Go Live with The Conners

Today, ABC announced that for its season 4 premiere, The Conners will once again be airing a live episode.  But this time, there's an intriguing twist.

At the same time, the network also announced an innovative sweepstakes, titled "You Can Be a Conner."  Winners will receive a call from the cast -- on-air, as part of the episode.

Today at the Television Critics Association teleconference for critics, Executive Producer Bruce Helford referred to the gimmick as "working without a net," because the selected fans will not know what the topic of the episode and thus the call will be -- nor will the producers know what said fans will say, live on-air.  (One would imagine that ABC will be airing the whole thing on the standard 7-second delay, but still, I think the censor should start practicing hitting that button now.)

The episode will air on September 22 at 9 PM Eastern, and will be performed live for both the East and West coasts.  Enter at www.BeAConner.com, and see details below in ABC's press release.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: ‘THE CONNERS’ IS GOING LIVE!   SEASON FOUR TO DEBUT WITH LIVE PREMIERE EPISODE WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 22, ON ABC   ‘YOU CAN BE A CONNER’ SWEEPSTAKES LAUNCHES TODAY GIVING FANS A CHANCE TO WIN AN ON-AIR CALL DURING LIVE PREMIERE BROADCAST

ABC’s No. 1 comedy last season is set to return with more laughs, surprise guests, a live episode and a chance for viewers to win a virtual appearance as a member of the Conner family in the season four premiere when “The Conners” returns WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 22 (9:00-9:31 p.m. EDT).    The cast of “The Conners” will perform live for both the East and West Coast broadcasts of the season four premiere episode. The members of America’s favorite family are no strangers to live television, but this time, they’ll need some extra help to pull it off. Starting today, ABC and “The Conners” are launching the “You Can Be A Conner” sweepstakes, offering viewers the opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime experience by entering for the chance to win a virtual appearance during the live season premiere episode. As part of the storyline, a Conner family member will call each lucky sweepstakes winner for a live conversation regarding how they deal with some of the same life issues that the Conners navigate on a daily basis.   The sweepstakes is open to legal U.S. residents, 18 and older. No purchase is necessary to enter; visit www.BeAConner.com for official rules and full details.   “The Conners” stars John Goodman as Dan Conner, Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris, Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner, Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner-Healy, Michael Fishman as D.J. Conner, Emma Kenney as Harris Conner-Healy, Ames McNamara as Mark Conner-Healy, Jayden Rey as Mary Conner and Jay R. Ferguson as Ben.    “The Conners” is executive produced by Tom Werner, along with Sara Gilbert, Bruce Helford, Dave Caplan, Bruce Rasmussen and Tony Hernandez. The series is from Werner Entertainment.     Follow “The Conners” (#TheConners) on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.    ABC programming can also be viewed on demand and on Hulu.

GALECA Announces its 9th Annual DORIAN Award Winners

For the past nine years, I've been honored to be a member of the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (GALECA), which bestows its Dorian Awards on shows depicting, serving and generally entertaining the LGBT community.

This year's winners have just been announced, with awards to be distributed at our February 24 "Winner's Reception" in Beverly Hills. And although of course I voted for Will & Grace, I am happy to see RuPaul's Drag Race and Feud: Bette and Joan get much-deserved recognition in those categories.

Other winners include Greta Gerwig as best director, Sally Hawkins as best actress, Timothee Chalamet as both best actor and rising star, Jordan Peele for best screenplay (and another win as a "Wilde Wit"), Michael Stuhlbarg and Laurie Metcalf for best supporting actor and actress, and Meryl Streep winning our version of a lifetime achievement award, as our "Timeless Star."  Call Me By Your Name wins the award for best film of the year.

On the TV side, winners include Big Little Lies as best drama, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as best comedy, Nicole Kidman and Kyle MacLachlan winning the acting awards, and the amazing Kate McKinnon winning twice, as a "Wilde Wit" and also for her musical performance as Kellyanne Conway.

The full list of nominees and winners is below.

GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics

 (as in Lesbian! Gay! Bisexual! Transgender! Queer!)

