Adam Sandler to Receive Icon Honor at the People’s Choice Awards (TV News Roundup)

Adam Sandler will receive the People’s Icon Award at the 2024 People’s Choice Awards, NBC, Peacock and E! announced.

“Adam Sandler has been a fixture in the industry for decades, entertaining us since he got his start on ‘Saturday Night Live’ more than 30 years ago,” Jen Neal, executive vice president of live events and specials at NBCUniversal Entertainment, said in a statement. “From Billy Madison to Mr. Deeds, his unforgettable characters have endured the test of time and left their mark on audiences for generations. We’re excited to honor him with this year’s People’s Icon Award.”

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The actor will be honored for his comedic career, with roles in iconic films such as “Grown Ups,” “Happy Gilmore” and “The Wedding Singer.” Films such as “Uncut Gems” and “Hustle,” as well as the upcoming “Spaceman,” demonstrate Sandler’s versatility as well.

Hosted by Simu Liu, the People’s Choice Awards will air on Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC, Peacock and E! from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif.

The People’s Choice Awards are produced by Den of Thieves. Jesse Ignjatovic, Evan Prager and Barb Bialkowski will executive produce.

Also in the TV News Roundup:

FIRST LOOKS

Starz has released the trailer for the new Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine psychodrama “Mary & George,” which debuts on April 5 at midnight on the Starz app. It will premiere linearly on Starz at 9 p.m. ET/PT in the U.S. and 10 p.m. ET/PT in Canada.

Inspired by the scandalous true story, the seven-part limited series follows the mother and son who “schemed, seduced and killed to conquer the Court of England and the bed of King James I,” per the release.

Moore plays Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham, who molded her son George to seduce King James I and become his all-powerful lover in the 17th century. This led the pair to becoming some of the richest and most influential players in the English court. Galitzine plays her son George Villiers, a naïve romantic who is determined to make his mark on history. King James I is played by Tony Curran, who is an easy target for exploitation due to his desire to be loved and subservient to young beautiful men.

Nicola Walker, Niamh Algar, Trine Dyrholm, Sean Gilder, Adrian Rawlins, Mark O’Halloran, Laurie Davidson, Samuel Blenkin, Jacob McCarthy, Tom Victor, Alice Grant, Amelia Gething, Mirren Mack, Rina Mahoney and Simon Russell Beale round out the ensemble cast.

The series is produced by Hera Pictures in association with Sky Studios. D.C. Moore wrote “Mary & George,” inspired by Benjamin Woolley’s nonfiction book “The King’s Assassin.” Liza Marshall executive produced for Hera Pictures alongside Moore, Oliver Hermanus and Moore. Hermanus also serves as lead director, with Alex Winckler and Florian Cossen as additional directors. Sam Hoyle executive produces for Sky Studios.

See the full trailer below.

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Amazon’s Prime Video has dropped the trailer for “The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy,” an adult animated comedy series.

Tracee Ellis, Bowen Yang, Abbi Jacobson, Jay Ellis, Andrew Dismukes, Lennon Parham, Gary Anthony Williams and John Waters are set to guest star in the first season of the series from Emmy-winning creator Cirocco Dunlap. The sci-fi comedy has been given a two-season order and will premiere on Prime Video on Feb. 23.

Series regular Kieran Culkin, who voices Plowp, will be joined by his brothers Macaulay Culkin, Rory Culkin, Christian Culkin and Shane Culkin. Along with Culkin, the previously announced series regulars include Maya Rudolph, Natasha Lyonne, Keke Palmer, Stephanie Hsu and Sam Smith.

Per the release, the show “follows Dr. Sleech and Dr. Klak — aliens, best friends, and intergalactically renowned surgeons — as they tackle anxiety-eating parasites, illegal time loops and deep-space STIs. In Season 1, doctors Sleech and Klak take on a highly dangerous and potentially groundbreaking case and, in doing so, put existence itself in jeopardy. Although considering their dismal personal lives, oblivion might be an improvement.”

Dunlap serves as showrunner and writer, executive producing alongside Rudolph, Danielle Renfrew Behrens and Natasha Lyonne for Animal Pictures. Shauna McGarry, Shannon Prynoski, Chris Prynoski, Antonio Canobbio and Ben Kalina from Titmouse will also executive produce. Artist and animator Robin Eisenberg co-produces and serves as production designer.

Watch the trailer below.

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Netflix has released the trailer for the animated children’s series “Hot Wheels Let’s Race,” premiering March 4 on the streamer.

Created with Mattel, the show is described as “an action-packed comedy series for kids, and follows the newest generation of racers: Coop, Spark, Mac, Brights, Axle, and Sidecar as they attend a racing camp that always puts the pedal to the metal. Through mind-blowing races, extreme stunt contests, and thrill-seeking challenges, ‘Hot Wheels Let’s Race’ is a show that kids and the whole family can enjoy.”

Rob David, Melanie Shannon and Jordan Gershowitz developed the series for television. David, Christopher Keenan and Fred Soulie are executive producers alongside creative producer Mike Roberts and senior producer Diane A Crea.

Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy created the theme song and helmed the composition of the score, underscore and music cues.

Watch the trailer below.

