Abbott Elementary looks to extend its awards season success at next month’s NAACP Image Awards, securing the most nominations in the television category.

The ABC comedy, which won four Golden Globes Awards Tuesday leading all television shows, drew a category-high nine nominations, including nods for Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for Quinta Brunson.

ABC’s Black-ish, which ended its eight-season run in 2022, drew seven nominations. Other shows drawing five or more nominations include Starz’s P-Valley, OWN’s Queen Sugar, Peacock's The Best Man: The Final Chapters, Apple TV Plus’ The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, ABC’s Women of the Movement and Netflix’s From Scratch.

BET will air live coverage of the 54th annual NAACP Image Awards from Pasadena, Calif. The show will take place in front of a live audience for the first time since 2020.

“We take pride in recognizing the trailblazing achievements and artistry of the year’s esteemed nominees and celebrating the powerful legacy of the NAACP,” BET Executive VP of Specials, Music Programming and Music Strategy Connie Orlando said in a statement. “We look forward to bringing the Image Awards back to Pasadena in front of a live audience and delivering unforgettable moments that epitomize the brilliance of the Black community.”

NAACP President Derrick Johnson added: “This year’s nominees have conveyed a wide range of authentic stories and diverse experiences that have resonated with many in our community, and we’re proud to recognize their outstanding achievements and performances.” 

The list of NAACP Image Awards nominees in the television category are as follows:

 Outstanding Comedy Series

Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Atlanta (FX)

black-ish (ABC)

Rap Sh!t (HBO Max)

The Wonder Years (ABC)

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Anderson – black-ish (ABC)

Cedric The Entertainer – The Neighborhood (CBS)

Donald Glover – Atlanta (FX)

Dulé Hill – The Wonder Years (ABC)

Mike Epps – The Upshaws (Netflix)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series

Loretta Devine – Family Reunion (Netflix)

Maya Rudolph – Loot (Apple TV Plus)

Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Tichina Arnold – The Neighborhood (CBS)

Tracee Ellis Ross – black-ish (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Brian Tyree Henry – Atlanta (FX)

Deon Cole – black-ish (ABC)

Kenan Thompson – Saturday Night Live (NBC)

Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

William Stanford Davis – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Janelle James – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Jenifer Lewis – black-ish (ABC)

Marsai Martin – black-ish (ABC)

Sheryl Lee Ralph – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Wanda Sykes – The Upshaws (Netflix)

Outstanding Drama Series

Bel-Air (Peacock)

Bridgerton (Netflix)

Euphoria (HBO Max)

P-Valley (Starz)

Queen Sugar (OWN)

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series

Damson Idris – Snowfall (FX)

Jabari Banks – Bel-Air (Peacock)

Kofi Siriboe – Queen Sugar (OWN)

Nicco Annan – P-Valley (Starz)

Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC)

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series

Angela Bassett – 9-1-1 (FOX)

Brandee Evans – P-Valley (Starz)

Queen Latifah – The Equalizer (CBS)

Rutina Wesley – Queen Sugar (OWN)

Zendaya – Euphoria (HBO Max)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Adrian Holmes – Bel-Air (Peacock)

Amin Joseph – Snowfall (FX)

Caleb McLaughlin – Stranger Things (Netflix)

Cliff “Method Man” Smith – Power Book II: Ghost (Starz)

J. Alphonse Nicholson – P-Valley (Starz)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Adjoa Andoh – Bridgerton (Netflix)

Bianca Lawson – Queen Sugar (OWN)

Loretta Devine – P-Valley (Starz)

Susan Kelechi Watson – This Is Us (NBC)

Tina Lifford – Queen Sugar (OWN)

Outstanding Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special

Carl Weber’s The Black Hamptons (BET Networks)

From Scratch (Netflix)

The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple TV Plus)

Women of the Movement (ABC)

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special

Morris Chestnut – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)

Samuel L. Jackson – The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple TV Plus)

Terrence Howard – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)

Trevante Rhodes – Mike (Hulu)

Wendell Pierce – Don’t Hang Up (Bounce TV)

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special

Niecy Nash-Betts – Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)

Regina Hall – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)

Sanaa Lathan – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)

Viola Davis – The First Lady (Showtime)

Zoe Saldaña – From Scratch (Netflix)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special

Glynn Turman – Women of the Movement (ABC)

Keith David – From Scratch (Netflix)

Omar Benson Miller – The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple TV Plus)

Russell Hornsby – Mike (Hulu)

Terrence “TC” Carson – A Wesley Christmas (AMC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special

Alexis Floyd – Inventing Anna (Netflix)

Danielle Deadwyler – From Scratch (Netflix)

Melissa De Sousa – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)

Nia Long – The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock)

Phylicia Rashad – Little America (Apple TV Plus)

Outstanding News/Information (Series or Special)

Roland Martin Unfiltered: Black Votes Matter Election Night 2022 Coverage (Black Star Network/YouTube)

ABC News 20/20 Michelle Obama: The Light We Carry, A Conversation with Robin Roberts (ABC)

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (PBS)

OWN Spotlight: Viola Davis – The Woman King (OWN)

The Hair Tales (Hulu)

Outstanding Talk Series

Hart to Heart (Peacock)

Red Table Talk (Facebook Watch)

Sherri (Syndicated)

Tamron Hall (ABC)

Uninterrupted: The Shop (YouTube)

Outstanding Reality Program, Reality Competition or Game Show (Series)

Legendary (HBO Max)

Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls (Amazon Studios)

Shark Tank (ABC)

Sweet Life: Los Angeles (HBO Max)

The Real Housewives of Atlanta (Bravo)

Outstanding Variety Show (Series or Special)

A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO Max)

BET Awards 2022 (BET Networks)

Deon Cole: Charleen’s Boy (Netflix)

Martin: The Reunion (BET Networks)

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)

Outstanding Children’s Program

Family Reunion (Netflix)

Raising Dion (Netflix)

Raven’s Home (Disney Plus)

Tab Time (YouTube Originals)

Waffles + Mochi’s Restaurant (Netflix)

Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited-Series)

Alaya “That Girl Lay Lay” High – That Girl Lay Lay (Nickelodeon)

Cameron J. Wright – Family Reunion (Netflix)

Elisha Williams – The Wonder Years (ABC)

Khali Spraggins – The Upshaws (Netflix)

Ja’Siah Young – Raising Dion (Netflix)

Outstanding Host in a Talk or News/Information (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble

Jada Pinkett-Smith, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, Willow Smith – Red Table Talk (Facebook Watch)

Jennifer Hudson – The Jennifer Hudson Show (Syndicated)

Kevin Hart – Hart to Heart (Peacock)

Lester Holt – NBC Nightly News (NBC)

Tracee Ellis Ross – The Hair Tales (Hulu)

Outstanding Host in a Reality/Reality Competition, Game Show or Variety (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble

Keke Palmer – Password (NBC)

Lizzo – Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls (Amazon Studios)

Tabitha Brown – Tab Time (YouTube Originals)

Taraji P. Henson – BET Awards 2022 (BET Networks)

Trevor Noah – The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)

Outstanding Guest Performance

Amanda Gorman – Sesame Street (HBO Max)

Chance the Rapper – South Side (HBO Max)

Colman Domingo – Euphoria (HBO Max)

Glynn Turman – Queen Sugar (OWN)

Gabourey Sidibe – American Horror Stories (FX)

Outstanding Animated Series

Central Park (Apple TV Plus)

Eureka! (Disney Junior)

Gracie’s Corner TV (YouTube)

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (Disney Plus)

Zootopia+ (Disney Plus)

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (Television)

Billy Porter – The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (Disney Plus)

Cedric the Entertainer – The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (Disney Plus)

Chris Bridges – Karma’s World (Netflix)

Cree Summer – Rugrats (Nickelodeon)

Kyla Pratt – The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (Disney Plus)

Outstanding Short Form Series – Comedy or Drama

Between The Scenes – The Daily Show (Comedy Central)

Oh Hell No! With Marlon Wayans (Facebook Watch)

Rise Up, Sing Out (Disney Plus)

Sunday Dinner (Youtube)

Zootopia+ (Disney Plus)

Outstanding Short Form Series or Special – Reality/Nonfiction

Black Independent Films: A Brief History (Turner Classic Movies)

Daring Simone Biles (Snap)

Historian’s Take (PBS)

NFL 360 (NFL Network)

Omitted: The Black Cowboy (ESPN)

Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Television)

Amy Wang – From Scratch (Netflix)

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins – Kindred (FX)

Hannah Cope – Karma’s World (Netflix)

Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Syreeta Singleton – Rap Sh!t (HBO Max)

Outstanding Documentary (Television)

Black Love (OWN)

Everything’s Gonna be All White (Showtime)

Frontline (PBS)

Race:Bubba Wallace (Netflix)

Shaq (HBO Max)

Outstanding Writing in A Comedy Series

Aisha Muharrar -- Hacks (HBO Max)

Ayo Edebiri -- What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Brittani Nichols -- Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Karen Joseph Adcock -- The Bear (FX)

Quinta Brunson -- Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series

Aurin Squire -- The Good Fight (Paramount Plus)

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins -- Kindred (FX)

Davita Scarlett -- The Good Fight (Paramount Plus)

Joshua Allen -- From Scratch (Netflix)

Marissa Jo Cerar -- Women of the Movement (ABC)

Outstanding Writing Television Movie or Special

Bree West -- A Wesley Christmas (BET Networks)

Ian Edelman, Maurice Williams -- Entergalactic (Netflix)

Jerrod Carmichael -- Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel (HBO Max)

Lil Rel Howery -- Lil Rel Howery: I Said It. Y'all Thinking it (HBO Max)

Matt Lopez -- Father of the Bride (HBO Max)

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series

Angela Barnes -- Atlanta (FX)

Bridget Stokes -- A Black Lady Sketch Sow (HBO Max)

Dee Rees -- Upload (Amazon Studios)

Iona Morris Jackson -- black-ish (ABC)

Peter Chatmon -- The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)

Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series

Debbie Allen -- The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey -- Robyn (Apple TV Plus)

Giancarlo Esposito -- Better Call Saul (AMC)

Gina Prince-Blythwood -- Women of the Movement (ABC)

Hanelle Culpepper -- The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey (Apple TV Plus)

Kasi Lemmons -- Women of The Movement (ABC)

Outstanding Directing in a Television Movie Or Special

Anton Cropper -- Fantasy Football (Paramount Plus)

Marta Cunningham -- 61st Street (AMC)

Sujata Day -- Definition Please (Netflix)

Tailiah Breon -- Kirk Franklin's The Night Before Christmas (Lifetime)

Tina Fields -- Soul of a Nation: Screen Queen Rising (ABC)

Two long-running series launch their final seasons while a movie reboot hits the small screen during the first full week of September. 

OWN's drama Queen Sugar debuts its seventh and final season on September 6. The Ava DuVernay-created series will conclude the exploits of a Louisiana family who come together to run their father's sugarcane farm after his untimely death.

Paramount Plus on September 8 will debut the sixth and final season of the legal drama The Good Fight. The series, a spinoff of CBS' The Good Wife, stars Christine Baranski.

Showtime on September 11 will premiere American Gigolo, based on the 1980's film of the same name starring Richard Gere. Julian Kaye takes over the lead role in the eight-episode series. 

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for multiple shows debuting the week of  September 6 to September 11 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

September 7 – Tell Me Lies (drama ) – Hulu

September 7 – Ink Master (returning series) -- Paramount Plus

September 8 – The Anthrax Attacks: In the Shadow (documentary) – Netflix

September 8 – Cars on The Road (animation) – Disney Plus

September 8 – Pinocchio (movie) – Disney Plus

September 9 – Cobra Kai (returning series) – Netflix

September 9 – Gutsy (documentary series) – Apple TV Plus

September 11 – The Serpent Queen (drama) – Starz

OWN tonight (September 6) will debut the seventh and final season of its Ava DuVernay-created original drama series Queen Sugar.

The series, which initially debuted on OWN in 2016, follows the lives of three Bordelon family siblings initially brought together by the death of their father and the future of the family's Louisiana-based farm.

DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey served as executive producers for the series, which was based on the 2014 novel of the same name by Natalie Baszile. Throughout its seven-seasons, Queen Sugar featured an all female directing staff, with more than three dozen women directors working on the series during its entire 88-episode run, according to the network.

During the Television Critics Association press tour last month, DuVernay -- who directed the show's final episode -- said that she accomplished her goals in bringing Queen Sugar to television.

Also: Execs, Talent Talk Diversity at CTAM TCA 

“As I walked off the set that final day directing the final episode of the final season, I felt deeply satisfied,” DuVernay said. “I did not feel sad … I didn’t feel like something was being lost. I felt the whole story was gained and it was a beautiful end.”

Queen Sugar stars Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Bianca Lawson and Kofi Siriboe, with Glynn Turman and Sharon Lawrence appearing as guest stars in season seven. Along with DuVernay and Winfrey, the series is executive produced by Paul Garnes and Anthony Sparks. ■ 

Inclusivity both in front of and behind the camera was a recurring theme during the August 8 to August 12 CTAM-produced portion of the Television Critics Association virtual summer tour as cable and streaming services showcased a bevy of BIPOC-themed scripted series and movies while addressing diversity issues within the TV industry.

The newly rebranded Hallmark Media (formerly Crown Media Family Networks) unveiled details regarding its African-American targeted Mahogany movie franchise, which includes the August 28 launch of its first original movie, Unthinkably Good Things. Mahogany senior VP of programming Toni Judkins said the franchise  – based on Hallmark’s 34 year-old Mahogany greetings card brand targeting African-Americans – will continue to follow the earmarks of traditional Hallmark movies, but will be told from the authentic, unique lens of Black women.

Hallmark will launch two additional Mahogany movies in 2022, including one holiday film, according to Hallmark executive VP of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly. 

“What was important was to fuse essential elements of the Hallmark brand with the Mahogany brand,” Judkins said. “The pillars of what Mahogany is … are sisterhood, friendship, connection and community.” 

The Mahogany films will also feature diverse talent both in front of and behind the camera, a combination which industry executives speaking at TCA say is still too rare. 

That dynamic however, can be seen in OWN’s original series Queen Sugar, which will launch its seventh and final season on September 6. The Ava DuVernay-produced series has featured more than three dozen female directors over its seven-season run, according to the network. 

DuVernay said when she started the series few television shows featured female directors, but after seven successful seasons of going against the grain and constantly pushing to have a female-exclusive directing team, it has now become more commonplace for women of color to prominently sit in the director’s chair.

“No one would ever need to do that now because you will be looked at sideways if you don’t have any women directing,” she said. “To have been there … when it was scorned and ridiculed, to the time now where it’s pretty much, ‘yeah, you got to include a lady somewhere in there,’ is a remarkable thing.” 

Starz has also announced a continued commitment to work with directors and writers of color for several upcoming series. On the heels of renewing its original series Raising Kanan – the third series in the Courtney Kemp-created Power franchise – for a third season, the premium network announced it will team with producers DuVernay and Tanya Saracho on new original series as well as musical artists Ne-Yo and Christina Milian on a new “premium take” on the Step Up movie franchise, according to network President of Original Programming Kathryn Busby. 

The shows follow earlier Starz announcements regarding new series from Marlon Wayans (Book of Marlon) and Dear White People producers Steven J. Kung and Justen Simien. 

