NBC News’ Chuck Todd Tells MSNBC: Network’s Hillary Clinton Miniseries A “Nightmare”

CNN Joins NBC, Bails On Hillary Clinton Documentary

NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd went on MSNBC’s Morning Joe this morning to whine about NBC Entertainment’s plans for a Hillary Clinton miniseries. “A total nightmare” for the news division, Todd called it. What’s knotting his knickers is a recent threat by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus to yank primary debates from NBC after NBC Entertainment announced it had bought a Hillary Clinton miniseries. “There’s nothing we can do about it and we’re going to only own the negative,” Todd complained of the Clinton mini, announced at the just-wrapped Summer TV Press Tour 2013. “People are going to see the peacock, and they see NBC,” he said of the project, which NBC Entertainment chief Robert Greenblatt said he hoped to broadcast before Clinton might declare a presidential run.

Here may be a good place to mention NBC News signed Chelsea Clinton to a short-term contract as a “special correspondent” in the fall of 2011 and renewed in ’12.

In its announcement, NBC Entertainment said the miniseries would look at the former First Lady/Senator/Secy of State, “as a wife, politician and cabinet member from 1998 to present.” Todd assured MSNBC viewers that NBC’s news and entertainment divisions have clashed before, but mostly about whether to cover a live news event during primetime or “run some rerun of Parks And Recreation” so as to “make some money.” Todd stressed the “fire wall” between NBC News and NBC Entertainment. “We know there’s this giant firewall, we know we have nothing to do with it. We know that we’d love probably to be as critical or whatever,” he said, but did not elaborate.

Priebus also has threatened to pull primary debates from CNN because it’s planning a documentary on Hillary Clinton.

Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter