HBO’s Emmy-winning A Black Lady Sketch Show will not return for season five as  the network and series creator Robin Thede have agreed to end the comedy series. 

The series, which starred Thede along with Gabrielle Dennis, Ashley Nicole Black and Skye Townsend, ended its fourth season this past May. The series featured a core cast of black women living relatable, funny experiences in a magical reality that subverts traditional expectations, according to HBO.

“Robin Thede is a visionary comedic talent, and for four exceptional seasons of A Black Lady Sketch Show we’ve been thrilled to partner with her on this groundbreaking, hilarious series,” HBO said in a statement. “Robin, alongside [series producers] Hooray, Jax Media, and the incredible cast and crew, leave an indelible legacy not only in sketch, but in television comedy, and we look forward to continued creative collaboration under her deal with us.” 

During its run the show was nominated for 13 Emmy Awards and won three, including 2022 Emmys for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Variety Programming and Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series. 

Along with Thede, Issa Rae, Dave Becky, Jonathan Berry, Tony Hernandez and Brooke Posch served as executive producers for the series. 

Thede in a statement said: “Thank you to all the immensely talented cast members, guest stars, writers, directors, editors and crew members who have made A Black Lady Sketch Show an Emmy-winning success. I especially want to recognize the Black women and other women of color who excelled in every department at ABLSS. I am also eternally grateful for the support of Isa Rae and Jax Media, Amy Gravitt, Casey Bloys and the entire team at HBO, Max and Warner Bros. Discovery.” 

HBO has renewed its Emmy-winning comedy series A Black Lady Sketch Show for a fourth season.

The Robin Thede-created, comedy sketch show features a core cast of Black women living relatable and comedic experiences in a magical reality that subverts traditional expectations, according to HBO. Season three of the series concluded on May 13.

A Black Lady Sketch Show stars Robin Thede, Gabrielle Dennis, Ashley Nicole Black and Skye Townsend. The series is executive produced by Thede, Issa Rae, Dave Becky, Jonathan Berry, Tony Hernandez and Brooke Posch.

“Robin, Gabrielle, Ashley, and Skye brought so much life to each character they portrayed in every sketch,” HBO Programming Executive VP Amy Gravitt said in a statement. “We’re beyond excited to explore even more comedic worlds with a fourth season of A Black Lady Sketch Show.”

Added Thede: “A Black Lady Sketch Show has created an indelible mark thanks to the trust and support of the incredible team at HBO. We are ecstatic to be heading into a fourth season that means so much to our cast, crew, and the dedicated audience who so passionately loves our show. ■

If you like explorations of true stories, this is your week to stream video. Netflix is debuting three documentaries: One focused on Elan Musk's interstellar ambitions (Return To Space); a globe-trotting nature doc narrated by Barack Obama (Our Great National Parks); and an investigatory examination of the murder of a South African football luminary  (Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star). There's also dramatizations of real-life events — the eighth and final episode of The Dropout, featuring that girl next door, Amanda Seyfried, all grown up and playing fallen Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, is unspooling on Hulu. And filmmaker Michael Mann has adapted journalist Jake Adelstein's memoir of his time covering the Tokyo PD. Oh, and the women of HBO's A Black Lady Sketch Show are back to tell their personal stories in Season 3. Here's what's upstream:

Tokyo Vice (HBO Max, April 7)

If you enjoyed Michael Mann’s Heat, Collateral or The Insider, then there's a solid chance you'll also like Tokyo Vice, a new HBO series executive-produced by Mann, who also directed the pilot. An adaptation of American journalist Jake Adelstein's eponymous memoir examines the Tokyo Metropolitan Police in the 1990s. The eight-episode crime series stars Ansel Elgort as Adelstein, who documents the underbelly of Tokyo police culture. The Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Fienberg wrote that the first five episodes “delivered enough intriguing and authentic story beats per episode to keep me consistently engaged, while at the same time making me wish that this latest entry in a long-outmoded genre might find some way to go a little deeper instead of hovering on the surface of something and someplace fascinating.” The first three episodes of Tokyo Vice will be available to stream on HBO Max on April 7. Two episodes will premiere every subsequent Thursday through the season finale on April 28.

The Dropout – Series finale (Hulu, April 7)

This dramatic portrayal of the life, career and downfall of Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes has been a hit with critics and audiences alike since its release on March 3. The series focuses on Holmes' creation of Theranos, which she claimed would revolutionize blood testing. Back in 2019. Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney made a documentary about the Stanford University dropout titled The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley. In the dramatic retelling, Amanda Seyfried plays Holmes. Her performance has garnered rave reviews. “Ms. Seyfried, who was Oscar-nominated for Mank last year, is just as revelatory here, but strictly as an actress, not as a window into the phenomenon of Holmes. The portrayal is absorbing, committed and morbidly fascinating,” wrote The Wall Street Journal’s John Anderson.

Return To Space (Netflix, April 7)

This documentary starring Elon Musk isn’t about the tech tycoon becoming Twitter’s biggest stakeholder. Instead, Oscar-winning directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo, The Rescue) explore the billionaire’s obsession with space travel. Musk’s privately funded space exploration company, SpaceX, is a success in large part because of astronauts like NASA veterans Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who Vasarhelyi and Chin follow in the lead-up to the men’s 2020 trip to the International Space Station, the first from the United States since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011. The directing duo also capture Musk and mission control’s efforts to bring the two astronauts’ return to earth. Vasarhelyi and Chin have a unique knack for making past events suspenseful.

Senzo: Murder of a Soccer Star (Netflix, April 7)

Back in 2014, Senzo Meyiwa, goalkeeper and captain of the national South African soccer team,  was murdered in what was alleged to be a botched robbery. This five-part docuseries investigates what happened to Meyiwa, who was shot and killed at his girlfriend’s mother’s house. Despite six eyewitnesses, it took eight years for any suspects to go to trial. The doc features members of Senzo’s family, investigators and key witnesses.

All the Old Knives (Amazon Prime Video, April 8)

Chris Pine and Thandie Newton star in this espionage thriller inspired by Olen Steinhauer’s eponymously titled 2015 novel. Pine plays a CIA agent who meets up with a former colleague and lover played by Newton. Over dinner, the duo try to come to terms with a failed mission involving the hijacking of an airplane that turned deadly. Turns out someone in the CIA might have had something to do with it, but who? While flirting over what looks like a delicious meal, Pine and Newton try to sort out which one of them is to blame.    

Metal Lords (Netflix, April 8)

Metal Lords marks the first film Game of Thrones co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss have made for Netflix under their multi-year, multimillion dollar agreement to write, produce and direct television series and movies exclusively for the streaming service. Jaeden Martell (Knives Out) and Isis Hainsworth (Misbehaviour) star in this coming of age film about teenagers who want to start a heavy metal band. Instead of finding a bass player, the high school boys discover a girl cello player played by newcomer Adrian Greensmith. While Benioff and Weiss produced the film, Wiess also wrote it.

A Black Lady Sketch Show - Season 3 (HBO Max, April 8)

Created, written by and starring Robin Thede, A Black Lady Sketch Show returns a core supporting cast of Gabrielle Dennis, Ashley Nicole Black and Skye Townsend, riffing on personal experiences and issues specific to African-American women. The first two seasons of A Black Lady Sketch Show have been nominated for an Emmy in the the best variety sketch show category, and were a hit with critics, who aggregated the HBO series with a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Season 3 will feature 40 guest stars, including Raven-Symoné and Wanda Sykes. “The ladies, who clearly are all BFFs, are effortlessly, amazingly funny. They poke fun at issues specific to Black women, like the care and maintenance of hair... They also take sharp aim at racial issues,” wrote Washington Post TV critic Marc Silver.

Woke - Season 2 (Hulu, April 8)

In this comedy series, Lamorne Morris plays Keef Knight, who is based on real-life cartoonist and show co-creator Keith Knight. The eight-episode series combines live-action with animated sequences. In Season 1, Keef begins seeing and hearing inanimate objects talking to him after realizing just how much racism he encounters in his everyday life living in San Francisco. Keef starts creating comic strips depicting racism and San Francisco police officers' acting violently. In Season 2, Keef is forced to contend with his newfound fame. The first season of the series received mostly positive reviews from critics, who scored it at an aggregated 74% on Rotten Tomatoes. “The show develops a bit slowly but deftly straddles the line between weightier matters and mining its sillier side,” wrote CNN television critic Brian Lowry.

Our Great National Parks (Netflix, April 13)

This five-part series, narrated by former President Barack Obama, will ply its stunning 4K cinematography to  Kenya’s Tsavo National Park, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Indonesia’s Gunung Leuser National Park. The series comes from Barack and Michelle Obama’s High Ground production company, which was founded in 2018 and works in partnership with Netflix.

Ice Age: Scrat Tale (Disney Plus, April 13)

This series of six animated shorts stars Scrat, the saber-toothed, nervous squirrel/rat from Disney’s $6 billion dollar Ice Age franchise. Scrat is voiced by Oscar-winning director Chris Wedge, who has been giving the rodent a voice since the first Ice Age feature film was released in 2002. (Wedge also directed that movie.) In the series, Scrat is faced with fatherhood and all its triumphs and tribulations. While the shorts were made for kids, adults -- especially those with children -- could also find them enjoyable.  

