Imagine Entertainment , formerly Imagine Films Entertainment , also known simply as Imagine (stylized as IMAGINE since 2020), is an American film and television production company founded in November 1985 by producer Brian Grazer and director Ron Howard .
82-524: Brian Grazer and Ron Howard met in 1982 on Night Shift , with Howard directing and Grazer co-producing. They followed it up by working on 1984's Splash . The company was originally founded in November 1985, following the success of the motion picture Splash . It was originated from a merger of two production companies, Ron Howard 's Major H Productions and Brian Grazer 's self-titled production company Brian Grazer Productions. The company went public
164-456: A first-look deal . By 2013, Imagine was considering other funding methods for the company's films including crowdfunding for a Friday Night Lights film. In November 2013, Michael Rosenberg was promoted to co-chairman followed in December 2013, with Erica Huggins being promoted to his previous position as president. Industry insiders indicated in late January 2016 that a deal with Raine Group
246-485: A "long-term multiple picture agreement" that they distributed Imagine's films for three to five films a year and the agreement "contemplates the possibility" that Universal acquired a 20% share in Imagine and it ran through November 1992 for financing 50% of 30 films. Imagine had an IPO in 1986 at $ 8 for a package of one share and one warrant. Shares rose to $ 19.25 before falling in the stock market crash in 1987 to $ 2.25. In
328-510: 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 does 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
410-401: A brand new family film label Imagine Family Films, designed to compete with Disney for a family film audience, in order to produce G-rated and PG-rated feature films, and has plans to produce three family films per year, with an eye on the holiday release schedule. The first film planned to be developed for the branding was a remake of the 1963 family feature film Flipper , and an adaptation of
492-522: A commitment with ABC for a half-hour pilot and five episodes based on the comedy film Gung Ho . Later the same year, Imagine had a five-year deal with Showtime/The Movie Channel, Inc. and it was able to develop projects for the channels Showtime and The Movie Channel . The agreement would kick-off with 1989 pay television availabilities and include pay-per view exhibition rights to all Imagine-produced films and about 30 motion pictures and "an unspecified number of original products" are also covered by
574-493: 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
656-416: A deal to make television films for the worldwide business. Under the deal, the new joint venture would produce between four and six television films and mini-series a year. MCA who owned about 20% of Imagine and had worldwide distribution rights to its television series as well as to its long-form programs on a project-by-project basis would also have first consideration on international distribution rights to
738-427: 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
820-607: 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 . 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
902-513: A dismissal of all charges. Chuck accepts this, but Bill sees it as an opportunity to bargain with the mayor's office. Chuck and Bill fight and part ways. Chuck's fiancée Charlotte ends their engagement. Chuck sees Belinda in the hall of their apartment complex, but again fails to express his true feelings for her. Belinda leaves, and Chuck becomes angry with himself for being afraid. With renewed determination, Chuck finds Belinda working in an adult club and professes his love for her. He also finds Bill
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#1732802267303984-653: A division of NBCUniversal , which, in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast . It serves as the network television production arm of NBC ; a predecessor of the company, NBC Studios, previously assumed such functions, and a substantial portion of the company's shows air on the network. It was formerly known by various names, including Revue Studios , Universal Pictures Television Department , Universal-International Television , Studios USA Television LLC , Universal Studios Network Programming , Universal Network Television , Universal Domestic Television , NBC Universal Television Studio , and Universal Media Studios . It
1066-431: 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 ever to finish an American television season in first place. In 1962, MCA Inc. acquired Decca Records , including the film studio Universal-International Pictures (later renamed as Universal Pictures ). The following year, in 1963, Revue Studios
1148-527: A first-look agreement with Chelsea Handler in March 2018. Both production units signed that same year in August an overall agreement with Eddie Schmidt. In November 2018, Ahr became president of alternative and reality group, NBC Entertainment. Ahr was replaced as the studio's president in August 2019 by Toby Gorman, last the interim CEO of Magical Elves. From Endemol Shine North America, Georgie Hurford-Jones
1230-488: A four-year first look co-financing and television production deal with CBS Corporation , which saw the former producing content for the company's CBS and Showtime television networks and CBS All Access SVOD streaming service. The agreement was reached by Grazer and CBS Corporation then-Chairman and then-CEO Les Moonves . In February 2018, Imagine acquired a controlling stake in Jax Media . In November that same year,
