The Writers Guild of America West will present Designing Women and Evening Shade creator Linda Bloodworth Thomason with its highest honor — the Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement. The award is presented to a Guild member who has “advanced the literature of television and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the television writer.” Designing Women star Jean Smart will present the statuette to Bloodworth Thomason at the Wgaw’s annual WGA Awards on April 14.
The multiple Emmy-nominated television creator-writer, director, and producer launched her career with an Emmy-nominated script on M*A*S*H* in 1973. She concurrently worked on M*A*S*H* and Mary Tyler Moore Show spinoff Rhoda before creating and producing her first series Filthy Rich in 1982. Filthy Rich would lay the groundwork for the creation of landmark comedy series Designing Women by bringing her together with actresses and collaborators Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, and Smart.
In addition to her work in television,...
The multiple Emmy-nominated television creator-writer, director, and producer launched her career with an Emmy-nominated script on M*A*S*H* in 1973. She concurrently worked on M*A*S*H* and Mary Tyler Moore Show spinoff Rhoda before creating and producing her first series Filthy Rich in 1982. Filthy Rich would lay the groundwork for the creation of landmark comedy series Designing Women by bringing her together with actresses and collaborators Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, and Smart.
In addition to her work in television,...
- 4/2/2024
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
When a sitcom reaches a certain level of longevity, it can be easy for writers to take their audience for granted. Storylines get lightly reworked, if not recycled wholesale. Cheap ratings are scored by having a significant character get married (call it the "Rhoda boost"). And there's no better way to guarantee the maximum amount of eyeballs than to have a major celebrity play themselves within the world of our favorite characters.
This typically works. Who can forget the time Bobby Brady faked a serious illness to earn a bedside visit from Joe Namath on "The Brady Bunch," or the time that pint-sized prankster Arnold Jackson pulled the same trick to get Muhammad Ali up to the Drummond's penthouse on "Diff'rent Strokes?" These are memorable episodes to be sure, but there's nothing more to them than the cameo.
It's far more satisfying when you can drop the celeb into...
This typically works. Who can forget the time Bobby Brady faked a serious illness to earn a bedside visit from Joe Namath on "The Brady Bunch," or the time that pint-sized prankster Arnold Jackson pulled the same trick to get Muhammad Ali up to the Drummond's penthouse on "Diff'rent Strokes?" These are memorable episodes to be sure, but there's nothing more to them than the cameo.
It's far more satisfying when you can drop the celeb into...
- 2/17/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Sudden success is a hell of a drug. Be it entertainment, sports, or certain, shockingly competitive sectors of the healthcare industry, you can count on numerous fast risers to get high on their own supply and take an ego-fueled torch to their career.
Television actors are especially susceptible to these vain slip-ups, and it's easy to understand why. Before the advent of prestige TV, the small-screen medium was, particularly for young-ish performers, viewed as a potential springboard to big-screen stardom. Sometimes it works out. Chevy Chase bolted from "Saturday Night Live" midway through its second season and instantly became a movie star on the strength of his work in Colin Higgins' sporadically hilarious "Foul Play" (even though he's far from the funniest element of the film). And sometimes you're David Caruso, who quit "NYPD Blue" to topline a pair of 1995 flops in Barbet Schroder's "Kiss of Death" (underrated) and William Friedkin's "Jade".
Generally,...
Television actors are especially susceptible to these vain slip-ups, and it's easy to understand why. Before the advent of prestige TV, the small-screen medium was, particularly for young-ish performers, viewed as a potential springboard to big-screen stardom. Sometimes it works out. Chevy Chase bolted from "Saturday Night Live" midway through its second season and instantly became a movie star on the strength of his work in Colin Higgins' sporadically hilarious "Foul Play" (even though he's far from the funniest element of the film). And sometimes you're David Caruso, who quit "NYPD Blue" to topline a pair of 1995 flops in Barbet Schroder's "Kiss of Death" (underrated) and William Friedkin's "Jade".
Generally,...
- 1/7/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Throughout the seven seasons of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," the android Data (Brent Spiner) often struggled with his inability to connect with his crewmates. Unlike Data, his organic peers were all emotional beings who could laugh, get angry, and intuit friendly interactions via their feelings and social acumen. Data had no emotions, at least not demonstrably, and had to rely on analysis and study to understand humans. Data longed to be human and often asked his friends to explain their baffling idiosyncrasies. Data's emotionlessness was not a flaw, but a design choice by his creator.
Later in the series, Data secured an emotion chip built specially for him by his presumed-dead creator. At first, he was afraid to install it, but after a prank gone awry in the 1994 film "Star Trek: Generations," Data finally decided to give himself the emotions he had been longing for. It's a pity that...
Later in the series, Data secured an emotion chip built specially for him by his presumed-dead creator. At first, he was afraid to install it, but after a prank gone awry in the 1994 film "Star Trek: Generations," Data finally decided to give himself the emotions he had been longing for. It's a pity that...