Several streaming services also showcased new and diverse programming. Amazon Prime Video offered a look at a British-based series Jungle, which follows the  struggles and perspectives of several connected strangers uniquely told through hip hop and drill music. Executive produced by Junior Okoli and Chas Appeti, Jungle debuts September 30 on the service.

During BET Plus’s presentation for the second season of its Emmy-nominated comedy series The Ms. Pat Show, series co-creator Jordan Cooper said that services like BET Plus have opened up new avenues for diverse content to make it to the screen, offering greater editorial freedom and control to tell stories in a manner that might not be acceptable on traditional linear channels.

“I think that more is going to come from other artists who are going to come in and shake the table up a bit because we don’t want to see the same old stuff that we’ve seen for the past 50 years,” he said. 

Recently launched Spanish-language subscription streaming service ViX Plus showcased during TCA two of its new original shows – drama series Marea Alta and the Salma Hayek-produced film Quiero Tu Vida – as part of the TelevisaUnivision-owned service’s 10,000 hours of novelas, sports and other entertainment  offerings and 70 original series and movies it plans to offer during its first operating year. 

“There are almost 600 million people in the world who speak Spanish, and yet only a fraction of the global streamers’ content is originally produced in Spanish,” Vix Plus Executive Vice President and general manager Rodrico Mazon said. “We know Hispanic audiences everywhere are hungry to stream more native Spanish language content – this is why we are investing a massive amount of incremental dollars in original content and sports rights, above and beyond our existing linear businesses.” 

Allen Media Group and The Weather Channel chairman and CEO Byron Allen took the issue of onscreen inclusion a step further during AMG’s Thursday panel session by saying diversity in ownership is key to greater, inclusive representation on the small screen. Allen said it’s imperative for the industry to push for an environment that welcomes unfiltered voices and perspectives. 

“I think we have a situation where we do not have enough diversity and ownership – [women and people of color] do not own enough of the media outlets to control their image and how they are produced and depicted,” Allen said. “Until we have a stronger representation of diversity and ownership, we don’t have a true democracy.”■

Production on the final episode of Queen Sugar has begun in and around New Orleans. Ava DuVernay created Queen Sugar. She directed the pilot, and is directing the series finale too. 

The seventh and final season is on OWN this fall.

Over the course of its seven seasons, Queen Sugar has employed 42 women to direct episodes of the show, a DuVernay objective, with 39 of those being first-time scripted television directors in the United States. The final season welcomes seven directors from previous seasons, including DuVernay, Kat Candler, Stacey Muhammad, showrunner Shaz Bennett, Patricia Cardoso, Aurora Guerrero and DeMane Davis. 

The series is based on the book by Natalie Baszile and is about three siblings in rural Louisiana dealing with their father’s sudden death and the fate of his sugarcane farm. 

Rutina Wesley, Dawn-Lyen Gardner and Kofi Siriboe are in the cast. Guest stars for season seven include Glynn Turman, Tracie Thoms, Greg Vaughan and Sharon Lawrence. 

Queen Sugar is produced by DuVernay’s ARRAY Filmworks and Harpo Films in association with Warner Bros. Television. Executive producers are DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey, Paul Garnes and Shaz Bennett. 

All previous seasons of Queen Sugar are on Hulu. ■

Two comedy shows ending their runs this season, HBO’s Insecure and ABC’s Black-ish, highlighted the list of NAACP Image Awards winners in the television and streaming category Saturday night during the organization’s live ceremony on BET.

Insecure, which ended its fifth and final season in December, won three NAACP Image awards, including best comedy series. Black-ish – which will complete its eighth and final season in May – also took home three awards in the comedy category, including a seventh award for Anthony Anderson in the best actor in a comedy series category. OWN’s Queen Sugar, which will air its seventh and final season later this year, took top honors in the best drama category. 

The NAACP Image Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color.

Netflix earned the most wins in the television category with six, led by its documentary series Colin in Black and White, which won two Image Awards. The streaming service also took home six Image Awards in the motion picture category, including a best movie statuette for its western-theme drama The Harder They Fall.

HBO, ABC, NBC, Starz, Facebook Watch, Comedy Central and Paramount Plus were among the networks and streaming services generating multiple NAACP Image Awards wins. 

Also: 'Succession,' 'Ted Lasso' Win Top TV SAG Awards 

The 53rd annual NAACP Image Awards winners in the television and streaming categories are as follows:  

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 Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Deon Cole, “black-ish” (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Natasha Rothwell, “Insecure” (HBO)

Outstanding Drama Series

“Queen Sugar” (OWN)

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series

Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us” (NBC)

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series

Angela Bassett, “9-1-1” (Fox)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Cliff “Method Man” Smith, “Power Book II: Ghost” (Starz)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Mary J. Blige, “Power Book II: Ghost” (Starz)

Outstanding Television Movie, Limited Series or Dramatic Special

“Colin in Black & White” (Netflix)

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Limited Series or Dramatic Special

Kevin Hart, “True Story” (Netflix)

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Limited Series or Dramatic Special

Taraji P. Henson, “Annie Live!” (NBC)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Television Movie, Limited Series or Dramatic Special

Courtney B. Vance, “Genius: Aretha” (National Geographic)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie, Limited Series or Dramatic Special

Regina Hall, “Nine Perfect Strangers” (Hulu)

Outstanding News/Information (series or special)

“The Reidout” (MSNBC)

Outstanding Talk Series

“Red Table Talk” (Facebook Watch)

Outstanding Reality Program, Reality Competition or Game Show (Series)

“Wild n’ Out” (VH1)

Outstanding Variety Show (Series or Special)

“The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)

Outstanding Children’s Program

“Family Reunion” (Netflix)

Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited Series)

Miles Brown, “black-ish” (ABC)

Outstanding Host in a Talk or News/Information (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble

Jada Pinkett Smith, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, Willow Smith, “Red Table Talk” (Facebook Watch)

Outstanding Host in a Reality/Reality Competition, Game Show or Variety (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble

Trevor Noah, “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)

Outstanding Guest Performance

Maya Rudolph, “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

Outstanding Animated Series

“We the People” (Netflix)

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance (Television)

Cree Summer, “Rugrats” (Paramount Plus)

Outstanding Short Form Series – Comedy or Drama

“Between the Scenes – The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)

Outstanding Short-Form Series or Special – Reality/Nonfiction

“Lynching Postcards: “Token of a Great Day” (MTV Documentary Films/Paramount Plus)

Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Television)

Angel Kristi Williams, “Colin in Black & White” (Netflix)

Outstanding Documentary (Television)

“High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America” (Netflix) ■ 

OWN’s Ava DuVernay-produced drama series Queen Sugar will end in 2022 with its seventh season, the network said on the eve of the show’s sixth season finale.

The series, created by DuVernay and launched in 2016, follow the exploits of the Bordelons, an African-American family with ties to the Deep South. The finale of the 10-episode sixth season of Queen Sugar airs tonight (Nov. 16).

“To everything, there is a season. And my producing partner Paul Garnes and I have had seven gorgeous seasons making Queen Sugar with a remarkable cast and crew, alongside our partners at OWN and Warner Bros. Television,” DuVernay said in a statement. “To write and produce seven seasons of a modern drama centered on a Black family is a radical act in our industry and a triumph that has far exceeded every hope I held. Now I feel strongly that the story, which began as a sunrise of a suggestion from Oprah [Winfrey] is ready for its sunset as a dream fully realized. Queen Sugar has been one of the true joys of my career and my gratitude is buoyant and boundless.” 

