CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler

Credit: CBS

For reasons well-documented by Sepinwall, NBC couldn't/didn't trot out an executive to chat with the Television Critics Association on Thursday morning. But on Friday (Jan. 14), CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler was in the house to discuss the challenges of being TV's most-watched network.

Click through for all of the "We're No. 1" cheerleading...

FOX Entertainment President Kevin Reilly

Credit: FOX

After a fun-filled 45 minutes with the "American Idol" team -- Short version: Nobody's worried about lame winners, losing Simon or drooping demo numbers -- it's time for the Big Bosses: Entertainment President Kevin Reilly and Chairman Peter Rick.

Click through for the fun...

11:13 a.m. I guess we're expecting lots of questions about "Glee," "Idol" and "Fringe," right? Stay tuned, if FOX can ever clear the post-"Idol" scrum.

11:21 a.m. Kevin Reilly says that FOX ended the fall "No.1 among girls 12-14 who like musicals." Heh.

11:21 a.m. Kevin Reilly says that "Lie to Me" may still be back in the fall, despite the lack of back-nine. And he says it won't be either "Chicago Code" or "Lie to Me."

11:24 a.m. Nobody is worried about "Big Bang Theory" going against "Idol" on Thursdays. They figure both shows will do their numbers.

11:24 a.m. "We made a show that we really loved," Peter Rice says of "Lone Star." He adds, "It's the reality of the business we're in. It's intensely competitive." He says, "The truth is, it failed. It failed to meet the expectations we had... I'd much prefer to fail with a show we're creatively proud of..." Reilly says that FOX does not, in fact, have a crystal ball on what will succeed and what will fail. A hit and a failure are only a few strands of DNA apart he says.

11:25 a.m. They had about six more "Lone Star" episodes in the can. "We still own them and we're looking for a place to... they may very well play," Reilly says. He says that the episodes were good and they very well may end airing.

11:26 a.m. "I appreciate the support in this room and I beg you to not write the eulogy prematurely," Reilly says of moving FOX to Friday. He promises that they're excited about "Fringe" and that "the work is outstanding" and "they make a mini-movie each week." He raves about the "Fringe" DVR numbers and says he wants fans to stick with it and "I'd be heartbroken if it went away." 

11:28 a.m. More "Lone Star" speculation. Rice jokes that the best time and place to launch "Lone Star" would apparently have been anywhere other than where they did. Rice says they haven't learned any hard-and-fast rules or secrets for launching shows. "It was clearly not right, because it failed," Rice says of the "Lone Star" launch.

11:30 a.m. Peter Rice swears that "Terra Nova" is on-budget, that there have been no cost-overruns. Both execs are impressed with what they've seen. We're going to see a three-minute clip later today. Rice acknowledges, though, that "Terra Nova" is expensive, which is why they went straight to a 13-episode order, rather than shooting a pilot first. They're creating a world, but Reilly raves at the look achieved in Australia.

11:32 a.m. Reilly swears that if you looked at the cost of the "Terra Nova," it wouldn't be that much higher than other big pilots, though he admits that start-up costs were high. "It's the most expensive first year show that we've had, but it's not the most expensive show we have on our air," Rice says. Rice compares the pilot to "Deadwood," in the sense of having to create a world that doesn't exist, to explain the straight-to-series approach.

11:35 a.m. "It was a real bummer," Reilly says of seeing the initial ratings for "Lone Star." He tries to remind us that FOX has often struggled in the fall.

11:37 a.m. Rice and Reilly try desperately to reassure us that our reviews AREN'T meaningless. Awwwww. Thanks guys! 

11:37 a.m. We go back and forth on whether Peter Rice can convince us he actually watches TV. Today he's doing a better job.

11:37 a.m. Reilly's fine with our reviews, but he wants to make it clear that there's lots of good programming on networks, not just cable.

11:38 a.m. "We're going to do the same show," Reilly says of "Fringe." He says that if "Fringe" does Thursday numbers on Friday, it'll be a huge upgrade. He sounds OK with the idea that the show isn't welcoming to new viewers and that it could just play to its devoted fans.

11:40 a.m. Bizarre question suggests that critics hated "Human Target" when it premiered and that now we love it and that the show has gotten better and better. This is both factually inaccurate regarding the show's reviews and probably subjectively inaccurate regarding how fans have responded to the new season.

11:41 a.m. "I think I watered down Mitch's vision... No. Not really. That would have been an honest answer, though, wouldn't it?" Reilly says, kidding about both what went wrong with "Running Wilde" and Mitch Hurwitz's public comments about FOX watering down the vision. Reilly says the show found itself eventually but, "too little too late."

11:41 a.m. Rice isn't worried about singing competition saturation, at least not how it will impact "American Idol" and "X-Factor," reminding us that "X-Factor" is very different from "Idol."

11:44 a.m. Show's age-up. Reilly isn't worried that "American Idol" is getting older. He swears kids are still out there and they still like network television.

11:45 a.m. "It'll just make 'Glee' look that much better, most likely," Reilly says of the impact of any attempts by other networks to replicate "Glee." "I think it's always tough to chase something that's hot," Reilly says. He adds, "Are they stupid? Some of them are." It's a joke. Kinda.

11:47 a.m. FOX has "X-Factor" and "Terra Nova" already in place for the fall, so that's giving the network more focus as they approach development season. Rice agrees that "focus" is the right word. Both men say that revitalizing comedy on FOX is a primary goal. They say, however, that they aren't necessarily going to be ordering fewer pilots.

11:49 a.m. "I'd anticipate they're both going to be back," Reilly says of "House" and "Bones." He says, "We want them both."

11:49 a.m. "It's really cool," Reilly says of "Locke & Key." He praises the underlying vision of both the underlying property and of Josh Friedman's adaptation. "We like the idea of doing something scary right now." No matter what some people have reported, they've only ordered a pilot. They're no longer thinking of "Locke & Key" for the summer.

11:52 a.m. Reilly expects their first comedy pilot pick-up to be for a multi-camera sitcom. So no, multi-cams aren't dead on FOX. WHEW. Or something. "The form is unique to television and we love it," Reilly swears.

That's all, kids...

Ryan Seacrest and the 'American Idol' judges

Credit: FOX

FOX's press day started with a panel for the fine new Shawn Ryan drama "Chicago Code," but things are shifting into high gear first with the "American Idol" panel and then with FOX's executive session. I'll live-blog both... Click through...

Caroline Dhavernas of 'Off the Map'

Credit: ABC

As always, you can subscribe to The Firewall & Iceberg Podcast over at the iTunes Store, where you can also rate us and comment on us. [Or you can always follow our RSS Feed.]

ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee

Credit: ABC

ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee will be chatting with the Television Critics Association press tour on Monday (Jan. 10) morning. Click through for a live-blog of the proceedings...

David Lyons of 'The Cape'

Credit: NBC

We like to rub this in, but NBC is in the midst of an impressive string of failure. While a few of the network's fall shows got full-season orders, they were almost pity pick-ups. There's no way to spin the numbers for "Chase" or "The Event" as "successful," even if they'll both return in the spring. The network is practically rolling out an entirely new schedule in the spring, complete with a slew of new shows, none of which feel like inevitable hits to me.