Ted Shackelford Quotes

I think 'Y&R's future is contingent upon the ratings. Obviously, none of the soaps are kept alive for the sake of loyalty. It's all about ratings. It's show business. Period.

I've sold shows based on my standup twice to CBS, but they've never gone past the script stage. TV is very competitive.

It's true that in show business, a lot of times a producer will just not ever be there, not even be aware that a show is renewed or canceled.

I had no regrets when I did it, I have even less regret now because I can't imagine staying on the West Wing show and then, six weeks later, Aaron Sorkin leaving.

I created, wrote, produced, and starred in my first-ever acting gig!

I absolutely love television, and I don't mean to be vulgar, but as I keep having to explain to people from the movie industry, I get more power and more money doing television, so why on earth would I do a film?

I'm very excited to see where the characters and their relationships go. But in the end, it really boils down to the people who have more power than me, who control the money.

For the most part, Hollywood is very transactional. People want to make movies and television shows.

It is money, money, money! Not ideas, not principles, but money that reigns supreme in American politics.

The truth is, we have this idea that late night is about creativity and being cool, but that's not our job. Our job is to get as many people watching the commercials in between our show. That's the reality of it.

Nowadays, there are sometimes more producers than there are people in the cast, because it takes that much money to put a show on.

I resisted the film business as long as I could, because of the big circus act and the amount of money that it costs to make films - I saw my father suffer through that.

I've been on one TV series after another. None of the network decisions have ever made sense to me.

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry.

I used to say when I was working in the theater that if I ever had five seasons of a hit TV show I'd never have to worry about money and wouldn't have to do anything I didn't want to do.

The pilot system in television is utterly broken. It's a huge waste of money.

I had developed a sitcom with UPN, but it wasn't picked up.

The thing about TV is it's a meritocracy. I love that aspect of it - and I've had shows that have gone on the air and been canceled. I've seen the good and the bad of it.

A hit show takes Hollywood magic indeed, but it also takes a lot of math and science, plus the study of polls and trends to make and sell a TV show.

The lifespan of any show is to end in cancellation.

I'm glad I was born when I was. My time was the golden age of variety. If I were starting out again now, maybe things would happen for me, but it certainly would not be on a variety show with 28 musicians, 12 dancers, two major guest stars, 50 costumes a week by Bob Mackie. The networks just wouldn't spend the money today.

There is a 90% failure rate for most shows. It's difficult for any show to write for the next season.

The only pitch I have to movie people is the same as this one: Just give me $8 million. I'm not telling you what it's about and I'm not telling you who's in it.

My experience politically has always been that one-word definition of politics: money. Keep your eye on the buck. And that tells you where the American people are going to be.

A lot of factors go into the longevity of a show.