Also: Review -- Ava DuVernay's 'Colin In Black and White'

OWN CEO Tina Perry added: Queen Sugar is a truly extraordinary series brought to life by Ava’s leadership, her brilliant creative team, and the incredible cast and crew. Our audience has seen themselves reflected with nuance and care through the story of the Bordelon family, including their triumphs and challenges, and most importantly, the love they have for each other through it all. Queen Sugar has been an unparalleled success for OWN, garnering critical acclaim, awards recognition, and a loyal and dedicated audience. We are so grateful for Ava’s partnership and are looking forward to a fantastic final season.”

Queen Sugar stars Kofi Siriboe, Bianca Lawson, Rutina Wesley, McKinley Freeman, and Dawn-Lyen Gardner. The series is executive produced by DuVernay, Garnes, Winfrey and Anthony Sparks. ■

FX's latest edition of its American Crime Story anthology series headlines a busy week of series premieres.

Impeachment: American Crime Story launches Sept. 7 and chronicles the events leading up to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton amid the Monica Lewinsky scandal, said the network. The series stars Clive Owen, Sarah Paulson, Edie Falco and Beanie Feldstein.  

Returning series premiering this week include Netflix's Lucifer, which debuts its sixth and final season on Sept. 10, and OWN's Queen Sugar, which returns for its sixth season on Sept. 7.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting the week of Sept. 7 to Sept. 12 on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

Sept. 7 -- On The Verge (drama) -- Netflix

Sept. 8 -- Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. (drama) -- Disney Plus

Sept. 8 -- Wu-Tang: An American Saga (drama) -- Hulu

Sept. 9 -- All the Queen’s Men (drama) -- BET Plus

Sept. 9 -- Frogger (game show) -- Peacock

Sept. 9 -- Kin (drama) -- AMC Plus

Sept. 10 -- Come From Away (musical) -- Apple TV Plus

Sept. 10 -- The Smurfs (animation) -- Nickelodeon

Sept. 10 -- The Voyeurs (thriller) -- Prime Video

Sept. 10 -- Malignant (horror movie) -- HBO Max

Sept. 12 -- American Rust (drama) -- Showtime

Sept. 12 -- Scenes From a Marriage (drama) -- HBO

OWN will debut the sixth season of its original drama series Queen Sugar on Sept. 7, the network said Tuesday. 

The series, executive produced by Ava DuVernay, continues to follow the exploits of the Bordelons, an African-American family in the Deep South who in the upcoming season will look to reclaim their lives coming out of the pandemic, according to the network. 

Read Also: Warner Bros. Discovery Sets Sights on 200 Million Sub Mark 

Queen Sugar stars Kofi Siriboe, Bianca Lawson, Rutina Wesley, McKinley Freeman, and Dawn-Lyen Gardner. Along with DuVernay, the series is executive produced by Oprah Winfrey, Paul Garnes and Anthony Sparks.

The month of February rolls along with several returning series hitting airwaves this week. 

OWN on Feb. 16 will debut season five of its Ava DuVernay-produced drama series Queen Sugar, while Freeform on Feb. 17 will bring back its drama series Good Trouble for its third campaign. 

Also premiering this week is Hulu’s highly-touted movie Nomadland, which stars Frances McDormand as a woman who leaves her small town to travel the country. The film debuts on Hulu and in theaters on Feb. 19.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting the week of Feb.16 to Feb. 21) on cable networks and streaming services (for some videos, viewer discretion is advised):

Feb. 16 -- Temptation Island (reality) -- USA

Feb. 17 -- Amend: The Fight for America (documentary) -- Netflix

Feb. 18 -- The March on Washington: Keepers of the Dream (documentary) -- National Geographic

Feb. 18 -- It’s a Sin (drama) -- HBO Max

Feb. 19 -- I Care a Lot (movie) -- Netflix

Feb. 19 -- For All Mankind (returning series) -- Apple TV+

Feb. 19 -- Tell Me Your Secrets (drama) -- Prime Video

Feb. 21 -- Supervillian: The Making of Tekashl 61x9lne (music) -- Showtime

Feb. 21-- Allen v. Farrow (miniseries) -- HBO

 OWN has given a sixth season renewal to its drama series Queen Sugar ahead of the show’s fifth season premiere, the network said Thursday.

The Ava DuVernay-produced series, which will premiere its fifth season on Feb. 16, will launch its sixth campaign later in 2021, according to the network. The series, which portrays an African-American family in the Deep South, stars Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Rutina Wesley, Nicholas Ashe, Greg Vaughn, Kofi Siriboe, Ethan Hutchinson and Bianca Lawson. 

OWN executives said season five of Queen Sugar will tackle head-on the COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter protest movement that swept the country, and corruption in politics to showcase the specific impact and ramifications these issues have on communities and people of color. 

“When Ava came to us with the idea to revamp the storyline for the new season after production was halted due to the pandemic, we knew it was the right decision to give our viewers her unique perspective on the very real issues impacting their daily lives and the affect the demand for racial equality has had on the Black community and our society as a whole,” said Tina Perry, president, OWN in a statement. “We are proud to announce today the pickup of the show’s sixth season which will air later this year enabling us to further explore the compelling story of the Bordelon family. We are grateful to Ava, her creative team, the incredible cast and tireless crew for all the hard work they have put into the show.”

Read Also: 'SuperSoul' With Oprah on Discovery Plus 

OWN will bring back its Ava DuVernay-produced drama series Queen Sugar for a fifth season, the network said Thursday.

The Warner Horizon Scripted Television-produced drama --which will return in 2020 -- is currently averaging 1.6 million total viewers for season four, and is the most watched original series across all of broadcast and cable among total viewers and African-American women, according to OWN. Current season four showrunner Anthony Sparks will return for the fifth season.

RELATED: Tina Perry Makes OWN's Ambitions Clear

“Every character feels like family, said OWN CEO Oprah Winfrey. “I am excited to see what Ava has unfolding next for the Bordelons.”

Added DuVernay: ““I’m thrilled to further explore the beauty, pain and triumph of this African-American family, with hopes that their story will continue to resonate with audiences who see themselves in the Bordelons. It’s a real honor to create this work with Warner Horizon and OWN as their support is rock-solid and wonderful.”

A slew of new and returning series on deck this week to premiere on cable and streaming services.

On June 16 HBO premieres its new drama Euphoria starring Zendaya, while Showtime debuts its crime drama City On The Hill. The first episode of the series, which stars Kevin Bacon and Aldis Hodge (pictured), is already available online.

With regard to returning shows, OWN debuts the fourth season of its drama series Queen Sugar on June 12 while Netflix premieres the third and final season of Netflix’s series Marvel’s Jessica Jones.

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

June 10 -- Straight Forward (drama series) – Acorn Tv

June 11 – Pose (returning series) –FX

June 11 – Ice On Fire (documentary) – HBO

June 12 – Krypton (returning series) – Syfy

June 12 – Younger (returning series) – TV Land

June 13 – Baskets (returning series) – FX

June 13 – Strange Angel (drama series) – CBS All Access

June 14 – Absentia (retuning series) – Prime Video

June 14 – 16 Shots (documentary) – Showtime

June 14 – Jett (drama series) – Cinemax

June 14 – Los Espookys (comedy series) – HBO

June 14 – Murder Mystery (comedy movie) – Netflix

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network has renewed its Ava DuVernay-produced drama series Queen Sugar, the network announced Wednesday.

The network greenlit a fourth season of the series -- executive produced by DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey, Kat Candler and Paul Garnes – prior to the Aug. 22 third season finale, according to network officials. The network also said that Anthony Sparks will serve as showrunner/executive producer for season four.

The third season of Queen Sugar premiered May 29 delivering over two million viewers and on average ranks as the top show in its time period across all cable in the network’s key women 25-54 demo (L+3), said Nielsen. 

