Monday, May 24, 2021
TBS Launches Best of Friends Awards; AMC Networks Adds to All-Star Cast of Ultra City Smiths

TBS announced the launch of of the first-ever "Best of Friends Awards" hosted by Schitt's Creek star and #1 Friends fan, Sarah Levy. Fans can vote for their favorite moments from the iconic series in a variety of categories – including Best Cellebrity Cameo, Best Musical Moment, Best Romantic Moment and more – by visiting www.TBS.com . Winners will be announced during a livestream on TBS' YouTube, Twitter and Facebook pages on Wednesday, May 26 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT, with a special guest appearance from a Friends fan favorite. Fans who vote will be entered to win a Friends merchandise prize pack.
Additionally, in support of the highly anticipated premiere of Friends: The Reunion streaming on HBO Max Thursday, May 27, TBS is running a bracket on Instagram and Twitter to select the #1 fan moment of all time, having already achieved 800k votes and counting. This joins the previously announced Friends: From the Beginning marathon currently airing on TBS until June 4.

HBO Max debuted the official trailer and key art for Friends: The Reunion, debuting Thursday, MAY 27 on HBO Max. Friends stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer return to the iconic comedy's original soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank for a real-life unscripted celebration of the beloved show.
Ben Winston directed the special and executive produced along with Friends executive producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman, and David Crane. The special hails from Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon, Fulwell 73 Productions and Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions. Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, LeBlanc, Perry, and Schwimmer executive produced the special. Emma Conway, James Longman and Stacey Thomas-Muir co-executive produced.
In celebration of the special, HBO Max will launch the following activations, inspiring friends to reunite nationwide to watch Friends: The Reunion:
To celebrate the must-stream event of the summer, HBO Max will launch the "For Fans Of Friends" spotlight page on May 27, offering customized Friends-themed content to invite viewers to immerse themselves in curations centered around everyone's favorite group of six. The page will include a myriad of themed episodic collections from fan favorites, guest stars, iconic moments and fashion to custom talent-driven curations. Collections include "Best of Rachel," "The Ones With Celebrity Guests" and the most-watched episodes.

AMC Networks announced the second round of voice casting for its new half-hour, stop-motion, animated baby doll series, Ultra City Smiths, created by Steve Conrad (Patriot, Perpetual Grace), who serves as showrunner, and Stoopid Buddy Stoodios (Robot Chicken, Crossing Swords). The first two episodes of the series will premiere on AMC+ on Thursday, July 22 with subsequent episodes dropping weekly, every Thursday. The six-episode first season will air on AMC this fall.
Rounding out the cast are Kristen Bell (Queenpins, The Woman in the House) as Donella Pecker, Dax Shepard (Parenthood, The Ranch) as Congressman Chris Pecker, Alia Shawkat (Seach Party, Duck Butter) as Little Grace, Tim Meadows (Schooled, No Activity) as Deputy Mayor Jeff Thumb, Terry O'Quinn (Lost, Patriot) as Captain Krieger, Debra Winger (Terms of Endearment, Shadowlands) as Trish McSapphire, Guzmán (Shameless, Traffic) as Rodrigo Smalls, Julian Barratt (Truth Keepers, Killing Eve) as The Most Dangerous Man in the World, Sunita Mani (Evil Eye, Save Yourselves!) as Detective Jaya Mukherjee, and Tom Waits (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Dead Don't Die) as The Narrator.

These all-star cast members join the previously announced Jimmi Simpson (Westworld, Black Mirror), Da'Vine Joy Randolph (Dolemite Is My Name, The United States vs Billie Holiday), John C. Reilly (Moonbase 8, Ralph Breaks the Internet), Bebe Neuwirth (Chicago, Cheers), Jason Mantzoukas (Big Mouth, Infinite), Damon Herriman (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Underground Railroad), Melissa Villaseñor (Saturday Night Live, Toy Story 4), Kurtwood Smith (That '70s Show, RoboCop), Tim Heidecker (Moonbase 8, Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!), Chris Conrad (Patriot, Perpetual Grace, LTD) and Hana Mae Lee (Patriot, The Babysitter: Killer Queen).
From AMC Studios and created by Conrad, the Ultra City Smiths story unfolds via the stop-motion animation of baby dolls repurposed as a grown-up cast of characters. The series hinges on an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of fictional metropolis Ultra Cit's most famous magnate (Smith). Two intrepid detectives (Simpson and Randolph) follow the case, rallying to fight against their city's dangerous corruption, at a high cost to themselves and their families, all in pursuit of a gentler place to call home.
Stoopid Buddy Stoodios' Seth Green, John Harvatine IV, Matthew Senreich, Eric Towner and Chris Waters serve as executive producers along with Jennifer Scher. Jeff Dieter and Thomas J. Glynn are producers.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows
Friday, December 26
Happy's Place - "Promises, Promises" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Emmett continues his nightly check-ins with Bobbie to ensure her safety, Isabella pays the price as she's kept up by their loud late-night chats, prompting her to tell Bobbie to advance their relationship or at least take it out of the house.
Stumble - "Media Day" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Courteney decides to use media day as a way to recruit new cheerleaders and to push her team to get right back on that mat; DiMarcus proves that not all Buttons are meant to be pushed.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 22)
Friday, December 26
- Mila Kunis (Family Guy/That '70s Show) - Watch Mila on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Zooey Deschanel (Physical/New Girl) - Zooey appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Laura Dern (F Is for Family/Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Rose Byrne (Platonic/Physical) - Rose appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Jamie Kaler (My Boys) - Jamie is a guest on Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen at 12:37am on CBS.
- Dick Van Dyke (The Dick Van Dyke Show/The New Dick Van Dyke Show/The Van Dyke Show) - Dick discusses his new book with ABC News' Chris Connelly on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am.
- Patti LaBelle (Out All Night) - Patti cooks on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Lacey Chabert (Still the King/Baby Daddy/Family Guy) - Lacey talks about Loist in Paradise on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
- Ryan Reynolds (Two Guys and a Girl) - Ryan appears on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Sarah Paulson (Leap of Faith) - Sarah is a guest on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
- Phil Rosenthal (Creator of Everybody Loves Raymond) - Phil appears on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am.
- Mo'Nique (The Parkers) - Tamron Hall (repeat) has a DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Mo'Nique about her weight-loss journey and the launch of her new fitness brand, Mo'Niques Movement, as well as the emotional moment with her husband that changed it all, so check your local listings.
- Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother/Star Raving Mad/Doogie Howser, M.D.) - NBC's Today has Cocktails and Mocktails with Neil and David Burtka on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
- Mario Lopez (Saved by the Bell/Saved by the Bell: The College Years) - Mario tells Sherri about his new holiday film The Christmas Spark on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.
- Woody Harrelson (Cheers), Dave Franco (The Afterparty/Scrubs/Do Not Disturb), Isla Fisher (Wolf Like Me) and Ariana Greenblatt (Stuck in the Middle) - The Now You See Me: Now You Don't cast including Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher Jesse Eisenberg, Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith and Dominic Sessa join Drew to dish all about the third installment of the hit franchise on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD and Blu-ray
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series (DVD)
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two (DVD)
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season (DVD)
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2 (DVD)
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
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