Name Dorian Award Film/TV Winners

• • • • •

'Call Me By Your Name' is Best Film, Greta Gerwig Takes Best Director

'Get Out' Auteur Jordan Peele Scores Best Screenplay and More

Sally Hawkins Wins Best Actress, Timothée Chalamet is Both Best Actor and Rising Star

'American Gods,' Kyle MacLachlan, Samantha Bee, ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race' Rule TV Categories

Meryl Streep is Group’s Latest 'Timeless Star’ Honoree

Wednesday, January 31, 2018 - Hollywood, CA — The distinctly unique GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, comprised of over 200 gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and ally entertainment journalists in the U.S., Canada and U.K., has announced its ninth annual Dorian Award winners. This year’s 26 TV and film categories, again running from mainstream to LGBTQ-centric, include inaugural awards for Supporting Film Performance. A handful of select recipients will join the group for GALECA’s annual Winners Toast on Saturday February 24th in Beverly Hills.

Broflakes won’t be happy about this: Call Me By Your Name, which led with nine nominations, was named 2017’s Film of the Year. The bittersweet story of two American men — a teen and a 20something — falling for each other in Italy also earned Timothée Chalamet a Dorian for Film Performance of the Year — Actor. Chalamet, seen in Dorian nominee Lady Bird as well, was also the group’s Rising Star pick. Meanwhile, Greta Gerwig, writer and helmer of the female-focused coming-of-age drama Lady Bird, was named Director of the Year. 

Jordan Peele, formerly of TV’s acclaimed Key and Peele sketch comedy series, earned Screenplay of the Year for Get Out, the heart-stopping thriller and acidic satire about a black man (Daniel Kaluuya) who discovers his white girlfriend’s “liberal” parents are secretly murderous racists. Peele was also crowned Wilde Artist of the Year (nominees included Gerwig, Patty Jenkins, David Lynch and Guillermo del Toro) and Wilde Wit of the Year. Peele shares the latter award with Saturday Night Live fixture Kate McKinnon, nabbing her second win in that race — along with a victory for her sing-songy imagining of Trump explainer Kellyanne Conway taking her "alternative facts" act to Broadway.

Film icon and feminist activist Meryl Streep was the group’s latest choice for Timeless Star, a career achievement honor previously won by such equally beloved stars (and human-rights champions) Jane Fonda, Dame Angela Lansbury and Sir Ian McKellen. 

“Who doesn’t love Meryl Streep outside of non-feminist Donald Trump?” quipped Diane Anderson-Minshall, GALECA’s president as well as editorial director of The Advocate magazine. “Streep’s latest film, The Post, speaks to her commitment to playing, and supporting, strong women who push for or at least embody the need for equality. As The Washington Post’s firebrand Katherine Graham, she inhabited the role of the first female publisher of a major American newspaper — a woman who went from housewife to overseeing the revelations of both Watergate and the Pentagon Papers at a time when most of the men around her were too afraid to take on either. And this was all long before the #MeToo movement.” Adds John Griffiths, GALECA’s Executive Director, "From Sophie’s Choice to Postcards from the Edge, Streep’s an incredibly stirring and affecting actress who transports, delights and nails various accents like no other. I’d say she definitely qualifies as a timeless star — and amid all the headlines about sexual harassment in Hollywood, she’s also a very relevant current voice.” 

Fun fact: Streep won a Dorian Award for The Iron Lady back in 2012. 

In additional trademark races, God’s Own Country — 2017’s other visceral love story involving two gay men — won as GALECA's Unsung Film of the Year (the competition included director Angela Robinson’s Professor Marston and the Wonder Women). Awards-season darling The Shape of Water impressed as Visually Striking Film of the Year. And mother!, Darren Aronofsky’s over-the-top psychological chiller starring Jennifer Lawrence, was deemed Campy Flick of the Year.

Among TV categories, HBO’s sleek murder mystery Big Little Lies took TV Drama of the Year, with star Nicole Kidman (as a battered wife) triumphing too. Kyle MacLachlan was Kidman’s male counterpart for Twin Peaks: The Return. Starz’s provocative gods-among-us fantasy American Gods took Unsung TV Show, fittingly as its future the freshman series’ future is reportedly up in the air. And programs each celebrating their second win in a row: TBS’ Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (Current Events Show of the Year) and the Lady Gaga-loved gay performance contest RuPaul’s Drag Race (LGBTQ Show). 

