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Jennifer Aniston won Best Comedy Actress at the 2002 Emmys for the hit laffer “Friends.” Twenty-two years later, she could well pick up an Emmy bookend by winning Best Drama Actress for her starring role as Alex Levy in the acclaimed Apple TV+ series “The Morning Show.” Her rival nominees are: Anna Sawai (“Shōgun”), Imelda Staunton (“The Crown”), Maya Erskine (“Mr. & Mrs. Smith”), Carrie Coon (“The Gilded Age”), and her “The Morning Show” co-star Reese Witherspoon.

Aniston is currently in third place in our odds chart with both Sawai and Staunton ahead of her. Sawai is hoping to win for the first season of “Shōgun,” and she could, theoretically, get taken along for the ride in a “Shōgun” sweep (we expect “Shōgun” to win Best Drama Series). Meanwhile, Staunton is hoping to prevail for the final season of “The Crown” — perhaps voters will get sentimental and want to bid farewell to the lauded show.

FX’s “The Bear” has been the series equivalent of a three-star Michelin, James Beard Award-winning restaurant since its premiere in 2022. Created by writer/director/product Christopher Storer, the hit show revolves around Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), a chef from the fine dining world in New York, who returns to his home in Chicago to run the family’s sandwich shop after the suicide of his brother. The first season won 10 Emmys including best comedy series and actor in a comedy series for White. Besides earning a Peabody, “The Bear” also performed well at the SAG Awards and the Golden Globes. The second season is a strong Emmy contender and the third season which just dropped will probably follow suit in 2025.

Since the early days of TV, restaurants, nightclubs, coffee shops, bars and diners have played an important role in countless series including the beloved multi-Emmy Award-winning 1982-93 NBC sitcom “Cheers”. In fact,...

Samm-Art Williams, a Tony-nominated playwright, actor, director and the executive producer of NBC’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, has died. He was 78.

Williams died peacefully in Burgaw, North Carolina on Monday, his cousin Carol Brown confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Mr. Williams’ contributions to American theater and television will live on but he will be greatly missed,” Brown said via statement.

For the theater community, Williams was perhaps best known as the Tony-nominated playwright of Home, which was first directed by Douglas Turner Ward and produced on Broadway by the Negro Ensemble Company in 1980. The show is set to return to Broadway on June 5, with Kenny Leon directing this time.

Williams also wrote stage works such as Welcome To Black River, Friends, and other plays produced in New York, Los Angeles and beyond. In addition to its Tony nod for best Broadway play, Home won the Outer Critics Circle Award,...

Samm-Art Williams, whose Tony-nominated 1979 play Home is being revived on Broadway this year and whose TV producing credits include Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Martin and Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, died peacefully today in Burgaw, North Carolina. He was 78.

His death was announced by family.

Born Samuel Arthur Williams on January 20, 1946, in Philadelphia, Williams was a prolific playwright, screenwriter, actor, and producer.

Performing as Samm Williams, he got his start on the New York stage in the early 1970s, appearing in notable plays such as Black Jesus and, with the New York’s Negro Ensemble Company, Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide and Liberty Calland. By the mid-’70s he began performing in other Off Broadway shows under the name Samm-Art Williams.

By the end of the decade, Williams had made his mark as a stage writer, and is today best known for Home, a drama originally staged by the Negro...

Television series don't always end on their own terms. Some of the greatest shows in the medium's history have been canceled due to low ratings before they could finish telling their overarching story or just as they were hitting their stride creatively. Some of the most egregious examples of series getting the axe before their time include "My So-Called Life," "Arrested Development," "Frank's Place," "Sports Night," "I'll Fly Away," "Deadwood," and "Mindhunters." It's possible no one has had a more brutal small-screen run than Judd Apatow, who, before he became a hit-making film producer, watched helplessly as three superb, critically acclaimed comedies — "The Ben Stiller Show," "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared" — failed to earn a second season.