“Under Ava’s creative vision and leadership, Queen Sugar continues to earn a well-deserved reputation for depicting nuanced characters, rich storylines and establishing an inclusive team that inspires and ignites much needed conversations about our society today,” said Erik Logan, president, OWN in a statement. “We are very proud of this show, the incredible cast, producers and crew, and can’t wait for more of the Bordelon family in season four.”

Last month, Emmy Award-winning director Ava DuVernay — in accepting the NAACP Image Award for Entertainer of the Year — saluted by name several of her fellow African-American directors and producers currently helming cable, broadcast and streaming TV series, before stating a sentiment felt by most everyone in the packed Los Angeles auditorium: “This is our time.”

Arguably, at no point in the history of television has the influence of African-American women been felt so much, both in front of and behind the camera. Scripted series, movies and documentaries created by African-American women are making a lot of noise as the ranks of actresses, directors, writers and producers continue to increase across all platforms.

From DuVernay’s OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network-produced series Queen Sugar to HBO’s sophomore comedy show Insecure from star/producer Issa Rae to Courtney Kemp’s successful Starz series Power and Lena Waithe’s new Showtime drama The Chi — which received a second-season commitment last week — black women are getting a chance to tell their stories from the screen, the director’s chair and the writing room.

Related:Keeping TV One in Front on the Movement|Black History Month: What to Watch

‘Black Women Are Amazing’
“The world is catching up to what we knew all along; black women are amazing, and they create powerful characters on-screen,” Connie Orlando, executive vice president and head of programming for BET Networks, said. “It’s much more than a movement — I think the world is finally seeing the talent black women have, as well as the breadth of stories that we haven’t told yet and need to be told.”

Some of those African-American female-helmed shows have gone on to win hardware for their creators during the recent wave of industry awards shows.

• Along with her Image Awards accolade, DuVernay earned an Emmy Award last September for her Netflix documentary 13th.
• Waithe was the first African-American woman to win an Emmy for outstanding writing for a comedy series for her work on Netflix’s comedy series Master of None.
• Kemp’s Power took home three NAACP Image Awards, while Janine Sherman Barrois (TNT’s Claws) and Gina Prince-Bythewood (Fox’s Shots Fired) won Image Awards for outstanding writing.

Shows directed and produced by or featuring African-American women in lead roles continue to proliferate on the television landscape — and not just on African-American targeted networks BET and TV One.

General entertainment networks like WE tv, OWN, VH1 and Bravo have developed both scripted and reality content featuring black female stories and images — from Braxton Family Values to Greenleaf to Love & Hip Hop to Real Housewives of Atlanta, respectively — that have resonated with viewers across all demos.

“If this were 20 years ago, people would say, ‘Well, there’s Issa Rae, and that’s all we need,’ ” Phoebe Robinson, co-executive producer and co-host of HBO’s comedy special 2 Dope Queens, said. “But now Insecure can exist along with [theatrical film] Girls Night Out and 2 Dope Queens. This is a great time for creative content and I just think it will keep changing for the better.”

MCN Original Video: Content Spotlight on '2 Dope Queens'

And, as the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements continue to affect change within the entertainment industry, African-American women are increasing their own numbers on the small screen.

Black female actresses in speaking roles comprised 19% of all female lead roles during the 2016-17 TV season, up from 16% in 2015-16, according to the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film.

Black women were well-represented within the 13% of African-Americans directing television episodes during the 2016-17 season, part of a record 22% of all television episodes directed by people from ethnic minority groups during the period, according to the Directors Guild of America.

Actress China Anne McClain (Disney Channel’s Descendants 2) said she sees a change in the environment as more acting opportunities are becoming available to African-American actresses.

“I really hope it’s not just a trend,” said McClain, who currently stars in The CW’s superhero series Black Lightning. “I hope it’s a movement that’s actually changing because it’s very important to represent real life on television.”

MCN Original Video: One-on-One in 2 With China Anne McClain

The recent success of African-American women behind the scenes in particular has yielded unprecedented long-term development deals. In August 2017, Netflix shocked the television world by luring prolific showrunner Shonda Rhimes away from ABC — where she developed the network’s successful Thursday-night lineup of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder — and signing her to a multiyear production deal.

Starz last May signed Power creator Kemp to an exclusive, multiyear development deal. Starz programming president Carmi Zlotnik compared Kemp to veteran broadcast TV producer David E. Kelley — a “full-package” showrunner with multiple talents.

Heading into its fifth season this summer, Power — led by Kemp and co-creator Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson — is not just the most watched show among African-American viewers on premium cable. It also is the third highest-rated premium show behind HBO’s Game of Thrones and Ballers, according to Starz.

Kemp “has transcended the role of writer to become a showrunner in the sense that she’s got the creative ability, she’s now got the management ability and she’s a great spokesperson for her show,” Zlotnik said. “Those three things make up the trifecta to me, and you don’t always get those altogether.”

Zlotnik said there will be more high-profile development deals with African-American female producers and directors similar to those for Kemp and Rhimes, as the industry looks to capitalize on the appeal of diverse stories and images.

“I think we’re going through a sea change where inclusion and empowerment are expectations, not special gifts,” the Starz executive said. “I think that it’s not just because the industry sees the social benefit, but I think they see the business benefit.”

That certainly rings true in looking at overall viewership trends for television content. Adult African-American women watch 51 hours, 36 minutes of television a week, well above the 36 hours, 38 minutes viewed by all adult women, per Nielsen’s recent African-American Diverse Intelligence Report.

Further, African-American women gravitate toward TV shows with celebrities or multidimensional characters of color, with all top-rated cable and broadcast shows among black women featuring either predominately black casts or a black lead.

Show like Fox’s Empire and OWN’s The Haves and The Have Nots, for example, rank among the top five highest-rated shows among the group, according to the report.

“This audience hadn’t been spoken to in the way that they’re being spoken to today,” said OWN president Erik Logan. “Reaching [African-American women] was one of the driving factors for why Oprah wanted to have a network, and I think if you look at the success that we’re having by talking to that audience and others are having by trying to speak to that audience as well, I don’t see that there’s going to be a day or time where that just goes away.”

OWN has three shows among the top 10 most-watched shows among black women during the 2016-17 season: The Haves and the Have Nots; the DuVernay/Winfrey-produced drama Queen Sugar; and If Loving You Is Wrong, according to Nielsen.

With other targeted shows like the drama Greenleaf, which features Winfrey in a recurring role, as well as OWN’s new relationship dramedy series Love Is ___, Logan said the network is well positioned to effectively reach an audience that distributors will continue to covet going forward.

“We now are creating content for a segment of women — specifically African-American women — who watch a lot of television and have not seen themselves on the screen in the way that they are seeing themselves now,” Logan said. “By continuing the relationship that we have with them and continuing to put programming on so that they can see themselves, it’s going to be one of the driving factors of OWN’s success in the coming years.”

BET last September rebranded its Centric TV network as BET Her, the first cable network primarily targeting African-American women. It’s the perfect platform to develop original content for that audience, including the return of the Queen Latifah-produced docuseries From the Bottom Up, Orlando said.

“It serves as the focal point for current events, given the moment that we’re in right now in entertainment with #MeToo, and we have big plans for the network’s original content,” Orlando said.

Lots of Project Activity Now
A number of projects created and produced by African-American women have recently launched or are slated to debut later this year on cable, including TV One’s documentary series Two Sides from Emmy award-winning actress Viola Davis, as well as upcoming projects from Power’s Kemp (ABC’s Get Christie Love), Mara Brock Akil (OWN’s Love Is ___) and Misha Green (HBO’s Lovercraft Country).

Also, the pool of talented African-American women actresses, producers, writers, directors and showrunners will also expand as opportunities open up on all platforms.

2 Dope Queens’s Robinson said that streaming services such as Netflix and YouTube are also providing opportunities for African-American women to showcase their talents. The 2 Dope Queens format, hosted by Robinson and Jessica Williams, started as a podcast before HBO picked it as a four-part special; part one debute on Feb. 2.