 HBO’s Emmy-winning comedy series A Black Lady Sketch Show will launch its third season on April 8, the network said.

The six-episode series will feature a core cast of Black women “living relatable hilarious experiences in a magical reality that subverts traditional expectations,” said HBO. Robin Thede, Gabrielle Dennis, Ashley Nicole Black and Skye Townsend star in the show, which will feature more than 40 guest stars, including Ava DuVernay, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Raven-Symoné, Wanda Sykes, David Alan Grier, Kyla Pratt, Jemele Hill, Holly Robinson Peete, Kel Mitchell, Michael Ealy, Wayne Brady, Bob the Drag Queen, Vanessa Williams, Lance Reddick, Loni Love, Cari Champion, Shangela, Trevor Jackson, Tommy Davidson, Jay Pharoah, Jidenna, and Essence Atkins.

A Black Lady Sketch Show is executive produced by Thede, Issa Rae, Dave Becky, Jonathan Berry, Tony Hernandez and Brooke Posch.

The main headline coming out of the Television Academy’s Emmys nomination announcement Tuesday is the dominance of the streaming services. With shows from streaming services representing eight of the top 10 most nominated shows, it’s clear that the online platform resonated with viewers, critics and Emmy voters.

With that said, there were a few highlights that traditional television distributors can hang their hats on heading into the Sept. 19 Emmy Awards show telecast. Here are several takeaways for cable and broadcast networks from Tuesday’s 73rd Emmys nominations announcement.

Read Also: Streaming Shows 'The Crown,' 'The Mandalorian,' 'WandaVision' Lead Emmy Awards Nominations 

• Along with 18 nominations, HBO’s recently cancelled Lovecraft Country became the first series ever to have Black actors nominated in both the drama best actor (Jonathan Rogers) and best actress (Jurnee Smollet) categories. The horror-themed show also has the distinction of having Black actors nominated in six of the seven drama acting categories. Overall, actors of color drew four of the six nominations in the best actor in a drama series category and half of the nominations for the best actress in a drama series award. 

Read Also: 'Lovecraft Country' Creator Outlines New Season Plot Despite Series Cancellation

• NBC’s Saturday Night Live continues to rack up Emmy nominations. The late-night series drew 21 nominations — one off its record 22 nods for a variety show garnered in 2017— and now has a record 306th Emmy nominations overall. It was one of the few bright spots for the broadcast networks, which found itself either shut out or with only one nomination in the outstanding drama, comedy and limited series categories. NBC led all broadcast networks with 46 nominations.

• HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show is the only show that stands in the way of Saturday Night Live winning its fifth straight Emmy in the Outstanding Variety Sketch Series category as only two shows qualified for the award.  

• FX was the most nominated basic cable network with 16, nine of which were generated by Pose, including a lead actress in a drama nomination for MJ Rodriguez — the first ever in the category for a lead trans person. VH1 (11) and National Geographic (10) also generated double-digit nominations. Overall 16 cable networks garnered Emmy nominations, matching the number of online services with Emmy nods. 

• HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver will look to make it six Emmy wins in a row in the Outstanding Talk Series category, while VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race will go for four straight wins in the Outstanding Competition Program category.  

HBO has renewed A Black Lady Sketch Show for its third season, days before the finale of the show’s second season, the network said Monday. 

The Emmy-nominated narrative sketch series features a core cast of Black women living “relatable, hilarious experiences in a magical reality that subverts traditional expectations,” according to HBO. Robin Thede serves as showrunner, executive producer, writer and star of A Black Lady Sketch Show, with Issa Rae, Dave Becky, Jonathan Berry, Tony Hernandez and Brook Posch also serving as executive producers. 

Also Read: WarnerMedia Signs Issa Rae to Multi-Year Production Deal 

Season two of the series premieres this Friday (May 28). 

“Robin continues to break new ground in the world of sketch comedy. She delivered a hilariously sharp second season, and we’re looking forward to seeing where Robin, Issa Rae and the A Black Lady Sketch Show team take us in season three,” HBO Comedy Programming executive VP Amy Gravitt said in a statement.

HBO Max’s latest Warner Bros. film premiere and a new Freefrom teen thriller series highlight this week’s new and returning show premieres.

HBO Max on April 23 will premiere Mortal Kombat, the latest Warner Bros. film to debut on the streaming service day and date with the film’s theatrical premiere. The movie is the  latest film adaptation of the Mortal Kombat video game franchise.