Sometimes, fan enthusiasm results in these works getting revived in some incarnation or another, and, unfortunately, the results are often unsightly. But at least there's a reason for going back. The same isn't...

Kevin Haney, an Oscar- and Emmy-winning make-up artist with credits from Driving Miss Daisy to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3; and Ora T. Green, an Emmy-nominated hair stylist whose work includes Star Trek: Nemesis and Blade, will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards Feb. 18 during the 11th annual Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards.

In addition to an Academy Award for Driving Miss Daisy, Haney received six Primetime Emmys, for Primetime Glick, Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, The X Files, Kissinger and Nixon, The Show Formerly Known as the Martin Short Show and Mark Twain and Me.

His feature credits include Dungeons & Dragons, Honor Among Thieves; Iron Man; Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; The Shawshank Redemption and Dick Tracy. His TV work includes Perry Mason, Legion, Star Trek: Phase ll, Friends and The Mandalorian. He has been the personal artist to Bette Midler,...

The Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild has revealed this year’s recipients of its Lifetime Achievement Awards. Oscar- and Emmy-winning make-up artist Kevin Haney and Emmy-nominated longtime hair stylist Ora T. Green will be honored February 18 during the Muahs Awards at the Beverly Hilton.

“We are honored to recognize Kevin Haney and Ora T. Green for their unprecedented contributions to the artistry of make-up and hair styling,” said Julie Socash, president of Muahs (IATSE Local 706). “Over their legendary careers, their work has been captured on the most memorable, whimsical, creative and celebrated characters of film and television.”

Whether it’s the baby’s mustache on Addams Family Values or Martin Short’s Jiminy Glick in Primetime Glick, Haney’s characters always have a surprise of quirkiness in his creations. Haney began his career as a lab assistant to the legendary Dick Smith on the 1980 feature Altered States, going...

Even though it's now widely considered one of the best television series in the history of the medium, if not the very best, David Simon's "The Wire" was frequently on life support. It was a critics' darling, but viewership was never robust, and Emmy voters repeatedly shunned it (the taste-challenged organization coughed up all of two nominations during the show's run). Fortunately, HBO understood the value of committing to a high-quality program regardless of ratings. This is why top-flight artists like Martin Scorsese, Tom Hanks, and David Milch took their network-unfriendly series to the pay-cable channel.

Still, the sword of Damocles hung over "The Wire" at the conclusion of every season. Could HBO justify keeping the show on the air when it kept coming up short in the two metrics that truly matter? This uncertainty was tough for Simon, but especially brutal for the actors.

The Bunk Rides The...

Fresh Prince alums Daphne Maxwell Reid and Vernee Watson-Johnson are set to return as guest stars in Bel-Air, the Peacock reboot of the 90’s hit sitcom The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.

Reid and Watson-Johnson, who played Aunt Viv and Viola “Vy” Smith in the original, are coming back in a similar vein. Instead of portraying sisters, the two will be playing “Helen and “Janice,” members of the Art Council Board, in episode 109 of Bel-Air, scheduled to stream March 24th on Peacock.

Set in modern-day America, Peacock’s new one-hour drama series re-imagines the beloved sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air through a new dramatic take on Will’s complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air. As these two worlds collide, Will reckons with the power of second chances while navigating the conflicts, emotions, and biases...

Chicago – On November 18th, 2020, the streaming service HBO Max premiered “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion.” 30 years after the popular sitcom debuted, the primary cast got together to talk about the joys and foibles of developing family ties while creating and performing their characters in the show. Among the reunited cast was Will Smith (Will), Alfonso Riberiro (Carlton), Tatyana Ali (Ashley), Karyn Parsons (Hilary), Jazz (DJ Jazzy Jeff) along with the actress who portrayed Aunt Vivian, Daphne Maxwell Reid.