Below is the complete list of Dorian winners. 

GALECA, The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, previously known as the Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, includes members who review, write and/or report on film and television for a diverse number of media outlets, including BuzzFeed, The Daily Beast, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide, The Advocate, CNN, the Associated Press, People, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Collider, Vanity Fair, Screen Crush, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, New Now Next, The Guardian and the BBC. For more information, visit GALECA.org. Also find us at #DorianAwards, and enjoy our posts via @DorianAwards on Facebook • Twitter • Instagram 

GALECA 2017/18 DORIAN AWARDS — WINNERS

FILM OF THE YEAR
BPM (Beats Per Minute) - The Orchard
Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics (WINNER)
Get Out - Universal
Lady Bird - A24
The Shape of Water - Fox Searchlight

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR (FILM OR TELEVISION)
Sean Baker, The Florida Project – A24
Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird - A24  (WINNER)
Luca Guadagnino, Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics
Christopher Nolan, Dunkirk – Warner Bros.
Jordan Peele, Get Out - Universal

BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR -- ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins, The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight  (WINNER)
Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Fox Searchlight
Margot Robbie, I, Tonya - Neon
Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird - A24
Daniela Vega, A Fantastic Woman - Sony Pictures Classics

BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – ACTOR
Nahuel Perez Biscayart, BPM (Beats Per Minute) — The Orchard
Timothée Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics  (WINNER)
James Franco, The Disaster Artist – A24
Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out - Universal
Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour – Focus Features

SUPPORTING FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR -- ACTRESS
Mary J. Blige, Mudbound - Netflix
Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip - Universal
Allison Janney, I, Tonya - Neon
Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird - A24  (WINNER)
Michelle Pfeiffer, mother! - Paramount

SUPPORTING FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR -- ACTOR
Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project – A24
Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name- Sony Pictures Classics
Richard Jenkins, The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight
Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Fox Searchlight
Michael Stuhlbarg, Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics  (WINNER)

LGBTQ FILM OF THE YEAR
BPM (Beats Per Minute) — The Orchard
Battle of the Sexes - Fox Searchlight
Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics  (WINNER)
A Fantastic Woman - Sony Pictures Classics
God's Own Country – Samuel Goldwyn Films

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
BPM (Beats Per Minute) — The Orchard  (WINNER)
A Fantastic Woman - Sony Pictures Classics
First They Killed My Father - Netflix
The Square – Magnolia Pictures
Thelma – The Orchard

SCREENPLAY OF THE YEAR (ORIGINAL OR ADAPTED)
James Ivory, Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics
Jordan Peele, Get Out - Universal  (WINNER)
Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird - A24
Guillermo del Toro, Vanessa Taylor, The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight
Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - Fox Searchlight

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
(theatrical release, TV airing or DVD release)
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story – Zeitgeist/Kino Lorber
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson - Netflix
Faces Places – Cohen Media Group  (WINNER)
Jane ­– National Geographic/Abramorama
Kedi - Oscilloscope

VISUALLY STRIKING FILM OF THE YEAR
(honoring a production of stunning beauty, from art direction to cinematography)
Blade Runner 2049 – Warner Bros.
Call Me By Your Name - Sony Pictures Classics
Dunkirk – Warner Bros.
The Shape of Water – Fox Searchlight  (WINNER)
Wonderstruck - Amazon

UNSUNG FILM OF THE YEAR
BPM (Beats Per Minute) - The Orchard
Beach Rats - Neon
God's Own Country – Samuel Goldwyn Films  (WINNER)
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women - Annapurna
Wonderstruck - Amazon

CAMPY FLICK OF THE YEAR
Baywatch - Paramount
The Disaster Artist – A24
The Greatest Showman – 20th Century Fox
I, Tonya - Neon
mother! - Paramount  (WINNER)

TV DRAMA OF THE YEAR
Big Little Lies - HBO - HBO  (WINNER)
The Crown - Netflix
Feud: Bette and Joan - FX
The Handmaid's Tale - Hulu
Twin Peaks: The Return - Showtime

TV COMEDY OF THE YEAR
Better Things - FX
GLOW - Netflix
The Good Place - NBC
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - Amazon  (WINNER)
Will & Grace - NBC