“What’s great is now instead of waiting for the gatekeepers to choose what goes in front of viewers, we have choices,” Robinson said.

Added BET’s Orlando: “Now that these women have a chance to tell their stories there’s no turning back because you can’t deny the quality and the commitment of these talented women in front of and behind the camera.”

ESPN’s NFL Monday Night Football dominated African-American viewing for the week of Nov. 6 to Nov. 12 – one of four programs from the sports network to finish in the top 10, according to Nielsen. 

ESPN’s Nov. 6 coverage of the Green Bay Packers-Detroit Lions game drew 1.7 million African-American viewers, topping all cable shows for the week. ESPN’s Nov. 11 Alabama–Mississippi State college football game finished 6th for the week, while its two Nov. 8 live NBA game telecasts finished in the 8th and 9th spot respectively, according to Nielsen.

Bravo’s Nov. 12 episode of Real Housewives Of Atlanta was second for the week, followed by VH1’s Nov. 6 Love And Hip Hop show and OWN’s Nov. 7 episode of If Loving You Is Wrong.

Bravo’s freshman series Xscape Still Kickin It finished fifth with its Nov. 12 episode. OWN’s Nov. 8 Queen Sugar show finished in 7th place, and TNT’s Nov. 9 NBA basketball telecast rounded out the top 10, according to Nielsen.

When actor/producer Tyler Perry announced he would no longer produce scripted shows for OWN after signing an exclusive production deal with Viacom’s networks beginning in 2019, many predicted OWN would pull back from the scripted arena. Instead OWN, under the leadership of network owner Oprah Winfrey, is doubling down on scripted programming.

Along with renewing its Winfrey starrer series Greenleaf and its Winfrey/Ava DuVernay co-produced series Queen Sugar for new seasons, OWN has teamed with creative heavyweights such as Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil, DuVernay and Will Packer to develop new series targeted to African-American women.

OWN president Erik Logan recently spoke to Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead about the loss of original scripted series from Perry, as well as the network’s plan to create new content. Here’s an edited excerpt of their conversation.

MCN:How big is the loss of the Tyler Perry scripted shows to OWN in terms of the network’s development of original scripted series?
Erik Logan: First of all, it’s still business as usual with Tyler — we have him on the air for many more years. He’s been a big part of what we’re doing and we’re going to continue to be in business with him under his exclusivity through May 2019, and we have the right to work with him beyond that on a nonexclusive basis. So we’re not viewing anything as a loss; we’re looking at it as an opportunity to grow our programming with other shows as we pivot into this new era of scripted programming for OWN.

MCN:How important is the scripted genre for the OWN brand?
EL: Obviously, we launched originals through the unscripted space before adding Tyler’s scripted content in 2013. Then Oprah had some thoughts about how she wanted to develop some new vehicles to tell a different story, and that’s when Greenleaf and Queen Sugar came about. Because of the success of those shows, we now have four of the top six scripted shows [among African-American female audiences] in all of cable today. And what that does is, it gives you a tremendous amount of confidence to keep leaning into that type of storytelling, and that led us to having more discussions with other content producers.

Oprah had always wanted to work with Mara and Salim Akil and that deal came together, which was tremendous. Then we had more conversations which led to this amazing opportunity with Will Packer, and Will talks to a different type of audience because Will has his way of telling stories. Then the success with Ava [DuVernay] that we have had with Queen Sugar — which led to the season three [renewal], and also to Harpo Films having an overall deal with Ava — gives us access to more creative. So the way we look at it is we’re going to invest in scripted shows.

MCN:In this crowded environment of 450-plus scripted shows, how important is it for OWN and other networks to have high-profile producers behind scripted products to help cut through the clutter?
EL: I think you know having big hit shows requires a lot of things. It requires an exceptional showrunner; it requires a tremendous writer’s room; it requires a flawless execution — all of the things that we know. When we start the creative process with Oprah, she says to people like Ava, like Mara and Will Packer that this is a place for creatives to really have the freedom to tell the stories that they want to tell. Because Oprah’s part of the alchemy that makes the stories work, we’re able to clearly shine a light on who our audience is, and focusing very specifically on our audience is how we cut through the clutter. We cut through by knowing who we’re talking to and how we’re talking to them.

That’s the reason why we are bullish about this new era that we’re moving into. Because of Oprah, Ava and the work that Tyler has done laying that foundation for us for all those years, scripted will continue to be a part of what we do; Mara has the opportunity to build from there and so does Will. So you know, it really is a very interesting mix of creative people that we have brought together and it all sort of feeds on one another.

MCN:Will Oprah become more involved in the development of these shows, either in front of or behind the camera?
EL: Oprah will weigh in on where she wants to be and how she wants to be. That’s what has been so exciting with this process — you know she can move in and out of any show that she wishes. She works directly with Ava on Queen Sugar and directly with Craig Wright on Greenleaf. So you know Oprah really gets involved with these creative people to establish the expectations of what our viewers want to see. A key part of this is making sure we have stories, imagery, narratives so that our target 25-54 African-American female can see themselves on our air in a way they haven’t before. So getting that right is why we continue to move into this new era of premium scripted cable.

OWN will launch the second season of its drama series Queen Sugar in June, the network announced Thursday.

The two-night, season two debut of the series, created by Ava DuVernay and executively produced by Oprah Winfrey, will launch on June 20 and June 21 before settling in on its weekly Wednesday timeslot, said the network.

The network along with Queen Sugar producer Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution also announced that Hulu will stream the first season of the series beginning April 21, with subsequent seasons will becoming available to stream following their initial season run on OWN.

ABC’s comedy series Black-ish was the big winner at Saturday night’s NAACP Image Awards event.

The comedy series racked up six NAACP Image Awards – which celebrates the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film. The series swept the comedy category, winning for best comedy as well as a best actress in a comedy statuette for Tracee Ellis Ross and a best comedy actor award for Anthony Anderson, who also hosted the Awards telecast that aired live on TV One.

OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network’s Queen Sugar won the award for best drama series, while FX’s The People V. O.J. Simpson was topped all challengers in the Outstanding Television Movie, Limited-Series, or Dramatic Special category.

Overall ABC led all networks with seven awards wins, with OWN, Starz, Fox, FX, History and BET all winning multiple NAACP Image awards.

The NAACP Image Awards winners in the major television categories are as follows:

Outstanding Comedy Series

Black-ish (ABC)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series

Tracee Ellis Ross – “Black-ish” (ABC)

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Anderson – “Black-ish” (ABC)

 Outstanding Drama Series

Queen Sugar – (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)

 Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series

Sterling K. Brown – “This Is Us” (NBC)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series

Taraji P. Henson – “Empire” (Fox)

 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Laurence Fishburne – “`black-ish” (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Tichina Arnold  - “Survivor’s Remorse” (Starz)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Jussie Smollett - “Empire” (FOX)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Naturi Naughton - “Power” (Starz)

Outstanding Television Movie, Limited-Series, or Dramatic Special

“The People v. O.J. Simpson:  American Crime Story” (FX)

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Limited-Series, or Dramatic Special

Courtney B. Vance - “The People v. O.J. Simpson:  American Crime Story” (FX)

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Limited-Series, or Dramatic Special

Regina King - “American Crime” (ABC)

Outstanding News/Information (Series or Special)

“BET Love and Happiness White House Special” (BET)

 Outstanding Talk Series

“Steve Harvey” (Syndicated)

 Outstanding Reality Program/Reality Competition Series

“Iyanla:  Fix My Life” (OWN)

Outstanding Variety (Series or Special)

“2016 Black Girls Rock” (BET)

Outstanding Children’s Program

“An American Girl Story – Melody 1963:  Love Has to Win”(Amazon)

 Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited-Series)

Marsai Martin - “`black-ish” (ABC)

 Outstanding Host in a News, Talk, Reality, or Variety Program (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble

Roland S. Martin - “NewsOne Now with Roland S. Martin”(TV One)

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series

Kenya Barris - “`black-ish” – Hope (ABC) 

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series

Donald Glover - “Atlanta” – Value (FX)

 Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series

John Singleton - “The People v. O.J. Simpson:  American Crime Story” – The Race Card (FX)

 Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture (Television)

Rick Famuyiwa - “Confirmation” (HBO)

 Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series

Ava DuVernay - “Queen Sugar” – First Things First (OWN) 

 Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture (Television) 

Charles Murray – “Roots” - Night 3 (History)

Outstanding Documentary - (Film)

“13TH” (Netflix)

Outstanding Documentary - (Television)

“Roots:  A New Vision” (History)

On Jan. 8, actor and director Donald Glover was onstage at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles accepting the best comedy series Golden Globe Award for FX’s freshman series Atlanta, for which he was a first-time executive producer.

