Industry News
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE REPLACES COLD OPEN WITH TRIBUTE TO UKRAINE: Saturday Night Live skipped the cold open this weekend, beginning the show with an emotional tribute to Ukraine instead. Kate McKinnon and Cicely Strong introduced the Ukrainian Chorus Dumka of New York, who performed “Prayer for Ukraine.”
THE SIMPSONS FAMILY RAISES UKRAINIAN FLAG: The Simpsons posted a commissioned image to Twitter on Saturday (February 26th), featuring the members of the cartoon family holding up the Ukrainian flag. Al Jean, the show’s executive producer, told Deadline, “We don’t do this very often, only very rarely when there’s something… extremely important for a cause that could not be bigger.”
SANDRA OH BIDS ‘FAREWELL’ TO EVE AND VILANELLE: Sandra Oh took to Instagram on Sunday (February 27th) to say, “Farewell Eve and Vilanelle.” Oh shared a photo of herself hugging Jodie Comer, reminding fans that the final season of Killing Eve premiered on Sunday night (February 27th) on BBC.
CHRIS LICHT TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF CNN: Variety reports that Chris Licht, the executive producer of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, has been chosen to replace Jeff Zucker as president of CNN. Licht is also the producer who co-created MSNBC’s Morning Joe and revamped CBS’ morning show, CBS This Morning. The transition is expected to happen once Discovery acquires WarnerMedia in a merger slated for April.
53RD NAACP IMAGE AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED: The 53rd NAACP Image Awards winners were announced during the televised portion of the event on Saturday (February 26th). See the list of winners below:
Entertainer of the Year
Jennifer Hudson
Outstanding Motion Picture
The Harder They Fall (Netflix)
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Will Smith – King Richard (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Jennifer Hudson – Respect (Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures/United Artists Releasing)
Outstanding Comedy Series
Insecure (HBO)
Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson – Black-ish (ABC)
Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Issa Rae – Insecure (HBO)
Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Angela Bassett – 9-1-1 (Fox)
Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC)