TV PEFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – ACTRESS
Clare Foy, The Crown - Netflix
Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies - HBO  (WINNER)
Jessica Lange, Feud: Bette and Joan - FX
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale - Hulu
Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies - HBO

TV PEFORMANCE OF THE YEAR -- ACTOR
Aziz Ansari, Master of None – Netflix
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us - NBC
Jonathan Groff, Mindhunter - Netflix
Kyle MacLachlan, Twin Peaks: The Return - Showtime  (WINNER)
Alexander Skaarsgård, Big Little Lies - HBO

TV CURRENT AFFAIRS SHOW OF THE YEAR
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee – TBS  (WINNER)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - HBO
Late Night with Seth Meyers - NBC
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert - CBS
The Rachel Maddow Show - MSNBC

TV MUSICAL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Lady Gaga, “God Bless America,” “Born This Way,” etc., Super Bowl LI - Fox
Kate McKinnon, “(Kellyanne) Conway!” Saturday Night Live - NBC (WINNER)
Brendan McCreary, John Mulaney, “I’m Gay,” Big Mouth – Netflix
Pink, “Beautiful Trauma,” American Music Awards - ABC
Sasha Velour, “So Emotional,” RuPaul's Drag Race – VH1

LGBTQ SHOW OF THE YEAR
Difficult People - Hulu
RuPaul's Drag Race – VH1 (WINNER)
Sense8 - Netflix
Transparent – Amazon
Will & Grace - NBC

UNSUNG TV SHOW OF THE YEAR
American Gods - Starz  (WINNER)
Dear White People - Netflix
Difficult People - Hulu
At Home with Amy Sedaris - TruTV
The Leftovers - HBO

CAMPY TV SHOW OF THE YEAR
Dynasty
Feud: Betty and Joan  (WINNER)
Riverdale
RuPaul's Drag Race
Will & Grace

‘WE’RE WILDE ABOUT YOU!’ RISING STAR AWARD
Timothée Chalamet  (WINNER)
Harris Dickinson
Tiffany Haddish
Daniel Kaluuya
Daniela Vega

WILDE WIT OF THE YEAR AWARD
(honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
Samantha Bee
Stephen Colbert
Kate McKinnon  (WINNER - TIE)
John Oliver
Jordan Peele  (WINNER - TIE)

WILDE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
(honoring a truly groundbreaking force in the fields of film, theater and/or television)
Guillermo del Toro
Greta Gerwig
Patty Jenkins
David Lynch
Jordan Peele  (WINNER)

TIMELESS STAR (to a living actor or performer whose exemplary career is marked by character, wisdom and wit)
Meryl Streep  (WINNER)

GALECA’S MISSIONHome of the Dorian Awards for the best in film and TV, GALECA aims to generate camaraderie in an unsettling media environment, and elevate professional entertainment criticism and journalism, all while bolstering art and humanity. Via panels, screenings, events and its occasional “Ten Best" lists, this 501 c-6 organization also strives to remind the everyone from at-risk youth to bullies that gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer people have a rich history of putting great movies and TV on the radar. How would the world fare without knowing what's campy?

CONTACT

Diane Anderson-Minshall, GALECA Presidentdiane@retrogradecommunications.com

John Griffiths, GALECA Executive Directorjdgriffiths@earthlink.net

Meet The McCarthys

Growing up in a suburb of Boston, Brian Gallivan committed a huge sin in the eyes of his sports-crazed, Irish-Catholic family.  It wasn't that he is gay; it’s that he knows nothing about basketball.

In fact, says Tyler Ritter, who plays Gallivan’s alter-ego Ronny on his new CBS sitcom The McCarthys, “The fact that my character is gay isn’t even a driving characteristic.  Our characters are all different but loveable, and the show is about how we learn to get along.”

“The McCarthys is a good combination of traditional family comedy and progressive, edgier stuff,” says former New Kid on the Block Joey McIntyre, who along with Jimmy Dunn and Kelen Coleman were cast as Ronny’s three siblings.  Jack McGee, who plays high school basketball coach and McCarthy patriarch Arthur, speaks from experience when he states that “a lot of Irish families don’t know how to talk to each other – they talk at each other, and it comes out unfiltered.”

