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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Saturday, September 7
Johnson - "Bahama Breeze" (Bounce TV, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Naomi is impressed with Omar's growth; Antionette makes Jarvis a proposal at a much-needed time; Greg reconnects with Jada; Omar, Keith and Jarvis hit the club.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 2)
Friday, September 6
- Kumail Nanjiani (Bless the Harts/Silicon Valley) - Watch Kumail on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Michael Keaton (Report to Murphy/Working Stiffs/All's Fair) - Michael appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Conner O'Malley (Shrill) - Conner is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Edie Falco (Bupkis/Nurse Jackie) - Edie talks about her film I'll Be Right There on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh is joining Drew and telling her about getting denied from his college's musical theater program and making his return to Broadway after eleven years with bestie Andrew Rannells on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Diane Farr (Splitting Together/Like Family/The Job) - Diane discusses the CBS drama series Fire Country on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
04/03 - Too Close for Comfort - The Complete Series (VEI)
04/08 - Check It Out! - The Complete Series (VEI)
05/21 - Frasier (2023) - Season One
06/11 - The Jeffersons - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
06/11 - Welcome Back, Kotter - The Complete Series (2024 Release)
07/05 - Letterkenny - Season 12 (Final Season)
07/30 - Ted Lasso - The Richmond Way (The Complete Series) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/10 - Rick and Morty - The Complete Seasons 1-7
09/10 - Ted - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
09/17 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
09/17 - Top Cat - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
09/24 - Friends - The Complete Series (4K Ultra HD)
09/24 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Seventh Season (DVD) / The Complete Series (DVD) (Blu-ray)
10/08 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Twelfth Season / The Complete Series
10/22 - Veep - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive
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