Book Review: Top of the Rock - The Rise and Fall of Must See TV

[GregMO ROberts]

Warren Littlefield was the President of NBC television from 1991-1998 and was the decision maker behind the launch of NBC’s Must See TV era that brought audiences such iconic and embedded pop culture shows as Cheers, The Cosby Show, Will & Grace, Frasier and Mad About You.

Littlefield’s reflection of those years and how these shows grew from ideas to franchise tentpoles is outlined in ‘Top of the Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV’ a new book written by Warren Littlefield with T. R. Pearson.

Warren takes us on a magical ride back through the glory years of the network and we get behind the scenes details on almost every show that was green-lit by his administration including Law & Order, ER, Seinfeld, Just Shoot me and The West Wing.

The book is a brisk read thanks in large part to the format which breaks his tenure an NBC down in chapters that coincide with the birth of its most popular shows, and it’s writing style that has everyone and anyone that was working at NBC at the time a voice with each page consisting of various quotes and observations by all those involved.

Actors such as Jason Alexander (Seinfeld), Lisa Kudrow (Friends), Helen Hunt (Mad About You), Sean Hayes (Will & Grace), Kelsey Grammer (Cheers, Frasier) and Noah Wyle (ER) all contribute multiple observations in the book as does television visionaries James Burrows (Cheers), Dick Wolf (Law & Order), John Wells (ER) and Peter Casey (Cheers/Wings) just to name a few.

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[BreeAnimal]

i read it too. it was a great read. especially the mad about you, wings and friends chapters.