How O.J. Simpson, a Busted Pilot and His Huge Network Supporter Loomed Over NBC Just as It Found ‘Must-See TV’ Success

It’s a bit of an irony that just as NBC’s “Must-See TV” juggernaut took off in 1994, execs there found themselves right in the middle of a completely different kind of televised spectacle: The O.J. Simpson arrest, trial and eventual acquittal.

Not only was then-NBC West Coast president Don Ohlmeyer one of Simpson’s best friends, but just a month before the killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman — followed by Simpson’s white Ford Bronco flight from justice and arrest — NBC had passed on a pilot starring the ex-football-star.

“It was just a strange time to be there because of Don’s loyalty to OJ,” recalled Preston

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