1312-479: A free-spirited entrepreneur. It stars Howard's Happy Days co-star Henry Winkler along with Michael Keaton , in his first starring role, and Shelley Long . Also appearing are Richard Belzer and Clint Howard . There are brief scenes with a young Kevin Costner as "frat boy #1", Shannen Doherty as a Bluebird scout, Vincent Schiavelli as a man who delivers a sandwich, and Charles Fleischer as one of
1394-574: A long-term co-production deal with Second City Entertainment, for a late night talk/comedy strip that was distributed by MCA TV. It used the ready talent pool of Second City comedians. The result was My Talk Show , which aired in the 1990–91 season. As HA!: The Comedy Network is ready to air in 1990, they stuck deals with Imagine Films Entertainment, for series featuring the Second City Repertory Company, as well as MTM Enterprises . In 1990, Imagine Films Entertainment launched
1476-555: A long-term domestic sales deal with Studios USA for the library. Universal got a 45% share in USA Networks Inc. Greg Meidel initially resigned and was rehired as chairman and CEO of Studios USA, only to leave in June 1998. 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
1558-679: A million dollars a year for a decade. That same year, 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 80s. 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 Checkmate , General Electric Theater and Alfred Hitchcock Presents for CBS, Studio 57 for DuMont Television Network , and westerns such as Tales of Wells Fargo , 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
1640-480: 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
1722-499: 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,
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#17328022673031804-568: 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, Uni TV produced shows such as Baretta , The Rockford Files , Murder, She Wrote , Miami Vice , The Equalizer , The Incredible Hulk , Battlestar Galactica , Buck Rogers in
1886-503: Is also known as Open 4 Business Productions in copyright in certain television series produced by them since 2009. Re-established in 2004, both NBC Studios and the original Universal Television are predecessors of the current Universal Television, formerly known as NBC Universal Television Studio and Universal Media Studios. Revue Productions (later known as Revue Studios ) was founded in 1943 by MCA Inc. to produce live radio shows and also produced "Stage Door Canteen" live events for
1968-456: Is associated with Universal Pictures , which has distributed many of Imagine's productions, some with other studios. Erica Huggins was hired as senior vice president of motion picture production and was elevated to executive vice president in 2006, and later to co-president of production in 2010. Its television division, Imagine Television Studios (formerly Imagine Television), was founded in November 1985 by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard , around
2050-528: Is employed there, apologizes for his harsh words, and assures Bill of the value of his creative ideas. The three leave the club together and go out on the town. The film's opening theme song is "Night Shift" by Quarterflash . The closing theme song, " That's What Friends Are For " was written by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager and performed by Rod Stewart . It gained popularity a few years later when covered by Dionne Warwick , Elton John , Gladys Knight , and Stevie Wonder . The official soundtrack
2132-518: Is exacerbated by the irrational exuberance of Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski, his new co-worker. They are inspired by the plight of Chuck's prostitute neighbor, Belinda, to apply Chuck's financial acumen and Bill's entrepreneurial spirit to open a prostitution service headquartered at the morgue. Chuck falls in love with Belinda, but their relationship becomes complicated when Belinda refuses to quit prostitution. Chuck's passiveness keeps him from telling Belinda he loves her. Meanwhile, Chuck and Bill's foray into
2214-703: Is the company's president since 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
2296-475: The Chicago Tribune , gave the film two stars out of four but hailed Keaton's "superb comic performance", writing that "based on this one role, I would now pay to see Keaton in just about anything. Anything except Night Shift. " Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV ) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group ,
2378-539: 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 . Another of its offerings was the 52-episode Crusader , the first Brian Keith series, on CBS from 1955–1956. Another western produced by Revue and starring Audie Murphy
2460-480: 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
2542-577: The United Service Organizations (USO) during World War II. 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 Armour Theatre , based on radio's Stars Over Hollywood . MCA bought the Universal Studios backlot in 1958 and renamed it Revue Studios. Following its merger with Decca Records ,
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2624-579: The Universal Pictures library, they are part of the company's television unit, Universal Television. 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
2706-491: 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
