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Did you know that Oprah Winfrey won so many Emmy Awards in the 1990s that she eventually withdrew herself from consideration so other people could prevail? It’s true. If you’re someone who’s been waiting to see the TV queen accept another award, you might be interested to know that she’s a producer on the new Hulu docu-series “The 1619 Project” and thus could be adding another Primetime Emmy to her mantel.

All told, Winfrey took home nine Daytime Emmys in Best Talk Show and seven in Best Talk Show Host for “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” plus two more for the children’s special “ABC Afterschool Specials” and the special class series “Super Soul Sunday.” In addition, she is a Primetime Emmy champion for the TV movie “Tuesdays with Morrie” and has been honored throughout her career with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, the Daytime Lifetime Achievement Award,...

Carol Polakoff, a two-time Directors Guild of America award winner, is teaming with “Exodus” producer Denise O’Dell to adapt to the big screen “Speak Sunlight,” American writer Alan Jolis’ much-loved memoir.

Now in pre-production and scheduled to shoot from May 8, the high-profile title is produced by Madrid-based Babieka Films, most recently behind Netflix hit “The Paramedic,” and L.A.’s Viewfinder Pictures.

“Speak Sunlight” (“La Voz del Sol”) marks the directorial debut of journalist-screenwriter Polakoff whose curriculum includes two DGA wins and three Daytime Emmy Awards nominations for “ABC Afterschool Specials.” Most recently, Polakoff produced Daniel Rosenberg’s 2020 Cannes Official Selection title “The Death of Cinema and My Father Too,” which won a Cannes Label for making the cut in Thierry Frémaux’s First Features category.

To film in Spanish, with a smattering of French, “Speak Sunlight” is written by Polakoff with a Spanish version from Natxo López, a creator...

When did family-friendly TV grow a social conscience? Whether it’s the more youth-skewing “Steven Universe” and “Andi Mack,” or edgier teen offerings like “Big Mouth” and “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” shows aimed at adolescents are taking up the mantle to account for social wrongs ranging from sexism and racism to body-shaming and school safety.

Television has a long, if spotty, history of addressing social issues on primetime; Norman Lear was a master of this on “Good Times,” “All in the Family,” and “Maude.” However, this wasn’t the stuff of TV for kids unless they were watching Very Special Episodes, ABC Afterschool Specials, or PBS programs like “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” or “Sesame Street.”

Today, it’s become the norm for mainstream children’s programming to tackle representation, body positivity, and gun violence — touchy topics that once would never have made it out of development. “One Day at a Time...

Welcome to Random Roles, wherein we talk to actors about the characters who defined their careers. The catch: They don’t know beforehand what roles we’ll ask them to talk about.

The actor: Rob Lowe is living proof that any young man can, with proper determination, grow up to play the president of the United States. Although he began his acting career in television, appearing in the ensemble of a short-lived sitcom (A New Kind Of Family) and turning up in TV movies and ABC Afterschool Specials, Lowe soon transitioned to the big screen, with his performance in 1983’s The Outsiders serving as a springboard into movie stardom. By the late 1990s, however, Lowe was back on TV in a big way, playing Deputy White House Communications Director Sam Seaborn on The West Wing, and he’s flipped back and forth between movies and TV ever since. Although ...

“There are no crazy people, doctor; we’re all just on vacation.”

Jack Sholder’s Alone in the Dark (1982) builds its whole premise around this quote, a fun, underloved and winkingly perverse little beaut from the burgeoning minds at New Line Cinema, two years before Freddy stepped out of the shadows - and right around the time slashers were retreating into them.

Released in North America in November, Aitd was one of New Line’s first forays into film production, focusing on distribution only, up until the mid 70’s. Some decent notices were not enough to put audiences in seats, and that’s just cuckoo – Aitd succeeds in melding a couple of sub genres (slasher & siege) with a dollop of pop psychology guaranteed to etch a smile onto even the most disordered horror lover’s face.

Our tale opens with a dream sequence (nice practice for Sholder, whose next feature...

Birthday shoutouts go to Matt Morris (above), who is 34, Candice Bergen is 67, and Billy Joel is 64. Minnesota House Passes Gay Marriage. The First AIDS Generation: Grappling With Why We’re Alive and What It Means Another pro-wrestler uses violent anti-gay rhetoric. Bug Makes Gay Marriage Possible in Nintendo Game Ricky Martin poses for fans during a promotion for his Greatest Hits release in Sydney, Australia.

Kevin Grayson, College Football Star And NFL Hopeful, Comes Out As Gay

Below you can see Neil Patrick Harris tell Ellen about the truly incredible birthday gift that David gave him, which lasted a week, and spanned the U.S.

Anderson plays “How You Chewin’?” with Wendy Williams.

Anderson doesn’t get hot sauce and popcorn.

And here’s The Weekly ShoutOUT™. Each week we’re going to focus on one out athlete/performer and feature a daily pic and career timeline. We’ll be showcasing the big names,...

Q: Do you know if any of the contestants on Survivor: Samoa are going to be Glbt? I just checked out their profiles and at least three of the guys list things like "womanizer", "never been rejected", and "a woman's dream." Is CBS trying to overly heteroize the show that has been strategically won by at least two openly gay men (Todd and Hatch)? – Topher, Toronto, Canada

A: There are no gay male contestants that we know of (although it’s always possible someone hasn’t yet come out to the network).

Is CBS trying to “heteroize” the show? Although I love your coining of a new term, I’d strenuously argue that they’re not. In fact, we recently talked with Jeff Probst, and I’m convinced he doesn’t see the show in those terms at all.

“When you look at the long-term of the show, you hopefully have some diversity,...

After 15 years on foreign shores, Carol Polakoff is setting up camp back in the U.S.

The director-producer is launching Carol Polakoff Prods., a New York-based feature film production and development company, with the project "Safe Haven." Oscar-nominated screenwriter and playwright Michael Weller ("Ragtime") is writing the multiple-story line drama inspired by up-to-the-minute real-life events stemming from Nebraska's controversial Safe Haven laws, which allow parents to leave troubled children at hospitals. Polakoff is producing.

"We've interviewed families and government officials in Nebraska, and this film will encompass unique situations and heartbreaking stories that intertwine for a compelling drama that some people may find shocking," said Polakoff, who hopes to focus her projects on social issues targeted at wide audiences.

Twenty years ago, the Gersh-repped Polakoff directed, wrote and/or produced the documentaries "In Our Lifetime" and "Envol" and several ABC and PBS drama specials and docs. She earned two DGA...