Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton will celebrate the women who inspired them in a new Apple TV Plus documentary series Gutsy, premiering September 9.

Based on the Clintons’ bestselling book The Book of Gutsy Women, the eight-part docuseries follows the former First Lady and her daughter as they speak to such pioneering women as Kim Kardashian, Megan Thee Stallion, Dr. Jane Goodall, Gloria Steinem, Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson, said the streaming service.

The series also showcases Hillary and Chelsea’s special mother-daughter bond and the unique, multi-generational way they approach the important and timely issues highlighted in each episode, said Apple TV Plus.

Gutsy is executive produced by the Clintons, along with Johnny Webb, Siobhan Sinnerton, Roma Khanna, Ken Druckerman, Banks Tarver, and Anna Chai. ■

Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall will host the 2022 Oscars, which happens March 27 on ABC. The trio shared the news on Good Morning America February 15. 

"This year's show is all about uniting movie lovers," said Will Packer, Oscars producer. "It's apropos that we've lined up three of the most dynamic, hilarious women with very different comedic styles. I know the fun Regina, Amy and Wanda will be having will translate to our audience as well. Expect the unexpected!"

Hall hosted the 2019 BET Awards, Schumer hosted the 2015 MTV Movie Awards and Sykes hosted the 2018 GLAAD Media Awards.

The Oscars went without hosts in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The last three-host approach was 1987, with Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn and Paul Hogan.

Hall has been in the Scary Movie franchise and films such as The Best Man and Girls Trip. 

Schumer starred in Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, and her films include Trainwreck and Snatched. Her Hulu show Life & Beth premieres March 18. Sykes has been in The New Adventures of Old Christine and Black-ish. She hosted an eponymous talk show from 2009 to 2010 on Fox and wrote for The Chris Rock Show. ■

Amy Schumer and other high-profile members of the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) have signed a petition in support of staffers of the Committee to Protect Journalists who are trying to get WGAE representation.

Schumer, Adam McKay (Vice), Jonathan Franzen (Purity), and over 600 other WGAE members are urging CPJ management to agree to a union contract for approximately 50 CPJ staffers.

The petition, which also includes staffers from Frontline, CBS News, ABC News, NBC News, WABC, WBBM, Huffington Post, and Vox, comes in advance of a Nov. 5 bargaining session. CPJ has recognized the union, but it has been over a year since the first bargaining session with no contract.

Among other things WGAE and CPJ staffers want are health and retirement benefits codified, increased pay minimums, and raises. "After a year of negotiations, it's time for a contract at the Committee to Protect Journalists," the petition said.

COVID-19 has obviously been a contributing factor to the extended bargaining.

HBO Max Wednesday delivered a first look trailer for its new documentary series Expecting Amy, which premieres July 9.

The three-part documentary takes a behind-the-scenes look at the pregnancy of actress Amy Schumer while documenting the formation of a comedy special, according to the streaming service. Expecting Amy reveals the challenges of pregnancy, marriage and the execution of a stand-up special, said the service. 

Netflix will present its first comedy festival, “Netflix Is a Joke”,  in Los Angeles this April, the company announced March 2. 

Comedians, such as Dave Chapelle, Kevin Hart, Amy Schumer, are scheduled to perform. The week long festival will take place April 27 through May 3. Chapelle will headline the event at the Hollywood Bowl. 

Wanda Sykes, Rosie O'Donnell and Margaret Cho will host "Stand Out," a showcase of LGBTQ comedians. Dave Letterman will host "That's My Time," which will feature interviews between the comedians and himself. 

The festival will also pay tribute to some of the great comedians of the past at the end of the festival on May 3 called “The Hall” and will be housed at the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, N.Y. George Carlin, Robin Williams and Joan Rivers are among the first to be inducted. 

“It's our honor to transform LA for one week into the funniest place on earth,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix chief content officer in a press release. “...It's a chance for comedy lovers to come together and see their favorite artists as well as discover new ones, and for us to be able to share the electricity and excitement of the festival in Los Angeles with Netflix members around the world.”

Tickets go on sale Friday, March 6. Take a peek at an event promo here:

Comedy Central’s upfront presentation Thursday (March 31), during a busy week for those cable-network gatherings in New York, was definitely the one with the most F-bombs and references to male and female genitalia from onstage presenters.

Amy Schumer’s risqué standup act — referencing certain aspects of her own sex life that can’t be relayed here — set the tone. The Daily Show host Trevor Noah had a naughty take on the current political climate. Comedy Central Roasts host Jeff Ross did a profanity-filled parody of Donald Trump. Broad City’s Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson removed their clothes to reveal nude body suits as the event ended with the network’s on-air stars dressed in bathrobes.

Get more news about The Upfronts.

FX’s upfront gathering Wednesday began with a screening of the upcoming final episode of American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson. Attendees included series stars Courtney B. Vance and John Travolta. FX Networks CEO John Landgraf thanked the various FX and FXX stars and producers who came, saying, “We know that they can make great television … what we don’t know is if they can bowl.” That’s because the night continued with an FX Networks signature bowling party across town from the screening.

Crown Media Family Networks (the two Hallmark channels’ parent), in contrast, entertained about 200 in style Wednesday at the Rainbow Room. Helping Crown CEO Bill Abbott and ad-sales EVP Ed Georger as hosts were Hallmark original-movie stars Lori Loughlin and Candace Cameron Bure. Five for Fighting’s John Ondrasik performed.