2788-510: 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
2870-738: The Prairie . NBC Films was later sold to Worldvision Enterprises due to the 1970 fin-syn rules initiated by the Nixon Administration; today, the shows of that company are now owned by Paramount Global , syndicated by its CBS Studios subsidiary CBS Media Ventures . 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
2952-661: The Prison of Belief , The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley , We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks , and Citizen K . More recently, the studio signed a first-look deal with Apple Originals. In January 2023, Imagine Entertainment promoted Justin Wilkes to President of the company. Most recently, the company struck a first-look deal for feature films and documentaries with Amazon Studios. The feature-film division has participated in over sixty productions and
3034-753: The USA Cable Entertainment name, to Universal Cable Productions (now Universal Content Productions ). NBC Television Network's production division 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
3116-622: 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. Universal Television's production and distribution unit was renamed Studios USA . Universal held on to its 50% share of Brillstein-Grey Entertainment , PolyGram 's international channels and the rights to its television library while signing
3198-406: The agreement. "There was the option of developing "long-form dramas" or series as part of the original material to be developed and aired exclusively on Showtime , adding that it could also acquire the syndication rights to these films and original products. In April 1987, producers Philip and Mary Ann Hobel had inked a pact with Imagine Films Entertainment to develop and produce theatrical fare for
3280-417: The book series Curious George . Both MCA/Universal and Imagine agreed to an extension that Universal would handle theatrical distribution, network, foreign and home video rights, while Universal Studios Florida handled the theme park rights to the properties that were proposed by Imagine Family Films. The new Imagine Family Films banner was intended to model on the success of Disney, and decided to extend on
3362-523: The cash for a buyout of an equity stake in the new company. By January 21, 1993, it approved a $ 9 share offer made by its founders and co-chief executives, and IFE Acquisition Co. could render the offer for the deal. In early 1997, Imagine Entertainment reopened its television division and signed a deal with Disney for the development of television series, which would expire at the end of 2000. Its film contract remained with Universal . It boosted up their access to Disney's television production slate. Imagine
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3444-669: The company also acquired a stake in content studio Marginal Mediaworks founded by CEO Sanjay Sharma. In June 2020, Imagine Entertainment made a substantial investment in Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney's Jigsaw Productions. Gibney formed the New York-based Jigsaw in 2012, and directed and produced Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room , Taxi to the Dark Side , Going Clear: Scientology and
3526-444: The company through Hobel Productions, and expected to serve as the eyes and ears of Imagine of New York, and will be backed by a development fund for the purchase of books, plays, scripts and ideas to be developed as film projects, and plans to do both comedy and drama projects with a concentration on contempo themes and issues through a first-look agreement. On July 29, 1987, Tri-Star Pictures and Imagine Films Entertainment announced
3608-482: 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 2004, NBC Studios was merged with Universal Network Television to form NBC Universal Television Studio. NBC Universal Television Studio was formed in 2004 from NBC Studios and Universal Network Television after NBC and Universal merged. On June 14, 2007, NBC Universal Television Studio
3690-434: The company would not be part of the move, and instead would leave the company and is expected to reveal of his plans shortly and his personal commitments would keep him from making the shift, but he called the consolidation "the right decision for the company" while expressing his disappointment at not being able to stay on. On December 1, 1987, the company sealed a production and distribution deal with Universal Pictures via
3772-461: The company's on-screen logo) is a television production company launched by Universal Television in 2016. The unit reports to Universal Studio Group chairman Pearlena Igbokwe . The studio was founded in June 2016 under president Meredith Ahr. In July 2016, the studio's first program, World of Dance was announced by NBC. The studio sold its first show to another channel In Search Of... to History . The studio, as did Universal TV, signed
3854-401: The company. By May 1992, 48% of the stock was public traded and worth $ 9.375. The duo agreed to a new six-picture deal with Universal while concurrently offering $ 9 a share to buy the company's public outstanding share to start a new company with its assets. If not, they planned to leave the company at their contract expiration in November to start the new company anyway. Universal was providing
3936-431: The film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 28 reviews, with an average rating of 6.70/10. The site's critics consensus reads, " Night Shift bristles with pitch-perfect laughs thanks to Ron Howard's snappy direction and a side-splitting turn from Michael Keaton." On Metacritic , the film has a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Many reviewers praised
4018-589: The film include " You Really Got Me " by Van Halen and a live version of " Jumpin' Jack Flash " by the Rolling Stones , taken from the 1977 live album Love You Live ; a section of "Cutting Branches for a Temporary Shelter" by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra is also heard. Night Shift grossed $ 21,095,638 at the domestic box office. Night Shift received mostly positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes
4100-440: 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
4182-700: The following year. At first, the company set a deal with Tri-Star Pictures to produce feature films and television shows. Imagine granted Tri-Star the right of first refusal to syndicate their off-network shows produced by Imagine. Its offering was sold to Allen & Co. for 1,667,000 units for common stock and warrant it to purchase additional one-third of its stock. The net proceeds were used for development and production of theatrical films, television series, mini-series and made for television movies, although "the company does not presently intend to develop game shows or daytime soap operas." Imagine however has its prospectus having negotiations with Paramount Television for
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#17328022673034264-473: 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/Uni TV began the Law & Order franchise. In 1991, Tom Thayer
4346-665: The jail prisoners. Winkler was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy , while Keaton won the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor. Charles "Chuck" Lumley, formerly a successful stockbroker, has found a refuge from the ulcer-inducing Wall Street rat race in his job as an attendant at a New York City morgue . His displeasure at being "promoted" to night-shift supervisor to make room for his boss' nephew, Leonard,
4428-522: The joint venture's programs. Imagine and Central retained rights in the United States and United Kingdom, respectively. The Imagine-Central joint venture was separate from MCA's own ongoing exploration of a joint venture with a European company for Europe-based long-form co-production. The company was in discussions with two or three potential partners, but a deal was not expected soon. Its projects required U.S. and UK presales to go forward, although
4510-415: The modified agreement "provide[d] it with the flexibility to pursue certain financing and distribution opportunities which were not anticipated when the companies entered the original agreement." In November 1987, Imagine Films Entertainment announced its plans to move its financial and administrative activities from New York to Los Angeles , and Neil Braun, who was president and chief-executive officer of
4592-481: The natural extension of the wholesome wide appeal fare the company has been using since its founding. In 1991, Imagine Films Entertainment shut down its original Imagine Television division, and terminating its exclusive production partnership with MCA, Inc., and it laid off 30 of its 80 employees of its company. It came when the series My Talk Show , and Parenthood flopped. Andrew Suskind, Joyce Brotman, Todd Bergesen, Richard Pierson, Judy Ranam and Lisa Bloom left
4674-704: 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 1974, NBC produced its next big hit Little House on
4756-474: The networks. In September 1988, Robert Harris who was employee of MCA , and president of Universal Television Group joined the company as president of motion pictures and television. Harris said the studio was also taking original feature cable projects with Showtime , HBO , TNT , USA and MTV Network (which includes Nickelodeon and VH-1 , in addition to projects with on-air networks). On May 29, 1989, Imagine and Central Independent Television signed
4838-488: 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
4920-463: The other 50% after selling its own TV 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
5002-529: The partnership teamed up with 20th Century Fox Television for development of television series, an agreement which was set to expire at the end of 2016. In 2011, the company had three weak box office performers with The Dilemma , Cowboys & Aliens and Tower Heist . Because of their weak financial pact renewal with Universal in January 2012, Imagine laid off 5 employees, including production executive Jeremy Steckler. This also moved Imagine from exclusive to
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#17328022673035084-725: The performances of the two male leads, particularly Michael Keaton. TV Guide 's Movie Guide wrote that "Winkler turns in the best performance of his career, and Keaton is wonderful." The Chicago Reader 's Jonathan Rosenbaum compared Night Shift to the subsequent comedy film Risky Business (which also dealt with the theme of prostitution), noting that Night Shift is not "as snappily directed or as caustically conceived, ... but it's arguably just as sexy and almost as funny." Janet Maslin of The New York Times , however, deemed Night Shift "a halfway funny movie, one that's got loads of good gags in its first half and nothing but trouble in its second." Gene Siskel , writing in
