Dennis Quaid to Appear in Trump's COVID-19 Ad Campaign, Which Will Reportedly Cost $300 Million

During President Donald Trump's town hall on Thursday, current and former showrunners, producers and stars — including a handful of current and former NBC talent — who signed aletter of protest against the event continued to criticize the network for its decision and how the event played out. More than 100 top figures in the industry had criticized the network on Wednesday for choosing to air the town hall during the same day and time as ABC'stown hall with former vice president Joe Biden.

Tonight was to have been the second of three presidential debates between incumbent Donald Trump and challenger Biden. When Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19, the debate commission changed the format to a virtual debate.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorPresident Trump wanted to run and ramble. Savannah Guthrie wouldn’t let him.In what may be the performance of a career, the popular “Today” anchor kept a tight rein on the proceedings of a controversial town-hall event with President Donald Trump that put NBC in the cross-hairs of critics and Hollywood A-listers.

Zing! Conan O'Brien on Thursday had a striking (and personal) takedown of NBC, which is under heavy criticism for scheduling a town hall event with President Donald Trump during an ABC town hall with former Vice President Joe Biden. "I can’t remember the last time I was this shocked by an NBC programming decision,"O'Brien quipped Thursday.

Alexandra Del Rosario Associate Editor/Nights & WeekendsRefresh for updates: Tension between Thursday night’s presidential town halls continues to unfold as hoards of Twitter users are calling to boycott NBC’s coverage of President Donald Trump in favor of ABC’s Joe Biden event. Outrage sparked as NBC announced that its town hall will air at the same time and date as ABC’s.

Peter White Television EditorConan O’Brien has poked fun at his former employer NBC over its handling of President Donald Trump’s town hall – a dig that drew comparisons to the way the network bungled The Tonight Show succession.The late-night host tweeted, “I can’t remember the last time I was this shocked by an NBC programming decision.”This comes ten years after O’Brien left The Tonight Show in January 2010, a mere seven months after he got the gig.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorPresident Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will no doubt make news when they take part in dueling town halls this evening on NBC and ABC. But the networks broadcasting their events may be looking less at headlines the two politicians will generate and more at the money they will draw.NBC and ABC hope to take in hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising revenue from their 8 p.m.

NBC News faced a sharp backlash to its decision to host President Donald Trump for a town hall Thursday in direct competition with ABC’s event with Democrat Joe Biden, including a social media call to boycott the network.

Ted Johnson NBC News indicated that it is not backing off plans for a town hall with Donald Trump scheduled at the same time that ABC News is doing a similar event with Joe Biden.The scheduling has drawn criticism, including from more than 100 producers, directors and writers who signed their names to a letter urging NBC to move the time of the town hall.In a statement, Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCU News Group, said, “We share in the frustration that our event will initially air alongside the

Ted Johnson NBC News is taking heat for its decision to schedule a town hall on Thursday evening with President Donald Trump that will compete head-to-head with ABC News’ event with Joe Biden.The backlash comes after Trump refused to participate in a virtual town hall debate with Biden, long scheduled for Oct. 15, forcing the Commission on Presidential Debates to cancel the event.

Jordan Moreau More than 100 Hollywood actors, directors, producers and showrunners have sent a petition to NBCUniversal and Comcast executives protesting the timing of President Donald Trump’s town hall on Thursday night, which airs at the same time as Joe Biden’s event.The lengthy list of signees includes Ava DuVernay, J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof, Aaron Sorkin and many more who have worked with NBCUniversal at some point.

Nellie Andreeva Co-Editor-in-Chief, TVMore than 100 writers, actors, directors and producers are speaking out against NBC’s plan to air a town hall with President Donald Trump tonight at 8 PM directly opposite the Joe Biden town hall on ABC.In an open letter to Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell and NBCU News Group chairman Cesar Conde, the Hollywood heavyweights are asking for the Trump town hall to be shifted from the time slot.

Ellise Shafer editorDuring Wednesday night’s episode of “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC, Maddow interviewed democratic vice presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris – and criticized her parent company’s decision to hold a town hall for President Donald Trump on Thursday.After discussing Trump’s response to COVID-19, Maddow posed the following question to Harris: “Are you as mad as everybody else is that NBC is doing a town hall with President Trump tomorrow instead of the debate, at the

Donald Trump before voters in a town hall event on Thursday after the president submitted to an independent coronavirus test with the results reviewed by Dr. Anthony Fauci.The announcement Wednesday sets up dueling town halls with Democratic opponent Joe Biden on a night the two candidates were supposed to meet for their second debate.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBC News will move forward with an 8 p.m.

Veep creator Armando Iannucci compared his own film,The Death of Stalin, and acclaimed HBO dramasWatchmen and Chernobyl to President Donald Trump's handling of his COVID-19 diagnosisin a recent piece for the New York magazine vertical Intelligencer.

Both Twitter and Facebook took action on Tuesday morning after Donald Trump posted that COVID-19 is no more dangerous than the common flu — a lie. The president — who is still suffering from the virus (although how serious his condition is remains somewhat unclear) posted, "Flu season is coming up! Many people every year, sometimes over 100,000, and despite the Vaccine, die from the Flu.

Greg Evans Associate Editor/Broadway CriticAmanda Kloots, the former actress who chronicled her late husband Nick Cordero’s painful decline from COVID-19, has responded to Donald Trump’s Don’t let COVID dominate your life advice, calling the president’s words sad, hurtful and disgraceful.Yesterday Trump, hospitalized over the weekend for COVID treatment, announced his departure from Walter Reed Medical Center with instantly divisive tweet, “Don’t be afraid of Covid.

Greg Evans Associate Editor/Broadway CriticAlec Baldwin yesterday defended Saturday Night Live‘s inclusion of jokey references to President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis, saying the show likely would not have gone near the subject if “there was ever the suggestion that Trump was truly, gravely ill.”In an Instagram video posted yesterday, Baldwin, who plays Trump on the NBC sketch show, said, “If there was ever the suggestion that Trump was truly, gravely ill, if people said, ‘Oh, Trump is