Reid was the second Aunt Vivian cast on the show. Janet Hubert was the first, and left the show under tremendous stress and personal issues, which was highlighted rather poignantly on the reunion show, when her and Will Smith met to work out those issues that led to the recasting. Regardless, Daphne Maxwell Reid steered the character to the end of the show in 1996, and did one more episode (75) as Aunt Vivian than Hubert.

When first approaching Marlon Riggs’ small yet impactful filmography, it is impossible to ignore the breadth of documentary modes utilized to tell his stories and shed light on the experiences of gay Black men, fluidly gliding between multiple approaches to explore various facets of storytelling. With his entire oeuvre now on the Criterion Channel, Riggs’ extensive prowess for wielding the documentary as a force for compassion is available for all to see.

I was first introduced to Riggs’ work through his made-for-tv documentary Color Adjustment (1992), an exhaustively well-researched non-fiction film exposing how TV’s many attempts to assimilate Black characters on screen, and therefore into white homes, has time and again missed the mark. From the calcified stereotypes of Amos ‘n’ Andy and Beulah to the lack of culture seen in shows such as Julia, TV executives continually misjudge appropriate portrayals. Upon revisiting, though, I was struck by Riggs’ ability...

This prolonged period of self-isolation has afforded TV addicts the opportunity to revisit some of their favorite shows — or at least those that happen to be available. Because while free and paid services offer a vast array of past and present programming, countless classic series are nowhere to be found in the streaming era.

Of the 18 top-rated scripted series since 1970, only half of them are readily available to binge in their entirety: The Cosby Show (on Amazon Prime), Cheers (on Amazon Prime, CBS All Access, Hulu and Netflix), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (on Hulu), Dallas (free on IMDbTV), Desperate Housewives...

Crime novel The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. While her husband is away during World War II, housewife Lucia Holley – the sort of “Everywoman” who looks great in a two-piece bathing suit – does whatever it takes to protect the feeling of “normality” in her bourgeois, suburban household. The Blank Wall is a classic depiction of an attempted cover-up being much more serious than the actual crime. Sound bites: Remembering the classic crime novel 'The Blank Wall' and its two movie adaptations – 'The Reckless Moment' & 'The Deep End' Crime novel writer Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (1889–1955) is not a name familiar to many, and yet Raymond Chandler described her as “the top suspense writer of them all. She doesn't pour it on and make you feel irritated. Her characters are wonderful; and she has a sort of inner calm which I find very attractive.” Holding has been identified as “The Godmother of Noir” and, more...

On AMC's new drama Feed the Beast, best friends Tommy (David Schwimmer) and Dion (Jim Sturgess) try opening a fancy restaurant in the Bronx so that Tommy can get over the death of his wife in a hit-and-run accident, while Dion can pay off a massive debt he owes to a local mob boss. Along the way, they acquire an inexperienced restaurant manager, Pilar (Lorenza Izzo), who takes the job because she has a crush on Tommy, but who's really there as a device for the show to let Tommy and Dion explain the finer points of the business to the audience. At one point, for instance, she objects to Dion spending so much money on skillets. He responds by offering her a dish made in one of his pans and the same one made in the big box store model Tommy has in his own kitchen; the former is...

This year, controversy over the repeated snubbing of African-American actors from the Oscars has once again dominated headlines.Twenty years ago, a special report in People examined diversity in the movie industry and labeled Hollywood's "continued exclusion of African-Americans" as "a national disgrace".The report was reexamined five years later in a follow up exposé, and while People uncovered encouraging signs of improvement, the African-American actors interviewed made it clear they felt the industry still had a long way to go.Now, another fifteen years later, and with calls to boycott the award show gaining traction, the original article appears...

This year, controversy over the repeated snubbing of African-American actors from the Oscars has once again dominated headlines.Twenty years ago, a special report in People examined diversity in the movie industry and labeled Hollywood's "continued exclusion of African-Americans" as "a national disgrace".The report was reexamined five years later in a follow up exposé, and while People uncovered encouraging signs of improvement, the African-American actors interviewed made it clear they felt the industry still had a long way to go.Now, another fifteen years later, and with calls to boycott the award show gaining traction, the original article appears...

