Bill Cosby to Be Honored with Johnny Carson Award; SNL Celebrates 40th Anniversary in 2015

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Bill Cosby to Be Honored with Johnny Carson Award; SNL Celebrates 40th Anniversary in 2015

NBC and Don Mischer Productions announced that Bill Cosby (The Cosby Show, I Spy, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids) will be honored with the Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence at the American Comedy Awards, which airs Thursday, May 8 from 9-11pm ET/PT on NBC (and tapes this Saturday, April 26 in NYC). The Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence is presented to an individual who, over the course of their lifetime, has made an extraordinary contribution to comedy and whose impact and innovations have changed the landscape and inspired future generations of entertainers. The American Comedy Awards will honor those who have achieved new heights during the past year in both film and television, as well as pay tribute to some of comedy's most enduring personalities. The telecast will acknowledge the work of stand-ups, those who specialize in movies and the actors and actresses who are seen by millions on TV every week. View the full nominations for the 2014 American Comedy Awards.

Saturday Night Live

NBC will air a three-hour live special on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015 in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the iconic franchise Saturday Night Live. Past and present cast members, as well as special and musical guests from the show's incredible five-decade run, will appear on the telecast, with the specific lineup of guests to be determined in the coming months. The roster of talent over 40 years includes everyone from the iconic first cast in 1975 to household names ranging from Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Dana Carvey, Mike Myers, Will Ferrell, and Adam Sandler, to Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers - to name only a few. This special is just one of the many ways SNL plans to celebrate SNL's historic 40th season next year. Saturday Night Live has won 40 Emmy Awards, the most for any show in television history. Saturday Night Live also holds the title for the most nominated television show in Emmy history with 171 nominations. Saturday Night Live has been honored twice, in 1990 and 2009, with the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award and cited as "truly a national institution."

Saturday Night Live was inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame by the National Association of Broadcasters. The show continues to garner the highest ratings of any late-night television program, entertaining millions each week. Broadcast live from NBC's famed Studio 8H in New York City's Rockefeller Center, Saturday Night Live premiered Oct. 11, 1975. The program is a production of Broadway Video in association with SNL Studios. Lorne Michaels is the executive producer.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, July 7

Live in Front of a Studio Audience: All in the Family and Good Times - (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
“Live in Front of a Studio Audience: ‘All in the Family’ and ‘Good Times’,” the holiday-inspired live event that captivated audiences back in December, is set to rebroadcast on ABC, TUESDAY, JULY 7 (8:00-9:30 p.m. EDT). Produced by Sony Pictures Television, “Live in Front of a Studio Audience: ‘All in the Family’ and ‘Good Times’” recreates installments of Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin’s Emmy® Award-winning series “All in the Family” and groundbreaking sitcom “Good Times,” created by Mike Evans, Eric Monte and developed by Lear.

All-star cast members taking on the famed “All in the Family” roles include Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Ellie Kemper and Ike Barinholtz reprising their iconic roles as Archie and Edith Bunker, Gloria Stivic and Meathead, along with Kevin Bacon as Pinkie Peterson, Jesse Eisenberg as David Brewster and Justina Machado as Teresa Bettencourt.

A lineup of all-star talent tackling “Good Times” roles include Viola Davis and Andre Braugher as Florida Evans and James Evans, Jay Pharoah as J.J Evans, Asante Blackk as Michael Evans, Corinne Foxx as Thelma Evans and Tiffany Haddish as Willona Woods. Jharrel Jerome also stars as Jimmy Pearson, while ABC’s Anthony Anderson and the legendary Patti LaBelle join forces for a show-stopping musical performance.

black-ish - "Boss Daddy" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Dre’s torn at the office between looking out for Junior as his dad or letting him make his own mistakes. Meanwhile, Jack loses a friendship after trying to look cool in front of the basketball team.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of July 6)

Tuesday, July 7

Anthony Anderson (black-ish/Guys with Kids/All About the Andersons) - Anthony guest hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
D.L. Hughley (The Hughleys) - Catch D.L. on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) - Demi appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio/The Goldbergs/The King of Queens) - Patton is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) - Ray appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Lauren Ash (Superstore/Super Fun Night) - Lauren is a guest on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Ben Feldman (Superstore/A to Z/Living with Fran) - Ben appears on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Rob Lowe (The Grinder/Parks and Recreation) - Rob is a guest on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Yvette Nicole Brown (The Mayor/The Odd Couple/Community) - Yvette chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Denise Richards (Blue Mountain State) - Denise appears on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Jada Pinkett Smith (A Different World) - Jada is a guest on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Ron Funches (Final Space/Powerless/Undateable) - Ron appears on a repeat of The Real, so check your local listings.
Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect) - Sherri is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Kym Whitley (Young & Hungry/Animal Practice/Sparks) - Kym will be on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Paul Reiser (The Kominsky Method/Mad About You/Red Oaks/My Two Dads) - Paul appears on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Jim Carrey (Kidding/The Duck Factory) - Jim talks about Memoirs and Misinformation on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom is a guest on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am and in the 10am hour.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Kristen talks about The World Needs More Purple People on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.