TV Academy could "correct" snubbed shows like The Wire with Legacy Award / Keeping Up with the Kardashians joins The Kardashians on Hulu / CBS Evening News’ No. 2 producer dismissed
PLUS: Kate Winslet: There’s a “strong likelihood” Mare of Easttown films Season 2 in 2027.
Television Academy creates Legacy Award that could be used to “correct” snubbed shows like The Wire
The Legacy Award will be given out to TV programs “that have made a profound and lasting impact on audiences and remain relevant to society, culture and the industry,” the TV Academy announced this morning, adding that the award will be selected by the Governors Award committee annually. “The Legacy Award celebrates groundbreaking programming — programs that have stood the test of time delivering stories that continue to engage audiences and featuring iconic and timeless characters with multigenerational appeal,” said Television Academy chair Cris Abrego in a statement. “The award allows the Academy to honor more of television’s rich history and acknowledge the storytellers whose work has resonated with viewers and continues to entertain legions of fans around the globe.” TV Academy president and CEO Maury McIntyre tells The Hollywood Reporter the Legacy Award “absolutely can go to a show that’s still on the air, or it can go to a show that hasn’t been on the air in 30 years. We really want to honor shows that have lasted and that have had impact, either culturally or on the industry, for a long time. So yes, it could go to Grey’s Anatomy for being one of the longest-running medical procedural shows on television, or it could go to Gunsmoke because it established westerns. We’re happy to do both.” Was the Legacy Award to right Emmy wrongs? “Are we trying to correct The Wire (which infamous received only two Emmy noms during its run, winning neither) Is that what you’re asking?” McIntyre says with a laugh. “That was not necessarily the intent, but it obviously is something that we see as an opportunity. I have to credit Pearlena Igbokwe (Chairman, Television Studios, NBC Entertainment & Peacock Scripted), quite honestly, for this award. Pearlena sat on our executive committee last year, but she also sat on the Hall of Fame selection committee, and she reached out to me at some point during the year and said, ‘Why don’t we have an award that’s kind of a Hall of Fame for programs?’ That was more the impetus. We thought, ‘Wow, we don’t recognize programs that have had a long-lasting impact,” and it was a bit of a no-brainer for the awards committee and for the board to say, ‘Yeah, we should do something like this.’ So the answer is yes, we can certainly use this sometimes as an opportunity to rectify a wrong if we feel a show didn’t get the Emmy love that it should have. That wasn’t necessarily the impetus, but it’s a happy byproduct.” If The Wire were to win the Legacy Award, the honor would not be going to the actors, but to the “creator/creators, plus up to an additional four showrunners who the Academy has determined played a significant role in the longevity of the show,” says McIntyre. “And it will go to the network partner that aired the show for the majority of its run.”
Keeping Up with the Kardashians joins The Kardashians on Hulu
“The Disney-owned streamer has acquired the rights to all seasons of Keeping Up With The Kardashians,” says Deadline’s Peter White. “It brings together the entire library of Kardashian-fronted reality shows in one place – Hulu original The Kardashians recently wrapped its seventh season – after the OG show that made Kim, Khloe and Kourtney famous moved off Peacock. The move comes after E!, which originally aired 20 seasons of the show, was spun off into Versant alongside a number of other cable networks that were previously part of NBCUniversal. Versant owns Keeping Up With The Kardashians and is no longer required to stream all of its shows on NBCU streamer Peacock.”
CBS Evening News’ No. 2 producer dismissed amid Tony Dokoupil’s rocky first week
Senior broadcast producer Javier Guzman was dropped from CBS Evening News after Wednesday’s broadcast. “It’s unclear why Guzman was let go, though one source attributed the exit to disagreements with executive producer Kim Harvey rather than the show’s launch,” reports The Wrap’s Corbin Bolies and Alyssa Ray. “Dokoupil is currently broadcasting his show from cities across the country on his nine-day ‘Live from America’ tour. He will anchor Thursday’s show from Minneapolis, a day after an ICE agent in the city killed a U.S. citizen during an immigration operation.” ALSO: MS NOW anchor Katy Tur is expressing support for husband Tony Dokoupil amid the negative headlines.
HBO’s Mel Brooks documentary gets a premiere date, will feature interviews with the late Rob Reiner and David Lynch
Directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! will air in two parts: Part 1 on Thursday, Jan. 22 and Part 2 the following night. Both parts will be available to stream beginning January 22 on HBO Max. Watch the trailer.
Kate Winslet: There’s a “strong likelihood” Mare of Easttown films Season 2 in 2027
Winslet tells Deadline that while the Brad Ingelsby-created HBO drama series was supposed to be a one-off, there were conversations last year about bringing it back. “They were proper conversations around a timeframe when it could be possible. And so I think we probably will do it, and that’s the first time I’ve felt that,” she says.