- 12/25/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
By the early 1990s, it was still fairly rare to see a Hollywood production invade New England to shoot a film. Things had certainly been made here: Ever heard of Jaws? It was shot entirely on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. And I made a documentary about another one: Stephen King’s Pet Sematary, which was shot entirely in Maine in 1988. In fact, much of my documentary film work has focused on stories native to New England. But, still, we didn’t see the kind of movie activity and buzz that we see nowadays. Despite its natural beauty of mountains, rocky coastlines, and beautiful beaches, New England can be difficult (and expensive) to navigate for a film crew. What’s more, during certain months of the year our weather can be unpredictable and harsh. We’re known for our Nor’easters and blizzards and even the occasional hurricane in the autumn months.
- 12/20/2023
- by John Campopiano
- bloody-disgusting.com
It's not every day that a genuine legend of the industry leaves us after a long and fulfilled life that was lived to the absolute fullest. It's rarer still for one to live past the age of 100 without looking back and having a single regret. Norman Lear, the producing titan who defined the very concept of sitcoms as we've come to know it, sadly passed away this week after leaving his mark on an entire medium of storytelling. Along the way, the famed producer and Emmy-winner (six times over!) managed to put his stamp in Hollywood history throughout the decades ... but that's not to say that everything ultimately went according to plan.
When he was just about to turn 99, the late, great Lear was once asked in an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in 2021 whether he had any regrets about his lengthy and trailblazing career. More to the point, would...
When he was just about to turn 99, the late, great Lear was once asked in an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in 2021 whether he had any regrets about his lengthy and trailblazing career. More to the point, would...
- 12/6/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
Things are coming to a head at York Memorial Hospital's emergency department.
There were too many over-stressed staffers on Transplant Season 3 Episode 6.
In some cases, they suffered from the effects of Dr. Devi's patient-centric approach, of an institution implementing changes without the required resources.
Others were bringing their problems into the Ed, affecting their performance.
Neeta means well with her patient-friendly policies, and she was allowed to prove that her academic concept could work in the real world.
More of the blame should rest on the hospital's administrators, who hired her to do the impossible.
A certain amount of wait time for treatment is integral to Canada's public healthcare system.
York's cynical administrators figured that a more content patient would be less likely to sue in the event of a problematic result.
Now, all Devi has to do is to install her system only by reallocating existing resources.
There were too many over-stressed staffers on Transplant Season 3 Episode 6.
In some cases, they suffered from the effects of Dr. Devi's patient-centric approach, of an institution implementing changes without the required resources.
Others were bringing their problems into the Ed, affecting their performance.
Neeta means well with her patient-friendly policies, and she was allowed to prove that her academic concept could work in the real world.
More of the blame should rest on the hospital's administrators, who hired her to do the impossible.
A certain amount of wait time for treatment is integral to Canada's public healthcare system.
York's cynical administrators figured that a more content patient would be less likely to sue in the event of a problematic result.
Now, all Devi has to do is to install her system only by reallocating existing resources.
- 11/17/2023
- by Dale McGarrigle
- TVfanatic
Since 1991 (and primarily within the last 10 years), a total of six TV performers have earned recognition from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for reprising roles that had brought them Golden Globe nominations at least a decade earlier. With this and his own stellar HFPA track record in mind, Kelsey Grammer – the two-time Best TV Comedy Actor-winning star of “Frasier” – can more than reasonably be expected to join said prestigious club by scoring his ninth bid in the category (and first in 22 years) for the Paramount Plus revival of his beloved NBC sitcom. What’s more, he might actually make history as the first actor involved in such a situation to pull off a comeback victory.
Grammer collected his first eight Golden Globe nominations for “Frasier” between 1994 and 2002 and emerged triumphant in both 1996 and 2001. After saying goodbye to Dr. Frasier Crane 19 years ago, he is now set to lead a long-awaited...
Grammer collected his first eight Golden Globe nominations for “Frasier” between 1994 and 2002 and emerged triumphant in both 1996 and 2001. After saying goodbye to Dr. Frasier Crane 19 years ago, he is now set to lead a long-awaited...
- 10/6/2023
- by Matthew Stewart
- Gold Derby
If there had never been “The Tracey Ullman Show,” there likely would never have been “The Simpsons.” Too, without “Happy Days,” then “Laverne and Shirley” and “Mork and Mindy” would never have seen the light of primetime. Television series spinoffs have been a thing going back to some the earliest days of the medium itself, when “The Honeymooners” premiered in 1955 after beginning life as a series of sketches on “The Jackie Gleason Show” a few years earlier. Thus was born the concept of introducing a character or characters on a show that prove so popular it’s decided they deserve their own series.
SEEHappy 30th anniversary! 30 greatest ‘Frasier’ episodes, ranked worst to best [Photos]
Sometimes, the strategy hasn’t worked out so brilliantly, such as when “Cheers” gave birth to “The Tortellis,” “M*A*S*H” to “AfterMASH” and “The Brady Bunch” to “The Brady Brides” (we’ll save the rest...