Read also: WarnerMedia's Kilar: We Should Have Given Hollywood a Head-up About Day-and-Date HBO Max Premieres

Debuting April 20 is Freeform’s latest teen drama series Cruel Summer, produced by actress Jessica Biel. The series takes place over three summers in the 1990s and follows events surrounding a popular teen who goes missing and a seemingly unrelated girl who transforms from a sweet and awkward to the most popular girl in town, according to Freeform.

Read also: Cruel Summer Review 

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting the week of April 19 to April 25 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

April 20 -- Sasquatch (documentary) -- Hulu

April 22 -- Boys from County Hell (horror) -- Shudder

April 22 -- Cher and the Loneliest Elephant (documentary) -- Paramount Plus

April 22 -- Rutherford Falls (comedy) -- Peacock

April 22 -- Stowaway (sci-fi/thriller) -- Netflix

April 23 -- A Black Lady Sketch Show (returning series) -- HBO

April 23 -- Shadow and Bone (drama) -- Netflix

 WarnerMedia and Insecure star Issa Rae have extended their business relationship with a new, long-term exclusive rights deal, the company said Wednesday.

The five-year deal gives WarnerMedia exclusive first-look rights to Rae’s upcoming television and film projects through her media company Hoorae, the company said. HBO is currently in production on the final season of Rae and Hoorae’s Emmy-winning series Insecure, and will launch the second season of A Black Lady Sketch Show in April.

HBO Max has also ordered episodes of Rae's comedy series Rap Sh*t.

Also Read: HBO's 'Insecure' to End After Fifth Season 

“We have been in business with Issa for more than eight years, and we couldn’t be prouder of our collaboration,” said Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer for HBO and HBO Max in a statement.  “Insecure was a breakthrough series for HBO, and there is much more on the horizon. This new deal is an opportunity to leverage the strength of WarnerMedia to provide a multitude of platforms for Issa’s formidable talents as a producer and storyteller.”

Added Rae: "HBO has been supportive of my work since the very first general meeting I had with Casey in 2012. I'm thrilled to not only spread my creative wings with the network that makes all of my favorite series, but also to produce culturally resonant stories with new voices that incite exciting conversations via Hoorae’s expanded relationship with all WarnerMedia platforms."

Also Read: HBO to Debut New Season of 'A Black Lady Sketch Show' in April 

HBO will bring back its Emmy-nominated sketch comedy A Black Lady Sketch Show for its second season on April 23, the network said Tuesday.

Robin Thede, Gabrielle Dennis and Ashley Nicole Black will return to star in the narrative sketch series, which features a core cast of Black women living relatable, hilarious experiences in a magical reality that subverts traditional expectations, said the pay TV network.

Also Read: Spring 2021 TV Premiere Dates

A Black Lady Sketch Show, which received three 2020 Primetime Emmy nominations, is executive produced by Thede, Issa Rae, Dave Becky, Jonathan Berry, Tony Hernandez and Brooke Posch.

 HBO, led by its drama series Watchmen, drew the most TCA Awards wins, the Television Critics Association announced Monday.

The TCA Awards, which are usually announced during a July live ceremony but this year was not held in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, honored HBO with six awards, topping all other cable, broadcast and streaming networks. Pop TV was the only other network to earn multiple awards, drawing two awards for its comedy series Schitt’s Creek.

HBO’s Watchmen won four awards, including an Individual Achievement In Drama honor for series star Regina King as well as an Outstanding Movie, Miniseries, Or Special; Outstanding New Program, and the Program Of The Year award, said TCA. 

CBS’ iconic series Star Trek earned the organization’s Heritage Award, while longtime Jeopardy! Host Alex Trebek was honored with the Career Achievement award. 

“Entertainment and culture are intertwined and in this challenging year, never has that intersection been more crucial as both a mirror to examine tough reflections and a rabbit hole to escape the noise and scares outside our homes. The 2019-2020 television season was both a challenge and a balm,” said Sarah Rodman, TCA President and executive editor at Entertainment Weekly in a statement. “This year offered up many high-quality options appealing to a wide swath of audiences with eclectic subjects ranging from sports and superheroes, to side-splitting sitcoms, darkly fascinating dramas, insightful documentaries, kid-friendly series, and more. We are excited to see what the future of television has in store, and we look forward to celebrating in-person next year as we come together to honor this medium that means so much to all of us.”

