Broadway Video is an American multimedia entertainment studio founded by Lorne Michaels, creator of the sketch comedy TV series Saturday Night Live and producer of other television programs and movies. Broadway Video also held the rights to much of the pre-1974 Rankin-Bass library and Lassie from 1988 to 1996 before they sold the rights to Golden Books Family Entertainment (now owned by NBCUniversal/Universal Pictures via DreamWorks Animation/Classic Media).
History
Lorne Michaels, who launched Saturday Night Live in 1975, produced several television specials under the banner of Above Average Productions before incorporating Broadway Video in 1979. Michaels took the company's name from its location at 1619 Broadway in the historic Brill Building in New York, New York. Initially, the company's principal activity was videotape post-production. One of its main clients was NBC, which hired Michaels to produce and edit Best of Saturday Night specials that aired in prime time. The specials and other comedy and musical projects helped Broadway Video grow "from a one-room operation into a first-class production company, the foundation of a small empire."
Broadway Video later "prospered" by moving into home entertainment, acquisition, and international syndication. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, the company has continued to develop films and TV programming. Its sitcom, 30 Rock, ran for seven seasons between 2006 and 2013. Besides SNL, its current TV productions include The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers, The company's Above Average Productions distributes its own original digital shorts, and those of others, on one of YouTube’s leading comedy networks. Broadway Video Enterprises distributes the company's library and develops branded entertainment. Broadway Video Ventures invests in emerging technology, media, and entertainment companies. His production company signed a film deal with Universal Pictures in 2018 after its original deal with Paramount ended.
Divisions
Broadway Video Television
Broadway Video Television develops and produces primetime and late night programming. Its flagship show, Saturday Night Live, where Michaels remains Executive Producer, began its 47th season in September 2021. Michaels also has served as Executive Producer of NBC's Late Night franchise for more than two decades – producing Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993–2009), Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2009–2014), and Late Night with Seth Meyers (2014–present). In 2014, Michaels took on the role of Executive Producer of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Since 2011, Broadway Video has produced Portlandia, the Peabody-winning IFC series created by Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein, and Jonathan Krisel. The show, which ran for eight seasons between 2011 and 2018, was distributed in 91 nations. The company's animated series, The Awesomes, created by Seth Meyers and Mike Shoemaker, premiered on Hulu in 2013 and ran for three seasons (30 episodes total) through 2015. Mulaney, which aired on Fox in the fall of 2014, starred comedian John Mulaney, It has also been involved with Man Seeking Woman, based on Last Girlfriend on Earth by Simon Rich, Documentary Now, created by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, and Seth Meyers, and the served as the producer of The Maya Rudolph Show variety show pilot that aired on NBC on May 19, 2014.
Broadway Video Film
Michaels has developed and produced such films as Mean Girls (2004), Enigma (2001), Tommy Boy (1995), Lassie (1994), and Wayne's World (1992), among other titles. His SNL Studios productions have included The Ladies Man (2000), Superstar (1999), and A Night at the Roxbury (1998). Michaels’ co-productions with John Goldwyn include The Guilt Trip (2012), MacGruber (2010), and Baby Mama (2008). Other work includes Staten Island Summer, written by Colin Jost and directed by Rhys Thomas