PROGRAMMING

Turner Classic Movies’ “31 Days of Oscars” programming is returning in its 30^th iteration on Feb. 9. The month-long programming includes a lineup of films that have been nominated for or won an Academy Award over the years, across all categories.

The programming is organized by award category, beginning with best costume design winners and nominees on Feb. 9 and ending with best picture on March 10. The full schedule is available here.

Additionally, TCM host Dave Karger’s book “50 Oscar Nights: Iconic Stars and Filmmakers on Their Career-Defining Wins” has been released.

The Academy Awards will be held on March 10 at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

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National Geographic’s annual “Best of the World” franchise will be adapted as a new three-part YouTube Original series based on the 2024 list.

The inaugural YouTube series will rely on talent and local film crew with first-hand knowledge of the locations’ cultures through lived experience. Episode 1, which dropped yesterday alongside the guide, featured food and travel creator Lucas Sin on a scavenger hunt through Tokyo.

Upcoming episodes include a luxurious lodge in Bhutan featured in the “Best of the World” list, as well as Eva Zu Beck taking viewers to Iceland to explore a wellness spa featured in this year’s guide. The second episode debuts on Feb. 29.

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NYC Media, the public broadcast network for the city of New York, will now offer television programming in both English and Spanish. This comes as a new partnership between the network and Deutsche Welle brings new international content to NYC World channel 73.

The new content, a combination of straight news analysis, features, specials and original information programs from around the world, will include 63 hours of English language programming, which will air from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 49 hours of Spanish language programming, set to air from 5 p.m. to midnight, weekly.

“As the official broadcast network of an international city like New York, NYC Media is proud to partner with DW to provide all New Yorkers, including the 2.4 million Latinos who call the city home, with programming in both English and Spanish,” Karen Johnson, general manager of NYC Media at the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, said in a statement.

The full slate of programming and planned scheduling can be found here.

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TV5Monde has announced its programming lineup to celebrate Black History Month, airing linear on TV5Monde USA and streaming on TV5MondePlus.

“Kankan,” a biopic based on the life of Dieudonné Afana — also known as Jean Miché Kankan, one of the greatest African comedians — will stream beginning Feb. 7. “Ndagukunda Deja,” which follows Québécois journalist Sébastien Desrosiers as he meets his Rwandan father for the first time and visits his native land during the 25th anniversary of the genocide, is now streaming on TV5MondePlus.

Streaming Season 1 on TV5MondePlus, “African Empires” aims to discover the kingdoms and empires in Africa before colonization, offering a historical look at the legacies left by African empires. “African Mirror,” which is now streaming on TV5MondePlus, traces how Swiss filmmaker and travel writer René Gardi shaped the way a whole generation saw Africa from the 1950s onward.

DATES

Season 2 of the NBC comedy “Lopez vs. Lopez” will debut on April 2 with the airing of back-to-back episodes at 8 p.m. and 8:30, which will be available on Peacock the following day.

George Lopez stars opposite his own daughter Mayan Lopez, with the rest of the main cast including Selenis Leyva, Matt Shively, Brice Gonzalez and Al Madrigal.

Season 2 guest stars include Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Diana Maria Riva and Marshawn Lynch.

Debby Wolfe is the creator and showrunner; she also serves as executive producer in addition to Bruce Helford, George Lopez, Michael Rotenberg and Katie Newman.

The series is produced by Universal Television in association with Mohawk Productions, Travieso Productions, Mi Vida Loba and 3 Arts.

EXECUTIVE NEWS

Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group has hired Nancy Eagle to assume the role of senior vice president of business and legal affairs. Eagle will report to AMG executive vice president and general counsel Mark DeVitre and is based at the AMG headquarters in Los Angeles.

She will focus on the development and production of movies, TV series and other content for distribution through AMG platforms, which include Allen Media Group Television, Allen Media Group Motion Pictures (AMGMP), the AMGMP digital distribution unit Freestyle Digital Media, the free-streaming service Local Now and external streaming services and distribution platforms.

Eagle comes from Boat Rocker Studios, where she was senior vice president of business and legal affairs. Before that role, Eagle worked for 25 years with NBCUniversal as senior vice president of business and legal affairs. Prior to that, she spent 10 years at Disney/ABC serving as the director of business affairs.

“Nancy Eagle is an excellent addition to Allen Media Group’s business and legal affairs team,” Allen, founder, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group, said in a statement. “Nancy’s experience and success in negotiating development and production agreements for premium content will help us further expand our initiatives as our scripted television and movie division continues to grow.”

RENEWALS

Venture 10 Studio’s influencer competition series “Follow Me” has been renewed for Season 2, which will be available on the free streaming service Crackle and the CW app. Bethany Mota hosts the series.

The series’ summary reads, “In ‘Follow Me,’ aspiring stars – each with a unique talent, background, and strategy for success – will compete in business-themed challenges across the series. The program showcases the intense competition as they are tasked with building their follower bases.”

Among the show’s brand partners is Mars Wrigley; the creators on Season 2 must come up with content influenced by brands like M&M’s and Skittles.

Executive producer Rick De Oliveira said, “For Season 2, we are going bigger – more episodes, larger prizes for the competitors, and the challenges are going to be bigger and harder.”

Chance Wright, Hans Schiff, John Stevens and Jason Newman executive produce alongside Mota and De Oliveria. De Oliveira will direct Season 2 as well.

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