
Warner Bros. Television.
USA Cable Entertainment The origins of USA Cable Entertainment are traced back to the 1980s when it was founded as USA Network Productions to produce content for the USA Networks. In 1996, it was rebranded to USA Studios, and in 1999 to USA Networks Productions, and later on reincorporated as USA Cable Entertainment on December 24, 1999. Stephen Chao was named as the company's president in 2000. The company was best known for producing
Monk and the 2003 miniseries
Battlestar Galactica, which spawned a reboot in 2004. The same year, following the NBC Universal merger, the USA Cable Entertainment name was retired and was replaced with the
NBC Universal Television Studio name. In 2008, the studio, then renamed
Universal Media Studios, spun off its cable production division, including shows previously produced under the USA Cable Entertainment name, to Universal Cable Productions (now
Universal Content Productions).
NBC Studios NBC's in-house production division, commonly referred to as "NBC Television Network" was founded in 1947 by
RCA (
NBC's former parent company). One of its first productions was the children's television program
Howdy Doody. In 1955, NBC acquired production company Kagran Corporation, and by 1956, changed its company name to California National Productions (CNP) and became its syndication and merchandising division. The company also brought several NBC-aired programs, like
The Adventures of Hiram Holliday and
The Lawless Years, as well as non-NBC programs like
The Silent Service and
Philip Marlowe, but none of them were successful. The company's first hit was the television show
Bonanza, which aired from 1959 to 1973 on the NBC television network. Its follow-up project that was produced independently was
Outlaws, a western from 1960 to 1962. The third independently produced NBC show,
The Americans, which aired only in 1961, lasted a few episodes, and bombed after only one season. In 1961, NBC replaced CNP as its syndication division with
NBC Films. Two years later, in 1963, NBC launched its production arm, NBC Productions, which succeeded NBC Television Network, to continue producing its existing show
Bonanza, and develop newer projects for the network. NBC developed and produced several shows internally like
Kentucky Jones,
Captain Nice and
T.H.E. Cat. By 1966, the company had output talent deals with
Sheldon Leonard,
Bob Finkel,
Norman Felton and
David Dortort. The next big project was
The High Chaparral, which was a hit among viewers throughout its four-season run, only to be axed in 1971 due to the
rural purge. Throughout its partnership with Sheldon Leonard, they produced three shows
Accidental Family,
My Friend Tony and
My World and Welcome to It, but none of them were successful. In 1971, NBC spun off NBC Films and sold it to
National Telefilm Associates (which was itself later sold to
Worldvision Enterprises) due to the 1970 fin-syn rules initiated by the Nixon administration, while programs from NBC News continued to be distributed internationally by NBC Enterprises for $7.5 million. In 1974, NBC produced its next big hit
Little House on the Prairie. In the 1980s, NBC produced
Punky Brewster, which was popular among viewers. NBC's production output was primarily on television movies and miniseries. NBC's other television series output were
Sara and
Roomies; both of them were unsuccessful. In 1985, Michael Filerman through his Michael Filerman Productions company signed a deal with NBC Productions to develop long-form telemovies and miniseries, as well as television series. In the late 1980s, NBC Productions attempted to enter the film business, but it was proven unsuccessful, after the failure of the film
Codename: Emerald. In 1987, NBC Productions provided funding for a feature film that starred
Cassandra Peterson as her
Elvira character, which raised $5–6 million by NBC to fund the film. In 1988, NBC started a deal with Peter Engel that resulted in the creation of
Good Morning, Miss Bliss and eventually producing a number of teen shows. In early 1990, NBC had struck a development deal with musician/producer
Quincy Jones and his
Quincy Jones Entertainment company. Also the same year, NBC signed a deal with
Jay Tarses for his production company. By 1990, NBC returned to producing hit programs with the sitcom
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which starred
Will Smith, in one of his first television roles. Also that same year, NBC Productions partnered with
Group W Productions to develop a syndicated program
House Party. In 1991, NBC produced another syndicated show, this time, out of the
WMAQ-TV studios,
Johnny B...On the Loose, in partnership with
Viacom Enterprises. In 1993, Perry Simon left NBC to start his own production company with a non-exclusive production agreement. In 1995, NBC launched a partnership with television director
James Burrows to create
3 Sisters Entertainment, who produced series for the network. Out of these five, the most successful out of the venture were
Will & Grace and
Caroline in the City (co-produced and owned by
CBS Productions). Later that year, NBC Productions was however folded into NBC's entertainment division. In 1996, the company was renamed NBC Studios. The company had returned to producing hit programs like
The Pretender,
Profiler,
Providence,
Ed,
Las Vegas and
Crossing Jordan. In 1997, NBC Studios,
Paramount Pictures, and
Saturday Night Live creator and producer
Lorne Michaels launched a
joint venture named
SNL Studios, which would produce future episodes of
Saturday Night Live in association with
Broadway Video (also owned by Michaels), as well as movies featuring
Saturday Night Live sketch characters. In 2004, NBC Studios was merged with Universal Network Television and USA Cable Entertainment to form NBC Universal Television Studio. On June 14, 2007, Universal Media Studios (UMS) became its successor as the unit would be also developing entertainment for the web. On September 12, 2011, it was changed back to simply Universal Television and a new logo was introduced. On July 21, 2009,
Universal Cable Productions was split off from UMS and placed into
NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group division. In October 2019, Universal Television was transferred from NBC Entertainment to NBCUniversal Content Studios. ==Universal Television Alternative Studio==