Monday, April 13, 2015
2015 TV Land Awards Memorable Moments; ABC Family Greenlights 2 Pilots
Celebrities from television, film and music joined TV Land and host Terry Crews for a fun-filled evening at the 2015 TV Land Awards, honoring the most creative, popular and loved stars and series. The black-tie gala event, which premieres on TV Land on Saturday, April 18 at 9pm ET/PT with simulcasts on Nickelodeon and NickMom, taped on Saturday (April 11) at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. The awards honored the casts and creative minds behind Parenthood (Fan Favorite Award), The Wonder Years (Impact Award), Freaks and Geeks (15th Anniversary Award), and Ally McBeal (Groundbreaking Award), as well as Betty White (Legend Award) and Donny and Marie Osmond (Pop Culture Award). The ceremony also featured a tribute to the late trailblazing comedian Joan Rivers and a jaw-dropping performance from Grammy(R) and Oscar(R)-winning best-selling recording artist Jennifer Hudson. Terry Crews opening the night with a lip sync medley that was an ode to the best of TV theme songs, including those from Friends, Gilligan's Island, The Brady Bunch, The Love Boat, The Facts of Life, The Addams Family, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Three's Company, The Jeffersons, Maude, The Golden Girls (with an audience cameo from Betty White!), Laverne and Shirley and more - finishing off with Good Times and a gospel choir.
While presenting for Freaks and Geeks, comedy legend Carl Reiner jokingly chastised Terry Crews for "schmoozing up" Betty White in his opening act. Accepting the 15th Anniversary Award for Freaks and Geeks, Judd Apatow credited series creator Paul Feig, saying "the reason it meant so much to people is because it meant so much to Paul." Jason Segel, who went on to A-list stardom, commented how the show "changed [his] entire life." R&B artist Charlie Wilson taking the stage for a surprise performance of "With A Little Help From My Friends," the theme song from The Wonder Years" while a montage of heartwarming clips from the series played for the audience. Fred Savage commenting on how amazing the night was and how The Wonder Years was "who we were, what we were going through," and Danica McKellar adding that the cast was her TV family (Fred Savage and Josh Saviano were like "brothers" and even taught her what "Pull my finger!" meant). Josh Saviano was in awe over the fact that Paula Abdul was presenting their award, saying "She was my first concert!" Presenter Wendie Malick on her Hot in Cleveland co-star Betty White: "When we grow up, we all want to be like you, Betty White." Betty White receiving a standing ovation when walking to the stage to the song "You Sexy Thing." She ended her acceptance of this year's Legend Award by saying, "To each and every one of you - and your mothers and fathers - thank you from the bottom of my heart," to which audience members responded by screaming, "We love you Betty!"
Calista Flockhart, when accepting the Groundbreaking Award for Ally McBeal, said she was blown away by the clip montage, and said of the show, "What I remember the most are the friendships, truly." Executive producer Bill D'Elia followed with a joke, praising creator David E. Kelley by saying "If we broke some ground, we broke it because David gave us an amazing shovel." Kelly closed it up by saying "To be receiving this award with this class tonight... it's such an esteemed club. Thank you much for welcoming us." Donny and Marie Osmond gave in to the audience shouting "Sing it!" ending their speech accepting the Pop Culture Award with Marie singing "I'm a little bit country," and Donny finishing with "I'm a little bit rock 'n' roll." George Lopez presenting a heartfelt, uplifting and celebratory tribute to the late groundbreaking comedian Joan Rivers. "Joan was ahead of her time," he remarked. "Everybody loved her." Tia Mowry-Hardrict welcoming performer Jennifer Hudson to sing "Whatever Makes You Happy," from the soundtrack to the hit series "Empire." Minka Kelly and Martin Sheen presenting the final award of the night in two parts. Sheen said, "I know a little bit about parenthood and drama," which left the audience laughing. Parenthood star Craig T. Nelson lauded the making of the series as "an extraordinary journey with an extraordinary group of people," while fellow star Bonnie Bedelia looked at the TV Land Award and wondered, "Do we each get one of these? I want one!" Lauren Graham thanking the fans for keeping Parenthood going for six seasons, and then ending by asking what was up Miles Heizer's (her TV son) new nose ring. And finally, Host Terry Crews closing out the night by saying "Now I'm off to party like I'm Betty White - let's do it!" Tune in for all this and more this coming Saturday at 9pm on TV Land!
