"Rockstar" Ben Silverman Not Exactly Rocking It
Oct. 27 2008, Published 7:07 a.m. ET
Silverman Ben Silverman, NBC's recently installed golden boy and self-proclaimed "Rock Star Chairman", is in a bit of a pickle. The network he was brought in to revive is still in last place. All four of his new shows—Kath & Kim, Knight Rider, My Own Worst Enemy, and Crusoe—have been shunned by critics and audiences alike. (Though they do contain lots of product placements!) He parties a lot and doesn't like meeting early in the morning, 'cause those meetings kill his buzz, dude. Then there was awkward situation in which he was forced to pay $1.75 million to buy out his deputy's boyfriend's crappy show just to make it go away. All of which has Forbes wondering if NBC is going to keep Silverman around when his two-year contract expires in June.
It's one of the harshest rebukes of Silverman's brief tenure to date.