When my embattled friend Kevin Reilly was ousted from his position as President of NBC entertainment, I was both disappointed and strangely relieved for him. Disappointed because I truly believe he’s done an unbelievable job with very little support (he kept Office on the air when most other networks would have cancelled it, he took  risks with great shows like Friday Night Lights, and he made great calls with properties such as Heroes.) He’s also just a real stand-up guy, and took all of it with miraculous grace under pressure. And I was relieved for him because as a friend, I want to see him flourish in an environment that’s not so fragile and thorn-filled.

When his replacement strategy was announced, I actually thought it was  a bold, audacious move on NBCU’s part. I’ve spent time with Ben Silverman, and we’ve even discussed working on a couple of projects together, and he’s as sharp as they come.  He’s a consummate packager who sees the big money picture…which is probably what NBC needs more than anything else right now.

What surprised me more than anything else is that the deal involves Silverman keeping his ownership stake in his company Reveille, which will continue to produce, pitch and sell great television content. Which would make the process of them pitching NBC apparently quite neoptistic. I spoke to a friend who’s been in the business for a long time, and he pointed out to me that TV has no rules. There’s nothing in the rule book that says that a network must give external producers equal due. There’s nothing that says they can’t buy all their shows from Reveille next year. It’s really completely up to them.

That said, as a content creator and fellow producer, I’m a bit concerned about that fact. My sentiments are echoed in a pithy and sensational coulmn over at Nikki Finke’s blog . Of course, this is a time of rebuilding at NBC, and the best thing we can do is provide them the support they need to get back on their feet. The rest, we just have to wait and see.