ABC Family continues its original programming momentum by greenlighting two new pilots: the comedy Gorgeous Morons and the supernatural drama series Beyond. These two pilot greenlights come hot off the heels of the network picking up saga series Shadowhunters and single camera comedy Kevin From Work to series. From ABC Signature Studios, Gorgeous Morons is a half-hour multi-cam comedy that focuses on two stunningly handsome but ridiculously simple brothers – one is a model, the other a personal trainer – who find their lives rocked by their brainy new roommate, a female literature PhD whose looks are, by their standards, in desperate need of help. “Gorgeous Morons” is co-created and executive produced by Emmy® Award-nominated Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky (The Office, Bad Teacher, Hello Ladies, Trophy Wife), alongside former The Office head writer Danny Chun (Happy Endings, The Office, The Simpsons). Chun is penning the script.
Beyond is a one-hour drama about a young man who wakes up from a coma after 12 years and discovers new supernatural abilities that propel him into the middle of a dangerous conspiracy. From Imperative Entertainment and Automatik, Beyond is created, written and executive produced by Adam Nussdorf (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland). Tim Kring (Heroes), Zak Kadison, Justin Levy and Brian Kavanaugh-Jones will serve as Executive Producers. We will let you know if and when ABC Family picks these pilots to series. ABC Family has its annual upfront presentation tomorrow...so stay tuned for any news.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Thursday, September 28
none scheduled
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 25)
Thursday, September 28
- George Clooney (Roseanne/The Facts of Life/ E/R (1984-1985) - Catch George on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. He joins Drew for the entire show opening up about meeting the love of his life Amal, revealing the sweet thing they still do for each other to this day, their engagement story and more on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Eva Longoria (Telenovela) - Eva appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - Hank is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Diane Morgan (After Life) - Diane appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Sebastian Maniscalco (How to Be a Bookie) and Baron Vaughn (Grace and Frankie/Corporate) - Sebastian and Baron are guests on repeats of Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen on CBS between 12:37-1:37am.
- Garcelle Beauvais (Survival of the Thickest/The Jamie Foxx Show) - E! News has an interview with Garcelle at 11pm on E!.
- Kerry Washington (Unprisoned) - Kerry is a guest on Watch What Happens: Live at 10pm on Bravo.
- Ed Begley Jr. (Young Sheldon/Your Family or Mine/Gary Unmarried/Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central)) - Ed talks about his new book To the Temple of Tranquility...And Step On It! A Memoir on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Tiffani Thiessen (Saved by the Bell/Alexa & Katie/Good Morning, Miami/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Tiffani discusses her latest cookbook, Here We Go Again: Recipes and Inspiration to Level Up Your Leftovers, on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Sam Jay (Bust Down) - Sam talks about her just-released HBO comedy special, Salute Me or Shoot Me, on Sherri, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (June-October)
06/13 - Mayberry R.F.D. - The Complete Series
06/13 - Night Court (1984-1992) - The Complete Series
07/18 - South Park - Seasons 21-25 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
07/25 - The Neighborhood - Season Five
07/25 - Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin - Season One
07/25 - Superstore - The Complete Series
08/22 - Back to Life - Season 1 / Season 2
08/29 - Smiling Friends - Season 1 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/05 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Sixth Season
09/12 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Second Season
09/12 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-6 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/26 - Family Matters - The Complete Series
09/26 - Step by Step - The Complete Series
10/10 - The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - The Complete Season Thirteen / The Complete Season Fourteen
10/17 - ALF - The Complete Series (Deluxe Edition) (Shout! Factory Special Offers)
10/17 - Night Court (2023) - The Complete First Season
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