Glover, who would also win the Globe for best actor in a comedy series, thanked the “the black folks” in Atlanta for being “amazing people.”

What’s been amazing for the television industry is the infusion of young, African- American executive producers and creators like Glover who have created popular scripted programming with diverse images and storylines that, until just a few years ago, had been rarely seen on the small screen.

Whether its Selma producer Ava DuVernay examining the complex lives of estranged Louisiana siblings in OWN’s Queen Sugar, rapper 50 Cent and Courtney Kemp Agboh exploring the double life of a club owner who’s also a drug kingpin in Starz’s drama series Power, or Internet sensation Issa Rae keeping it real about the lives of single black women in HBO’s freshman comedy series Insecure, African-American creators and producers are stepping up to the plate and delivering quality, unfiltered programming with broad appeal to a cross section of viewers.

PART OF ‘GOLDEN’ WAVE

More newbie African-American TV creators and producers are set to make their debut in 2017, as an unprecedented 500 scripted series are expected to reach TV scereens this year, according to a recent FX study. Showtime has tapped actress Lena Waithe (Netflix’s Masters of None) to helm its upcoming drama series Chi, while several high-profile movie producers will move to the small screen with scripted projects, including Spike Lee (Netflix’s She’s Gotta Have It) and John Singleton (FX’s Snowfall).

Singleton, an Oscar-nominated director for 1991’s Boyz n the Hood, said television is now providing more opportunities to develop projects targeted to diverse viewers. Singleton, who earned an Emmy Award nomination for his direction of an episdode of FX’s The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, will also produce Rebel, a police drama series for BET set to debut in March.

“With TV, it’s like you’re making a movie every week,” Singleton said.

Black History Month Viewing Guides:What to Watch | Interstitals

As the definition of what constitutes TV widens, African-American-helmed scripted series are making their mark in the current environment of high-quality programming.

“There’s been talk about the golden age of television for a while now, and because there are so many ways to get your content out there it opens the door for a lot more voices to be heard instead of when there were just three or six gatekeepers controlling everything people see,” said music superstar John Legend, an executive producer of WGN America’s sophomore drama series Underground, which chronicles the escape of antebellum-era Southern slaves via the Underground Railroad.

Legend added, “It has been great for diversity on television.”

Related > MCN Original Video: John Legend Discusses 'Underground' Season 2

Still, the question remains whether the influx of African-American showrunners and producers will be a passing trend or a key feature of television’s future. Even as African-American-produced, directed and created projects on cable networks proliferate across cable networks and streaming services, minority producers remain rare behind the camera.

Minority show creators in general represented just 7.8% of cable scripted shows during the 2013-14 season, according to the UCLA 2016 Hollywood Diversity Report. While those numbers will undoubtedly climb over the next few years as post-2014 shows like ABC’s Black-ish and Starz’s Power are factored in, Darnell Hunt, director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA, said at September’s NAMIC Conference that the representation numbers will still remain below the overall U.S. minority population.

The history of the entertainment industry is littered with periods when movies and TV shows featuring African-American culture looked to have broken into the mainstream, only to nearly vanish within a few years, Insecure showrunner Prentice Penny said.

In particular, he pointed to what was initially thought of as the “Golden Age” of diversity in movies during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when films such as Menace II Society, She’s Gotta Have It and Boyz n the Hood seemed ready to open doors to more films directed and produced by African-Americans. But in the 2000s, few movies from mainstream studios were being helmed by African-American writers, directors and producers.

“The truth is I have no idea,” Penny said when asked whether the current trend of African-American produced content will be long-lasting. “There are always those moments where they make all of these projects and then, 10 years later, there’s nothing. I hope this is [sustainable] and that lots of voices can get heard.”

Certainly, the critical and audience appeal for these shows bodes well for a potentially sustained future. FX’s Atlanta, which follows the lives of cousins trying to make it big in the city’s rap scene, drew 3 million viewers in its Sept. 6 premiere, the most for an FX series in five years. That was followed by a slew of industry accolades, including a Critics’ Choice Award and two Golden Globe Awards for Glover, both as an actor and producer of the series.

Last month, FX rewarded Glover with an exclusive television production deal that includes a second season of Atlanta, set to return in 2018 after Glover finishes his work on the next Star Wars film.

“We’re going to try to get that show back as soon as we can because there’s a great audience that wants that show,” FX president Eric Schrier said during the network’s Television Critics Association tour press event last month.

HBO’s Insecure, which drew 1.1 million viewers in its Oct. 9 premiere, has also been renewed for a second season. Penny — who will produce and star in truTV’s reality series Upscale With Prentice Penny, set to debut in March — said he was initially surprised at the incredibly positive response to the show.

“There’s no formula … you have no idea what people will respond to,” he said. “I feel blessed that people responded to it. You can’t control what the viewing public decides to watch, so you just have to do the best you can.”

He also said that the expansion of distribution outlets via online streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube will continue to create opportunities for diverse images and stories to be produced.

Added Underground’s Legend: “The landscape was much different then because there are way more distribution channels now — not just cable, satellite or premium channels but so many other places, like Netflix and Hulu, where people can view content. As content creators, its gives us more latitude to populate these different channels with interesting and diverse content.

“It’s made TV more diverse than film because there are so many different opportunities for audiences to get what they’re looking for on television, which means a diverse range of viewpoints and voice can be seen and heard,” Legend added.

Beyond selected hit shows, networks are well aware that African- American viewers are an important audience. African-Americans continue to consume more video than any other group, thereby increasing the viability of content that appeals directly to those viewers. African-Americans average more than 42 hours of live TV viewing during the third quarter of 2016, according to Nielsen’s Total Audience Report, well above the U.S. average of 29 hours, Hispanics (22 hours) and Asian-Americans (14 hours).

KEY TO KEEPING AUDIENCES

Also, as the overall U.S. population continues to diversify, the need for new, unique stories told from a different point of view will force linear network distributors to continue to foster the development of content created by producers and creators of color — otherwise, audiences will migrate to the web, Penny said.

“I think that in the digital space people can just make their own content and put it out there for people to connect to right away,” Penny said. “It changes how we get content to the marketplace, so it definitely opens the door for literally anybody of any color or nationality that has something to say to put it out and get a response right away.”

FX Networks president John Landgraf said 52% of FX’s show directors in 2017 will not be white men, in an effort to better reflect the diversity of the network’s audience.

“We’re going to keep going until everything about our channel and every aspect of our channel is fair and better reflects the diversity of the population of the country we live in, and is not as skewed as the whole industry has been towards white heterosexual males,” Landgraf said at the last month’s Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour.

