Robert Greenblatt Returns To NBCU With First-Look Deal At Universal TV For His The Green Room Co., Sets ‘The Lies I Tell’ Adaptation As First Project

EXCLUSIVE: “Who said you can’t go home again?,” says former NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt, who is returning to NBCUniversal as a producer after eight years. He has signed a first-look deal with Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, to develop and produce TV projects through his production company, The Green Room. Jon Wu continues as the company’s Head of Filmed Content.

The first project under the pact is The Lies I Tell, a series adaptation of the 2022 bestselling novel by Julie Clark, with Ken Olin attached to executive produce.

Greenblatt has remained in business with Universal Television after he left NBCU in 2018 following a seven-year stint as Chairman of NBC Entertainment, during which he oversaw all primetime, late-night and scripted daytime programming for the network, as well as Universal Television, Universal Television Alternative Studio and Universal Stage Productions.

He serves as an executive producer of HBO’s hit period drama The Gilded Age, which is produced by Universal Television. A passion project for Greenblatt, he greenlighted the series from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes for NBC during his time at NBCU. He then picked it up for HBO during his WarnerMedia stint overseeing the premium cable brand and launching HBO Max.

“Bob is a well-respected creative force in the industry. Welcoming him back to Universal Television feels both exciting and fitting,” Erin Underhill, President of Universal Television, said. “His taste, vision and relationships have shaped some of television’s most enduring hits, and we can’t wait to collaborate with him on what comes next.”

For Greenblatt, who previously had a first-look deal with Lionsgate Television, the pact with Universal Television marks another reunion, with Pearlena Igbokwe, Chairman, Television Studios, NBC Entertainment & Peacock Scripted. She was Greenblatt’s Head of Drama Development during his tenure as President of Showtime Networks, and he brought her over to NBCUniversal shortly after taking over NBC in 2011, first as Head of Drama for NBC and subsequently as President of Universal Television.

“I’m overjoyed to be coming back to NBCU to produce shows with my old friends at Universal Television,” Greenblatt said. “Pearlena Igbokwe – with whom I worked closely for 15 years at Showtime and NBC – has built Universal Studio Group into an extraordinary, world-class studio. Jon Wu and I look forward to working with her and her extraordinary teams, headed by Erin Underhill at UTV. This is an exciting time for producers in television, and we’re thrilled to have this incredible group supporting us. Who said you can’t go home again?”

The Lies I Tell is a cat-and-mouse thriller about a chameleon-like con artist, Meg, and a journalist, Kat Roberts, who has been waiting ten years for the woman who upended her life to return. And now that she has, Kat is determined to be the one to expose her. But as the two women grow closer, Kat’s long-held assumptions begin to crumble, leaving Kat to wonder who Meg’s true target is.

Ken Olin, Roxanne Olin, Greenblatt, Wu, and Clark executive produce.

Greenblatt’s runs as a top executive at NBC and Showtime yielded such hits as The Voice, This Is Us, The Blacklist, The Good Place, One Chicago, The Sound of Music live musical and the Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors movies (NBC) as well as Dexter, Weeds, Nurse Jackie, Shameless and Californication (Showtime).

A four-time Tony-winning producer, Greenblatt is a lead producer of the revival of Ragtime at Lincoln Center this season. Last season, he produced Smash, the musical, on Broadway with Steven Spielberg, based on the TV series he had previously greenlighted at NBC. As a TV producer, Greenblatt is a six-time Emmy nominee, including four times in the Outstanding Drama Series category, three times for Six Feet Under and once for The Gilded Age.

Wu, who will serve as an executive producer alongside Greenblatt on all The Green Room projects under the Uni TV deal, was previously VP of Film and Television at Hello Sunshine, where he served as the on‑set producer for Season 2 of The Morning Show and Season 1 of Surface, both for Apple TV. He also executive produced the movie Where the Crawdads Sing. Previously, Wu worked in the feature film division at 20th Century Fox.