It’s that kind of political incorrectness that makes for good comedy, Gallivan says – even if his own real-life family may sometimes bristle at the depiction.  Gallivan’s own clan is bigger – he’s one of six – and of course his own mother isn’t TV royalty as is Mrs. McCarthy, aka Laurie Metcalf.  “But the show is peppered with details from real life.  And so, my family can’t wait to see it,” he explains.  “But then again, every time I go home, they all say, ‘Don’t say anything to him – it’ll end up in an episode!’”

The McCarthys

CBS

Thursdays at 9:30PM

beginning October 30

Breaking news: L Word spinoff details

Today at the TCA convention in Los Angeles, Showtime president Robert Greenblatt leaked a few details about the highly anticipated L Word spinoff (which according to imdb.com, is currently titled The Farm.)

As had previously been reported, the spinoff will star Leisha Hailey (aka Alice), who will unfortunately be going to prison.  There, she'll be joined by a whole new cast of characters, only some of whom are lesbians, played by such well-known and hottie actresses as Famke Janssen, and Roseanne's Laurie Metcalf, last seen in the underappreciated and quickly-cancelled CW series Easy Money.

When asked if the new show could be considered a female version of HBO's infamously brutal drama Oz, Greenblatt replied, "That might be a good comparison."

More as they happen, including further details from L Word creator Ilene Chaiken when the L Word panel begins at 3 PM Pacific time today.

The CW Makes Easy Money

Sunday is an incredibly competitive night on network and cable television -- and it's about to get even more so, with the debut this weekend of the CW's Easy Money.

When I attended the show's premiere at the New York Television Festival last month, I was impressed with the caliber of its cast, its visuals, and most importantly, its sophisticated storytelling.

I shouldn't have been surprised, because Easy Money comes to us courtesy of the writing team Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, former scribes on Northern Exposure and later The Sopranos. And with its quirky location and a crime-tinged family business at its core, Easy Money has elements of both of those great shows.

After the screening, Frolov and Schneider took to the stage to answer critics' enthusiastic questions about the show. But it couldn't be too long an evening -- because cast and crew were due the very next day back in Albuquerque, to continue shooting the season's fifth episode. With a generous tax rebate in town, Schneider explained, many productions are popping up in the New Mexico town, including a constant stream of feature films, AMC's series Breaking Bad and USA Networks' In Plain Sight. But in truth, he adds, the writing pair chose Albuquerque as their location because, as a fast-growing Wild Western boomtown, it's perfect for this tale of a moneylending family whose business, although legal, skirts an association with an undesirable element. Even the light in the area, at Albuquerque's higher altitude, is different from the look of L.A., Schneider says. That's why the show takes such advantage of the outdoors, shooting just two days a week inside, in a converted semiconductor factory.

Frolov and Schneider were first approached with an outline for the Easy Money idea, which is based loosely on a concept that U.K. producer Hat Trick Productions is also developing for British audiences, and prepared the show first for Fox before landing it at the CW courtesy of production company Media Rights Capital. The timing, Schneider says, was perfect, because of the credit crisis now enveloping our nation, to create a show "examining people's relationship with money." And, as luck would have it, the elegant and patrician-looking Frolov, surprisingly, already had a relative in the moneylending biz. That family member, named Bobette, is not only now a technical advisor to the show, but she lent her first name to the matriarch of Easy Money's Buffkin clan, played by Laurie Metcalf (right).

After MRC signed an interim agreement with the Writers' Guild, Easy Money got a head start on producing its pilot, even while the strike waged on, last February. And now, this Sunday night, October 5, the show will be part of MRC's historic inaugural lineup for the CW; in a never-before-tried arrangement in TV, the production company has contracted with the network to be fully in charge of its entire Sunday night lineup.

Partnered with an adaptation of a Canadian documentary show, 4Real, the reality show In Harm's Way and the Greek Gods-and-Goddesses romantic-comedy Valentine, Easy Money is debuting as part of a lineup whose demographic targets seem to be all over the map. Luckily, with a pedigree like Frolov and Schneider's, this should be a show that gets its share of attention, and hopefully draws in the viewers. Because after watching the show's pilot, I can tell you -- I'd never want to borrow from the Buffkins, but I sure like watching others fall into that very trap.

Easy Money
Series Premiere
Sunday, October 5
9 PM Eastern
CW