Added Underground executive producer Misha Green: “I think the diversification of stories that are being told right now will continue because there are more outlets. I think more content is needed, and the gatekeepers who wanted to keep the gate closed are now saying we need shows. I think the increase of content has helped more diverse voices come through, but more still need to come through. I can’t wait to see and hear those voices.”

Social media was buzzing Tuesday about two OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network shows as part of a strong night for cable programming.

OWN’s The Have and The Have Nots drew 344,000 Twitter and Facebook interactions from 163,000 unique social media accounts to lead all television programs airing on Sept. 6, according to the Nielsen Social daily rankings.  

RELATED: OWN President Erik Logan talks about the network's scripted series fortunes (VIDEO)

OWN’s premiere of the Winfrey/Ava DuVernay-produced drama series Queen Sugar was second with 209,000 interactions from 105,000 unique accounts, according to Nielsen. FX’s Atlantacomedy series premiere was third, followed by USA Network’s WWE series SmackDown! and NBC’s America’s Got Talent.

Univision Deportes’ FIFA World Cup 2018 Qualifying match between the United States and Trinidad and Tobago was the most social live sports show of the day, according to Nielsen.

It wasn’t that long ago when cable programmers looked at Labor Day weekend as a sort of respite after a long, busy summer in which many high-profile scripted shows debuted prior to the start of the broadcast networks’ fall TV season.

But with more than 400 scripted shows on cable, broadcast and online streaming services available to viewers this year, no time period can be considered off -limits for original series launches anymore. As a result, several cable networks are aggressively going after viewers during the typically slow holiday weekend with original movies, miniseries and series.

Discovery Channel has chosen Labor Day (Sept. 5) to launch its six-hour miniseries Harley and the Davidsons (pictured), the network’s first scripted miniseries since 2014’s Klondike.

Discovery’s historical motorcycle-themed series will look to capture viewers searching for original content amid the massive amount of reruns, movies and show marathons typically scheduled over holidays. History in 2014 proved that viewers will watch original content over the holiday weekend, drawing 3.7 million viewers for the Labor Day premiere of the miniseries Houdini.

Also on Labor Day, MTV will unleash two scripted comedy series in Loosely Exactly Nicole, starring comedian and Girl Code star Nicole Byer, and Mary + Jane, about the exploits of unlikely weed dealers.

The day prior, TV One will look to tap viewers suffering from Olympics withdrawal with its original boxing-themed film Ringside.

Cable’s scripted train continues the day after Labor Day with two more high-profile series premieres. FX will debut Atlanta, a half-hour comedy series from Community star Donald Glover, while OWN will roll out its Oprah Winfrey/Ava DuVernay-produced drama series Queen Sugar.

Related Video:One Question for ... OWN President Erik Logan

Online streaming service Crackle will also look to get in on the action with the debut of StartUp, starring Adam Brody.

With broadcast network series premieres premiering less than a week after Labor Day and running through May, and with a crowded cable lineup of scripted show premieres dominating the summer months, there are there are precious few pockets on the calendar where networks can get the word out on big scripted projects.

As viewers officially say goodbye to the summer and look forward to a new season of scripted broadcast fare, Labor Day weekend now seems to be as good a time as any for cable nets to raise the flag on original programming.

Oprah Winfreyis putting the “O” in OWN’s scripted series lineup. After successfully teaming with Tyler Perry to jump into the scripted arena which such originals as The Haves and the Have Nots and If Loving You Is Wrong, the network in June premiered its megachurch-themed drama Greenleaf, in which Winfrey herself starred in a recurring role as blues club owner Mavis McCready. The series was an instant hit for the network, averaging 3 million viewers for its June 21 debut, a record for an OWN series premiere. In OWN’s second non-Perry scripted drama series, the upcoming family drama Queen Sugar, Winfrey serves as executive producer with Selma producer Ava DuVernay. The Wire spoke with OWN president Erik Logan about the network’s scripted series push and how much the Oprah factor and her decision to become more hands-on with the shows have helped influence the network’s scripted fortunes.

Related Video:MCN One-on-One in 2 -- OWN's Erik Logan

The Wire: How have OWN and Oprah looked to develop the network’s original scripted series?

Erik Logan: We’re doing what we feel we’ve always tried to do, which is to find stories that connect with people that need to be told. If you look at Greenleaf narrowly, what excited us all about this project was that it was a family drama, but what was going to make this one different was that we were going to feature African-Americans in a way where they can see themselves in real issues that are facing the community. You put that on the backdrop of an African-American megachurch, and layer in what everybody knows that has either been printed or rumored to have happened in churches of that size and stature, and it really gives a wonderful arena to tell stories.

I think the success is that there’s such a push/pull in this story of truth is greater than fiction and fiction is greater than truth. Every episode, we feel, goes to the audience and invites them to think about themselves, their communities and who they are as well. That has always been the core of OWN. If you go back to 2011 when we put [Oprah’s] Lifeclass on the air for the very first time, when Oprah was just sitting in a chair … the intention of that show was to have people start thinking and inducing interest into how to better your life. Scripted is just a new way of doing that for Oprah. I think you’ll see that with Queen Sugar as well. We tackle some very, very real critical, cultural issues in a very similar way that we did with Greenleaf.

TW: Will we see more of Oprah on screen as the network develops more original scripted content?

EL: Certainly, if you’re running the network, the answer is absolutely. To be real about it, if she sees characters in these stories that really spoke to her — like Mavis spoke to her in Greenleaf — the answer is going to be yes. She loves acting and she’s certainly doing a lot of it now. She enjoyed her Greenleaf experience, but I will also say she enjoyed her Queen Sugar experience just as much — serving as executive producer with Ava — behind the camera as much as in front of the camera. I’m often asked how involved she is, and I say we’ve been having a series of meeting around a lot of things. People still get taken aback that some of the decisions on these shows — whether it’s casting or choosing clothing articles or colors or palettes — that Oprah is in these conversations.

One of the things that I think is so great — and I’ve stolen this as a line from her — is that she taught me that love is in the details. The reason why Greenleaf is as successful and is on brand and is connecting — and why Queen Sugar will be the same — is because that is who Oprah is. She is leaning into those details. We have other projects out there that she may or may not be in. Certainly we have a season two of Greenleaf coming so we’ll see what happens with the storyline of Mavis. It’s real fun to dream that up right now.

[Queen Sugar debuts on Tuesday, Sept. 6, on OWN.]

Get complete coverage of the 2016 TCA Summer Tour.

Beverly Hills, Calif.—Eight panelists affiliated with shows on El Rey, Starz, TV One and WGN America tore into the multifaceted issues of TV diversity during a vibrant, insight-packed panel at the TCA summer press tour.

El Rey founder and chairman Robert Rodriguez delivered a brief introduction to the session. “Cable has made great strides,” he said. “There’s never been a more important time to build cultural understanding of people and working together.”

Panelists spent ample time talking about the positives — more shows with diverse casts on air, multiplying outlets, more people of color involved behind the scenes — but also brought to light the ongoing struggle to reflect America in full.

“The way the system is set up, in order to get a job or be able to vote on awards, it’s all just old practices that don’t suit us at all,” said Victoria Mahoney, a director with credits on feature films as well as TV series like Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse and OWN’s Queen Sugar.

“The old guard’s got to let go of their grip a little bit because that’s not the way the world looks,” said Jurnee Smollett-Bell, who stars on WGN America’s Underground. “Storytellers have a right to express what’s inside of them … and consumers and viewers have a right to see themselves.”

Mahoney noted that she is among the 4% of overall directors who are women of color, according to recent guild surveys. “I’ve never been in the bottom 4% of anything in my life,” she quipped.

D’Angela Proctor, senior vice president of original programming and production for TV One, said the executive suite is another area with a lot of room for improvement.

“We have to be at the table at every single level” for truly inclusive programming to permeate the TV business, she said.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.