The writers and actors on 'Friends' were notoriously particular about what made it onto the air. Warren Littlefield More Quotes by Warren Littlefield More Quotes From Warren Littlefield We offered Jerry Seinfeld $ 5 million an episode, we went in there with a staggering sum and there was tremendous confidence that no one could walk away from it. Jerry Seinfeld came to me and said, ‘ I don’t have a life, I ’m not married, I don’t have kids. ’ We gave it everything we had, Jerry Seinfeld was tempted, but in the end it was a quality of life decision. Warren Littlefield entertainment When you're still in the broadcast business, you're still trying to reach tens of millions. You're trying to still aim for a broader audience, and I think that's a more difficult task to spread yourself across that audience, connect with them, as opposed to a very, very small, pinpointed audience. Difficult to do. Warren Littlefield yourselfthinkyoubusiness My job was to find interesting material that would give us a quality television show. Warren Littlefield findjobqualitytelevision I believe America wants and needs the shared experience of television. We far too often see in crises how television brings us together. Warren Littlefield seeexperiencetogetherbelieve At the end of Season 1 of 'Cheers', it was the lowest rated show in all of network television... So we turn to 'Bill Cosby'; when he came to Thursday night, he just exploded. And once the audience was there, we said, 'Hey, by the way, we also have this other great show. It's called 'Cheers'.' Warren Littlefield greatnighttelevisionway In the history of pilot reports, 'Seinfeld' has got to be one of the worst of all time. Warren Littlefield pilotworsttimehistory Innovation comes to you from creators who do have a vision and a passion, and that is how we succeeded. Warren Littlefield youinnovationpassionvision I fought to make a multiple series commitment with John Wells. Warren Littlefield foughtmakemultiplecommitment One way in which 'Friends' did resemble 'Seinfeld' is that it really found its audience over the summer of 1995 in reruns. That's when the main title song, 'I'll Be There for You', by the Rembrandts, exploded, too. Warren Littlefield youfriendssongway A 'Friends' shoot night could extend well into the small hours of the morning. Warren Littlefield smallfriendsmorningnight NBC's pilot season of 1994 is legendary in the business. In a world where failure is commonplace, we midwifed the birth of both 'Friends' and 'ER'. While 'ER' came essentially out of the blue, we'd been casting around for a 'Friends'-like show for some time at the network. Warren Littlefield failurebusinessbluetime I was the network president. I thought I knew everything. Warren Littlefield kneweverythingthoughtpresident Audiences want and need a shared viewing experience. Warren Littlefield audiencesneedexperiencewant What Must-See T.V. was all about was one network, one night, for one decade. And a third of the country would come and watch Must-See T.V. And you didn't dare go to work the next day, because if you hadn't watched, you would be left out of the conversation, that water-cooler conversation. Warren Littlefield dayyouworknight Two hundred channel choices in most homes certainly gives you the world of choice. And so slicing it, dicing it, and offering someone their favorite thing - by the way, if it's not good enough, make it yourself and post it. Warren Littlefield yourselfgoodyouworld Our D.V.R.s make up the schedule of the shows that we're passionate about. You want Jon Stewart? You've got it. Your D.V.R. will give that to you, as opposed to making the destination and the choice to spend that evening with a network. Warren Littlefield willyoueveningdestination My last series was on A.B.C., a one-hour called 'My Generation'. Critics liked it. I was on for two weeks, and that was a tough one. Warren Littlefield generationlasttoughtwo 'A Different World' didn't have the blazing success that 'Cosby' had, but it was on for seven seasons, and we got a lot of awards, and a lot of faces came out of that show and have had great careers. Warren Littlefield greatseasonssuccessworld There's no reason that there has to be a fringe network that illuminates an urban or a multiethnic experience. Warren Littlefield urbanno-reasonexperiencereason Creating things sometimes is difficult. Warren Littlefield thingsdifficultcreatingsometimes