When Uzo Aduba ("Orange is the New Black") won Best Comedy Guest Actress Saturday night at the Creative Arts Emmys, the press room erupted in wild applause and excitement for the first time all evening. Yes, even us heartless journalists realized the historical importance of this Emmy win. Aduba is the first African-American actress to claim Emmy victory in this guest category since it was created in 1989. However, prior to that year, the male and female guest races were combined and Beah Richards ("Frank's Place") did win the grab-all prize in 1988. -Break- Emmy-winner Jane Lynch: 'Liquor helps' her host 'Hollywood Game Night' (Video) In the press room video below, you'll see Aduba in a much different light than how you're used to seeing Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren on "Orange is the New Black." An emotional Aduba tells us, "I feel so full, that's why the tears come out. My...

Update: If you're curious who won the next Hoh competition, we've got the results for you here.

It's double eviction night on "Big Brother 14," so that should be fun. The first Hoh competition is pretty huge, and the second one might be as well, depending on who else goes home.

The Power of Veto aftermath

Just so everybody knows, Boogie's been a total punk this week on the feeds and Jenn hasn't been much better. The Boogie thing was not a surprise, but the Jenn thing kind of was. All she had to do was lay low this week, but she startled the whole house by acting like kind of a lunatic.

The episode shows Boogie calling Shane "Dan's b****" and talking about how he better hope his boss wins Hoh, but there has been other stuff.

Boogie called a house meeting wanting everybody to be nice to each other,...

It's official: The Silent Six alliance is dead. Shane decided to make a "power move" and nominate Frank and Boogie, much to their surprise.

After winning Hoh, Britney got into Shane's head about splitting them up. "Frank will win this game," she told him. So that's exactly what the giant puppet did. The nomination ceremony was definitely a shocker, but his speech was pretty awful. Boogie just sat and smiled as he realized what transpired.

While I think Frank and Boogie do need to be split up, Shane did it for the wrong reasons. He can't think for himself and this won't end well for him.

Pov Spoilers...

Frank won the Pov, which we'll see Wednesday night. This puts Shane in a tough spot. Should he put up a floater like Jenn or Joe? Or should he put up Dan? He's an idiot. He's letting Boogie and Frank get into his head about Dan,...

A man on horseback, which I knew was Gibbs (Mark Harmon) finds a Db on the ground. He's then held at gunpoint. 4 Days Earlier: Tony (Michael Weatherly) comments on the graduates' "alcohol-induced purple haze." On the Baltimore Pd, every graduate threw up, which he calls good times. Yes Tony if you say so. McGee (Sean Murray) calls him Hendrix. Ziva (Cote de Pablo) thinks he graduated too soon. Ziva is also about to graduate. McGee asks what she's done her degree in. Ziva says she's got her naturalization interview, it's "how an alien becomes a citizen." Tony: "I know what it is Et." Referring to it as due process. Tony saying Ziva graduated from "English as a tenth language" was funny. Gibbs mentions the eighth letter of the alphabet. Tony tells Gibbs it's 'G'. No, it's 'H' for homicide. How could he get that wrong. Vance (Rocky Carroll) tells them...

The web series world so far has been relatively devoid of scandals. So when TMZ reported on a lawsuit surrounding former Fresh Price of Bel Air star (and R&B singer) Tatyana Ali's upcoming web series Buppies, the story took a left turn. Now, after the lawsuit has been dropped in court and both sides are calling it a misunderstanding, the series is finally set for release after signing a deal with Bet.com for a November 3 launch. The series first popped up on our radar over a year ago when we talked to Ali and her sister Anastasia, who had just shot the project as the first original from their indie production co, HazraH Entertainment. The pair teamed up with writer-director Julian Breece, whom Tatyana had met while both were at Harvard, and crafted a series that feels like Sex and the City for a young black generation,...