When Discovery Communications pitched upcoming slates at a breakfast gathering Thursday, questioners zoomed in on why reality haven TLC had ordered a new Tyler Perry-produced scripted series, Too Close to Home, when those are usually the province of Discovery affiliate OWN. TLC chief Nancy Daniels called it “a big swing,” but said TLC’s audience watches scripted shows elsewhere, so why not on TLC? When a reporter asked if it was easier to control actors in a scripted show than characters in a reality series — TLC is home to such shows as Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and 19 Kids and Counting — Discovery CEO David Zaslav observed that controlling people “is a problem in life in general.” The Wire definitely agrees.

— R. Thomas Umstead

Take Off (My Cable Bill), You Hoser

Barely a month into the Canadian government’s mandated skinny bundle experiment, legislators are warning potential customers that they’re on their own if they expect the new lighter video packages to result in lower pay TV bills.

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission chairman Jean-Pierre Blais told the Globe and Mail newspaper that Canadian consumers wrongly assumed the government was going to cut cable prices when the intention was to provide more choices. If consumers want lower bills, he said, they’re just going to have to haggle with their provider, as he did.

After delivering a speech on anti-spam legislation in Toronto, Blais told the newspaper he was able to slim down his monthly pay TV bill the direct way, by threatening to switch providers.

“Was it easy? No. … You have to keep going up the chain into [the] loyalty program. It requires eff ort,” he said.

“This will take time, and I’ll repeat it again: Canadians will have to do some work,” Blais stressed. “They will have to be ready to at least threaten to change providers.”

The skinny-bundle mandate in Canada took effect on March 1 and is being watched closely to see how popular the new sub-C$25 plans might be with consumers. Canadian providers complied with a variety of packages, but critics said they weren’t well publicized and contained sparsely-viewed channels.

Reports indicate the Canadian regulator had received about 600 complaints from consumers, including those from viewers who found the channels in the skinny packages weren’t compelling

— Mike Farrell

HBO will air an Amy Schumer stand-up comedy special in October, one of several specials the network announced during its Television Critics Association tour session Thursday.

Amy Schumer: Live From Apollo, directed by Chris Rock, will debut Oct. 17, said HBO president Michael Lombardo during the session.

The network will also launch a Sept. 12 special featuring Will Ferrell dubbed Ferrell Takes The Field, in which the comedian visits five baseball fields during spring training. The special, in which Ferrell plays every position on baseball field for ten different teams in the same day, was dedicated to fight against cancer, said the network.

The network will also air a U2 documentary and concert performance over two consecutive weeks in November, Lombardo said.

Cable networks and shows dominated the 2015 Emmy nominations announced Thursday, and there were no shortage of reactions and comments from network executives and celebrities regarding the Emmy accolades.

Below is a compilation of those reactions.

“We’re over the moon that Tatiana (Maslany)’s ground breaking work as no less than seven characters in this unique show has been rewarded with an Emmy nomination. The creative and technical demands of Orphan Black are immense, yet Tatiana manages to craft each character with a depth, nuance and humanity rarely found in one performance, let alone seven!”

--Sarah Barnett, President and General Manager, BBC America

“7 nominees? Clearly men in comedy is SO much more weighty and important than any other sex or category. You’re welcome, America.”

--Don Cheadle, Showtime's House of Lies

“We are thrilled to be nominated for Project Runway as we kick off our 14th season of the show!  Thank you to all of our Project Runway fans!”

-- Heidi Klum, Lifetime's Project Runway

“I’m really honored to be considered again and I’m especially proud of our writers Jeffrey Klarik and David Crane for their well-deserved nomination.  We are all flattered that the voters have kept EPISODES in mind since we were on so early in the year.  A heartfelt thank you to SHOWTIME for all their support these past four seasons.”

--Matt LeBlanc, Showtime's Episodes

“I'm ecstatic about our nominations. It's always a thrill to hear your name, and show, mentioned in such stellar company.”

– Tim Gunn, Lifetime's Project Runway

“We feel so fortunate to have the Academy recognize shows and performances we love and are proud to bring to viewers. In an increasingly crowded and competitive TV landscape, we know how hard creators, casts and everyone associated with these productions work to deliver their best. To have these efforts acknowledged by the industry is something we appreciate and never take for granted."

--Charlie Collier, president of AMC and SundanceTV

We are all ecstatic about the #EmmyNoms for #InsideAmy I am celebrating! #giammati#12angrymen#directing#writing

--Amy Schumer, Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer

Honored to be nominated amidst so much great work. #EmmyNoms

--Jeff Daniels, HBO’s The Newsroom

"#CloneClub & #clonesbians, this bud's for you. Thanks buddies :)"

--Tatiana Maslany, BBC America's Oprhan Black

“Everyone at WGN America thanks the Academy for this recognition, in this our first year in the scripted arena, and we extend our sincere congratulations to Imaginary Forces and our brilliant creative team in Sam Shaw and Tommy Schlamme on this Emmy nomination”

-- Matt Cherniss, President and General Manager, WGN America and Tribune Studios for WGN's Manhattan

“We are truly honored that the TV Academy has once again recognized our original series Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown and The Sixties. We are proud to be in partnership with Tony, and all the folks ZPZ, for their singular series Parts Unknown, and Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Mark Herzog for The Sixties, as well as The Seventies which is currently airing on CNN. On behalf of all of us at CNN, I extend our sincere congratulations to our partners.”

--Jeff Zucker, President, CNN Worldwide.