The Hunting Party sets a Manifest reunion with guest-star Josh Dallas reuniting with Melissa Roxburgh
Dallas will appear as He will play Elliot Carr, AKA the Connecticut Cobbler, who is described as “a master craftsman and high-end shoemaker who specialized in extraordinary custom shoes made from only the rarest and most exotic of leathers — think alligator, rhino and people, skinning his victims alive. Fresh off his escape from the Pit, Elliot is on the loose and making a whole new set of kicks, this time with a twist.”
Golden Globes presenters include Snoop Dogg, Charli XCX, George Clooney, Macaulay Culkin and Julia Roberts
In addition to the previously announced Heated Rivalry stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams, the list of presenters for Sunday’s ceremony also includes Amanda Seyfried, Ana de Armas, Ayo Edebiri, Chris Pine, Colman Domingo, Dakota Fanning, Dave Franco, Diane Lane, Hailee Steinfeld, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, Joe Keery, Judd Apatow, Justin Hartley, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan-Michael Key, Kevin Bacon, Kevin Hart, Kyra Sedgwick, Lalisa Manobal, Luke Grimes, Marlon Wayans, Melissa McCarthy, Mila Kunis, Miley Cyrus, Minnie Driver, Orlando Bloom, Pamela Anderson, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall, Sean Hayes, Wanda Sykes, Will Arnett and Zoë Kravitz.
Alan Cumming honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star
“I’d like to thank my acting teacher at drama school who told me, when I was 19, that I’d never make it as a professional actor. And I’d like to say: ‘Who is on top and who is on bottom now?’” Cumming said at this afternoon’s ceremony, which featured speeches from Brian Cox and Monica Lewinsky.
Happy’s Place books Jane Lynch and Eric Stonestreet as guest-stars
Lynch will play Valerie, the mother of Melissa Peterman’s character, Gabby. Stonestreet will play an unconventional therapist.
Variety criticized for “highly inappropriate” Heated Rivalry question to Janelle James
After Abbott Elementary star James and Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie announced the Actor Award nominations Wednesday, Variety’s Marc Malkin asked James: “So when you look at Connor now, and you think of those scenes in Heated Rivalry, what goes through your head?” James quickly responded: “That’s not what I’m thinking about,” adding: “I’m thinking about his excellent Russian accent that he does, I’m thinking about his characterization. I think that he is adorable, and he looks like a leading man. And I’m excited to see where he goes next.” On social media, Malkin was criticized for asking a question that sexualized her fellow actor.
Kenan Thompson says he may give up his SNL’s audience warm-up duties
Thompson, who has warmed up the audiences for Saturday Night Live’s dress rehearsals and live tapings for more than a decade, said on Today with Jenna & Friends: “I think it’s about time to move on.” ALSO: Go behind the scenes of last month’s Ariana Grande “Home Alone” sketch.
Austin Nichols joins The Rainmaker Season 2
The former The Walking Dead star will play the ex-husband of Lana Parilla’s Bruiser, a minor league baseball coach and former player who finds himself in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy.
Canada Shore to drop globally on Paramount+ on Jan. 22
Watch the trailer for the latest Jersey Shore spinoff, featuring 10 cast members and a Canadian moose.
Puppy Bowl sets its 22nd edition
The original and longest-running TV pet adoption event returns on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 8 on Animal Planet. The Puppy Bowl will also be simulcast across Discovery, TBS, truTV, HBO Max and Discovery+.
Marcia Rodd dies: Tony-nominated actress who played two All in the Family characters in the span of eight episodes, including Maude’s daughter, was 87
Rodd, who died Dec. 27, made two memorable appearances on All in the Family as different characters in early 1972. She first appeared in the Season 2 episode “Mike’s Mysterious Son” in January 1972 as Marilyn Sanders, a woman who shows up, young child in tow, on the Bunker family’s doorstop claiming that the little boy was fathered by Rob Reiner’s Mike Stivic. Rodd returned seven episodes later for the March 1972 backdoor pilot episode “Maude,” playing Carol Findlay, the hard-edged daughter of Bea Arthur’s Maude Findlay. Rodd opted not to continue the role after the Maude was picked up to series and Adrienne Barbeau took over the character with a softer-edge take. Rodd went on to have numerous TV guest appearances, from Lou Grant to Murder, She Wrote to ER, Grey’s Anatomy and Hunters.
Elle Simone Scott, chef on PBS’ America’s Test Kitchen, dies at 49
Scott, who recently died after a long battle with ovarian cancer, was the first Black woman to join the acclaimed PBS cooking show. “At America’s Test Kitchen, Elle helped open doors that had long been closed—becoming one of the first Black women audiences saw in the test kitchen, and doing so with grace, authority, and joy,” fellow chef and friend Carla Hall wrote on Instagram. “She didn’t just test recipes; she changed what representation looked like in food media.”
Below Deck Down Under gets a Season 4 premiere date and trailer
The Bravo reality show returns Feb. 2 with a 75-minute supersized premiere episode.
MGM+ unveils the trailer for The Hillside Strangler docuseries
The four-episode docuseries one of the most notorious killing sprees to haunt 1970s Los Angeles premieres Jan. 18.