TV Land Icon Awards to Honor Norman Lear and John Stamos; TV Land's Younger Scores Its Most-Watched Episode Ever

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

TV Land Icon Awards to Honor Norman Lear and John Stamos; TV Land's Younger Scores Its Most-Watched Episode Ever

TV Land Icon Awards in Celebration with Entertainment Weekly

We reported last week that TV Land was reinventing their annual awards ceremony as the TV Land Icon Awards in Celebration with Entertainment Weekly. Comedian George Lopez will host the evening honoring the very best of TV and entertainment, taping Sunday, April 10th at The Barker Hangar in Los Angeles, and airing Sunday, April 17th at 9pm ET/PT on TV Land. They have announced this year's honorees and additional guests for the star-studded event.

Three-time Emmy® Award winner Norman Lear will be honored with the Impact Icon Award, which praises individuals that have made a significant impression on American entertainment and culture. The incomparable Lear has been in the entertainment business for more than 60 years, creating some of the most memorable television comedy staples including The Jeffersons, One Day at a Time, All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Maude and Good Times, all of which have endured through generations and remain some of today's pop cultural favorites. In addition to being a multiple Emmy Award-winner, Lear is also a recipient of the National Medal of Arts and a Peabody Award, among other numerous accolades. Oscar®, Emmy®, Tony® and GRAMMY® winner Rita Moreno and Jimmie Walker will be on hand on hand for his tribute, and Glee star and recording artist Amber Riley, along with others to be announced, will perform a special medley of theme songs from Lear's shows. The Impact Icon Award will be presented to Lear by television and film creator Seth MacFarlane.

Also being honored at this year's ceremony is John Stamos, who will receive the Timeless Icon Award, which is presented to an entertainer whose extraordinary work spans generations. John Stamos is best known for his role as Jesse Katsopolis on the hit sitcom Full House, a role he recently reprised in the highly-anticipated follow up, Fuller House, which debuted in February on Netflix. He began his career as foster teen and dreamboat Blackie Parrish on General Hospital in 1982. After Full House, he went on to star on several seasons of ER as Dr. Tony Gates, played the title role in Jake in Progress, and currently stars on the FOX series Grandfathered. Stamos' Full House co-stars and longtime friends Dave Coulier and Lori Loughlin, his Grandfathered co-stars Paget Brewster and Josh Peck, and renowned television creator and film producer Garry Marshall will present him with his award. As part of his tribute, GRAMMY-winning band The Beach Boys will perform a medley of their hit songs.

Younger

TV Land and Darren Star's critical darling Younger has reached new series highs in Live+3 after the highly-anticipated season two finale aired last Wednesday (3/23/16), netting 1.3 million total viewers. The median age of the audience for the Sutton Foster comedy is 12 years younger (46 years old) than TV Land's channel prime average, and four years younger than season one. Season two has boasted impressive double-digit gains over season one. The show has also seen significant growth with its followers and fans on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Younger was already renewed for a 12-episode third season before the second season launched on January 13. We will keep you posted when they announce the season three premiere date.

Younger follows Liza (two-time Tony® winner Sutton Foster), a 40-year old woman who pretends to be 26 in order to get a job in the highly competitive world of publishing – and succeeds. Now working under the prickly Diana (Miriam Shor), Liza has to figure out how to balance her real life with best friend Maggie (Debi Mazar), and her "pretend" life with her new crew – friend/coworker Kellsey (Hilary Duff) and fashion publicist Lauren (Molly Bernard). At the end of season two, Liza's secret took a tragic turn when Kelsey's fiancé Thad (Dan Amboyer) was killed in an accident right after he discovered her lie, and Liza's love life is in disarray as she tries to choose between on-again/off-again boyfriend Josh (Nico Tortorella) and her boss Charles (Peter Hermann), with whom she has an undeniable connection. Season three is set to shoot in New York this summer.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Wednesday, September 22

The Goldbergs - "The Goldbergs' Excellent Adventure" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The season nine premiere revolves around the iconic ‘80s family paying tribute to Pops. Together they venture down memory lane by visiting Pops’ favorite stomping grounds. Adam Goldberg, forever with camera in hand, captures the outing – theming it to “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” Hijinks and hilarity ensue, and we are reminded that there is no bond greater than family.

The Wonder Years - "Pilot" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
As the youngest in the Williams family, Dean is struggling to figure out where he fits in. Between his brother’s athleticism, sister’s popularity, mother’s intelligence and dad’s overall coolness, everyone else seems to have their lane figured out. He decides to pursue his calling as “The Great Uniter” and attempts to organize the first integrated baseball game between his team and his friend Brad’s team.

The Conners - "Trucking Live in Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Lights, Camera, Action: “The Conners” is going live for both the East and West Coast broadcasts of the season four premiere episode. This iconic TV family continues to deal with the current pandemic while navigating breakups and newfound sobriety, all while planning an upcoming wedding.

Home Economics - "49ers Foam Finger, $7" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Connor invites the Hayworth clan to a San Francisco 49ers game as he tries to close his latest business deal. Desperately trying to prove that he knows the game, Tom gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance to showcase his football skills in front of the entire crowd of 49ers Faithful at Levi’s® Stadium. Meanwhile, Denise tries to get Sarah to come to terms with Shamiah’s new interest in cheerleading.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of September 20)

Wednesday, September 22

Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building) and Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building/Mulaney/The Martin Short Show) - Watch Steve and Martin on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/Welcome to New York) - Jim appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Melissa McCarthy (Mike & Molly/Samantha Who?) - Melissa is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Scott Foley (The Goodwin Games/Scrubs/A.U.S.A.) - Scott appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Kim Fields (The Upshaws/Living Single/The Facts of Life/Baby, I'm Back) - Kim is a guest on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Alyson Hanningan (How I Met Your Mother/Free Spirit) - Alyson will be on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Jaleel White (Family Matters/Grown Ups) - Jaleel talks about his hit podcast Ever After on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
John Stamos (Fuller House/Grandfathered/Jake in Progrews/Full House/You, Again?) - John talks about his podcast The Grand Scheme on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Drew Barrymore (Santa Clarita Diet) - Drew appears on CBS This Morning sometime between 7-9am.
Martin Lawrence (Martin/Partners) - Martin gets excited for the NFL season by partnering with DraftKings on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Jon Bernthal (The Class) - Jon talks about The Many Saints of Newark on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
The Cast of The Wonder Years (2021) - Elisha "EJ" Williams, Laura Kariuki, Dulé Hill and Saycon Sengbloh are guests on Tamron Hall, so check your local listings. Dulé appears on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan (check your local listings) and chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. Dulé and EJ will be on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.