The full list of TCA Awards winners appears below: 

Individual Achievement In Drama: Regina King (WATCHMEN, HBO)

Individual Achievement In Comedy: Catherine O’Hara (SCHITT’S CREEK, Pop TV)

Outstanding Achievement In News and Information: THE LAST DANCE (ESPN)

Outstanding Achievement In Reality Programming: CHEER (Netflix)

Outstanding Achievement In Youth Programming: MOLLY OF DENALI (PBS Kids)

Outstanding Achievement In Sketch/Variety Shows: A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW (HBO)

Outstanding New Program: WATCHMEN (HBO)

Outstanding Achievement In Movie, Miniseries, Or Special: WATCHMEN (HBO)

Outstanding Achievement In Drama: SUCCESSION (HBO)

Outstanding Achievement In Comedy: SCHITT’S CREEK (Pop TV)

Program of the Year: WATCHMEN (HBO)

Career Achievement Honoree:Alex Trebek

 Heritage Award: STAR TREK (CBS)

HBO for the fourth year in a row drew top honors for NAMIC’s 26th annual Vision Awards, the diversity organization announced Wednesday morning.

HBO won four Vision Awards to top all networks, with NBC following a close second with three wins. The Vision Awards honor programming that reflects the lives, spirit and contributions of people of color that mirror the diverse composition of the viewing audience.

CBS All Access’ Twilight Zone reboot hosted by Jordan Peele (pictured) was the top choice in the Best Performance, Drama category, while HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show won top honors for Best Performance, Comedy, said NAMIC. Overall NAMIC announced a total of 17 Vision Awards for networks and distributors this year.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored how much our nation relies on broadcast and cable programmers and storytellers to educate, entertain, and enrich our communities,” said NAMIC President and CEO A. Shuanise Washington. “Today, we not only are honoring winners of the Vision Awards but also are offering our deepest appreciation for the vital service they provide.”

The complete list of Vision Awards winners are listed below:

Animation

Elena of Avalor – Disney Junior

Awards & Honors

2019 Black Girls Rock! – BET Networks

Best Performance – Comedy

Kal Penn: Sunnyside – NBC

Best Performance – Drama

Brian Tee: Chicago Med – NBC

Children’s

Sesame Street 50th Anniversary Special – HBO

Comedy

A Black Lady Sketch Show – HBO

Digital Media – Short Form

Voices of the Civil Rights Movement – Confronting America’s Broken Promise – Comcast | NBCUniversal

Documentary

True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality – HBO

Drama

The Twilight Zone – CBS All Access

Foreign Language

Caravanas – Discovery Network Latin America

Lifestyle

No Passport Required – PBS

News/Informational

Life Inside: Angola – Dateline

Original Movie or Special

I Am Somebody’s Child: The Regina Louise Story – Lifetime

Reality

Made from Scratch – Fuse

Reality – Social Issues

Unapologetic – ESPN

Sports

The Shop: Uninterrupted – HBO

Variety/Talk Show

Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s All in the Family and The Jeffersons -- ABC

AMC will bid farewell to its drama/fantasy series Preacher with the debut of its final season, one of several shows making their debuts this week

Preacher, based on the comic book series of the same name, ends the saga of flawed preacher Jesse Custer who, along with his ex-girlfriend Tulip and vampire friend Cassidy, seek to find God. The 10-episode series, which debuts Aug. 4, stars Dominic Cooper, Ruth Negga, and Joseph Gigun.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting this week on cable networks and streaming services:

July 29 -- Lights Out With David Spade (talk show) -- Comedy Central

July 31 -- Four Weddings and a Funeral (romantic comedy series) -- Hulu

July 31 -- The Red Sea Diving Resort (drama series) -- Netflix

July 31 -- Sherman’s Showcase (comedy series) -- IFC

Aug. 1 -- No One Saw A Thing (documentary miniseries) -- Sundance TV

Aug. 2 -- A Black Lady Sketch Show -- (comedy) -- HBO

Aug. 2 -- Dear White People (Comedy) --- Netflix

Aug. 2 -- Descendants 3 (movie) -- Disney Channel

Aug. 2 -- Into The Dark: School Spirit -- (movie) -- Hulu

Aug. 2 -- This Is Football (sports documentary) -- Prime video

Aug. 4 -- Serengeti (documentary) -- Discovery Channel

HBO will debut its new late night series A Black Lady Sketch Show on Aug. 2.

A Black Lady Sketch Show, created and starring Robin Thede and executive produced by Issa Rae, presents comedy sketches performed by a core cast of black women, including Thede, Ashley Nicole Black, Gabrielle Dennis and Quinta Brunson, with guest appearances from Loretta Devine, Gina Torres, Lena Waithe, Patti LaBelle and Angela Bassett, according to the network.