5166-421: The prostitution business draws the ire of dangerous pimps who come to the morgue and threaten to kill Chuck. Bill inadvertently leads two undercover police officers to the morgue where Chuck is being assaulted by the pimps. A shootout ensues. Chuck and Bill are rescued, but are arrested for promoting prostitution. Because their arrest would be a political embarrassment, the two men are offered their old jobs back and
5248-404: The same time when the company was founded. It has participated in at least twenty productions and has been frequently associated with 20th Century Fox Television . Night Shift (1982 film) Night Shift is a 1982 American comedy film directed by Ron Howard . The film centers on a timid night-shift morgue employee whose life is turned upside down by a new co-worker who fancies himself
5330-560: The sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , which starred Will Smith , in one of the first TV 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
5412-547: 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. In 1997, PolyGram created not only its syndication unit, but
5494-518: The summer of next year, Imagine struck a deal with MCA TV to handle distribution of its television material. MCA and Imagine had a joint television venture which MCA had the exclusive network and home video distribution rights. Imagine retained domestic distribution rights for now and was banking on those rights becoming more valuable in the future as its theatrical and television programs gained exposure. Imagine's television division focused on half-hour comedies, whereas MCA focused on one-hour programs for
5576-459: The termination of obligations by Imagine to offer Tri-Star distribution rights for all of its television programming and feature films. Imagine, which received more than $ 1.7 million from Tri-Star, made a $ 1.3 million payment to Tri-Star, the companies said and advances from Tri-Star were eliminated. The companies said they "intend[ed] to work together on a project-by-project basis" and that projects already in development were not affected. Imagine said
5658-763: 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 in 1963. 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
5740-481: The venture intended to seek U.S. buyers going beyond the three big commercial networks to include Fox , as well as cable networks TNT , USA Network , Showtime and HBO . The deal also allowed for theatrical distribution, although such co-productions were not in the planning. Imagine and Second City signed a joint venture deal in May 1989. In September 1989, Imagine is entering syndication production business and signed
5822-462: Was Whispering Smith (NBC, 1959/61), 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. 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
5904-512: 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
5986-604: 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
6068-494: Was eventually renamed to 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. USA Networks Inc. was founded by Barry Diller when he bought Universal's major television assets in February 1998. Among its assets were
6150-411: Was exclusive for development and production of television projects, including half-hour comedy series, one-hour dramas, motion pictures for television and miniseries. They hired Tony Krantz to be co-chairman of its television division, and it shared a stake in the television division with its founders Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, while overseeing the television division's day-to-day operations. In 2000,
6232-408: Was in the works that would have Raine become a partner of the production company while contributing $ 100 million. The deal was then confirmed on February 8, 2016. On April 5, 2017, Imagine signed a six-picture deal with Warner Bros. and Australian visual effects/animation studio Animal Logic to develop, finance, and produce six animated/live-action films. At the end of July 2017, the company struck
6314-544: 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,
6396-466: 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
6478-641: 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). Uni TV (also commonly known as MCA/Universal) also co-produced many shows with Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited , such as Emergency! , Adam-12 and
6560-478: Was released in 1982 on the Warner Bros. label. It included ten selected tracks from the film, six of which were written specifically for the film: The soundtrack was released solely on vinyl and cassette . The versions of "Talk Talk" and "Penthouse and Pavement" that are on the soundtrack are different from any other releases of the songs as they were specially mixed for the soundtrack. Other songs heard in
6642-539: Was renamed Universal Media Studios (UMS) as the unit would be also developing entertainment for the web. On July 21, 2009, Universal Cable Productions was split off from UMS and placed into NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group division. On September 12, 2011, Universal Media Studios was renamed to Universal Television. In October 2019, Universal Television was transferred from NBC Entertainment to NBCUniversal Content Studios. Universal Television Alternative Studio ( "Universal Television Alternative" according to
6724-575: 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, California National changed its name to NBC Films, and in 1963, launched NBC Productions to continue producing its existing show Bonanza , and develop newer projects for
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