SEEHappy 30th anniversary! 30 greatest ‘Frasier’ episodes, ranked worst to best [Photos]
Sometimes, the strategy hasn’t worked out so brilliantly, such as when “Cheers” gave birth to “The Tortellis,” “M*A*S*H” to “AfterMASH” and “The Brady Bunch” to “The Brady Brides” (we’ll save the rest...
- 10/1/2023
- by Ray Richmond and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
If there had never been “The Tracey Ullman Show,” there likely would never have been “The Simpsons.” Too, without “Happy Days,” then “Laverne and Shirley” and “Mork and Mindy” would never have seen the light of primetime. Television series spinoffs have been a thing going back to some the earliest days of the medium itself, when “The Honeymooners” premiered in 1955 after beginning life as a series of sketches on “The Jackie Gleason Show” a few years earlier. Thus was born the concept of introducing a character or characters on a show that prove so popular it’s decided they deserve their own series.
SEEHappy 30th anniversary! 30 greatest ‘Frasier’ episodes, ranked worst to best [Photos]
Sometimes, the strategy hasn’t worked out so brilliantly, such as when “Cheers” gave birth to “The Tortellis,” “M*A*S*H” to “AfterMASH” and “The Brady Bunch” to “The Brady Brides” (we’ll save the rest...
SEEHappy 30th anniversary! 30 greatest ‘Frasier’ episodes, ranked worst to best [Photos]
Sometimes, the strategy hasn’t worked out so brilliantly, such as when “Cheers” gave birth to “The Tortellis,” “M*A*S*H” to “AfterMASH” and “The Brady Bunch” to “The Brady Brides” (we’ll save the rest...
- 9/30/2023
- by Ray Richmond, Chris Beachum and Misty Holland
- Gold Derby
Geoffrey Neigher, the TV writer-producer who penned episodes of The Bob Newhart Show, Rhoda and Murder One and shared an Emmy for outstanding drama series for his work on Picket Fences, has died. He was 78.
Neigher died Aug. 10 at his Hancock Park home in Los Angeles of complications from cancer, his wife, Karen, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Neigher had a writing credit/story editor credit on about two dozen episodes of CBS’ Rhoda during its first three seasons (1974-77) while also serving as executive script consultant on the Valerie Harper sitcom.
Neigher wrote and produced for CBS’ Picket Fences on its second and third seasons from 1993-95 and shared the top drama Emmy with series creator David E. Kelley and others in 1994.
A year earlier, he received an Emmy nomination for writing an episode of Northern Exposure; he wrote for and produced that CBS drama during its fourth season (1992-...
Neigher died Aug. 10 at his Hancock Park home in Los Angeles of complications from cancer, his wife, Karen, told The Hollywood Reporter.
Neigher had a writing credit/story editor credit on about two dozen episodes of CBS’ Rhoda during its first three seasons (1974-77) while also serving as executive script consultant on the Valerie Harper sitcom.
Neigher wrote and produced for CBS’ Picket Fences on its second and third seasons from 1993-95 and shared the top drama Emmy with series creator David E. Kelley and others in 1994.
A year earlier, he received an Emmy nomination for writing an episode of Northern Exposure; he wrote for and produced that CBS drama during its fourth season (1992-...
- 8/24/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sean Avery is still under a restraining order. Earlier this month, a court ruled that Hilary Rhoda‘s temporary restraining order against her 43-year-old husband will remain in effect, Et confirms.
Rhoda, 36, filed for divorce from Avery, a former NHL player, in July 2022. The model’s temporary restraining order against Avery, which prevents the Oppenheimer actor from coming in contact with her and their nearly 3-year-old son, Nash, was first granted last October.
It will now remain in effect until the next hearing in their court case, which is scheduled for Sept. 11.
Et has reached out to Avery and Rhoda’s lawyers for comment.
In the 2022 court docs, which were obtained by Et, Rhoda accused her husband, whom she wed in 2015, of both domestic and child abuse.
Rhoda began by detailing an alleged September 2022 incident when Avery was arrested for domestic battery. She alleges that Avery “entered my house (even...
Rhoda, 36, filed for divorce from Avery, a former NHL player, in July 2022. The model’s temporary restraining order against Avery, which prevents the Oppenheimer actor from coming in contact with her and their nearly 3-year-old son, Nash, was first granted last October.
It will now remain in effect until the next hearing in their court case, which is scheduled for Sept. 11.
Et has reached out to Avery and Rhoda’s lawyers for comment.
In the 2022 court docs, which were obtained by Et, Rhoda accused her husband, whom she wed in 2015, of both domestic and child abuse.
Rhoda began by detailing an alleged September 2022 incident when Avery was arrested for domestic battery. She alleges that Avery “entered my house (even...
- 7/25/2023
- by Emerson Pearson
- ET Canada
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