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by Julian Spivey Every year since The Word on Pop Culture began in 2010 we have awarded the best in network television in something we like to call The Broady Awards. The theory behind the Broadys was that there was still a lot of good and worthwhile TV on the original big broadcast networks that were mostly forgotten about come time for the annual Emmy Awards, which had begun to focus mainly on cable, premium cable and later streaming series. Well, the times have changed a bit since we introduced these awards. Now, network TV (and more and more TV in general) is regressing after the era known as “peak TV.” Networks and streamers alike are beginning to cut costs leading to less scripted television and a weakening of shows. But these days the state of network television, in particular, seems dire. I can’t remember a lesser slate of network television shows than we’ve seen this season. So, partially due to this factor and the 2023-2024 network season being cut in half due to the writer’s and actor’s strikes of 2023, we decided it was time to pare down the Broady Awards, at least for now. So, instead of nominating five or so individuals and shows in each category like usual, we’re simply going to choose our winners this year. We will unveil these winners in three parts: Drama, Comedy and our 2024 TV Hall of Fame recipients. You can find our 2024 Drama Series winners HERE. You can find our 2024 Comedy Series winners HERE. Each year during our Broady Awards we like to honor all-time great shows and legends from the television medium – again focusing on those that aired on the major networks. Our past recipients of our Hall of Fame Show honor are: “The Twilight Zone” (CBS), “M*A*S*H” (CBS), “The West Wing” (NBC), “Late Night/Late Show with David Letterman” (NBC/CBS), “Saturday Night Live” (NBC), “I Love Lucy” (CBS), “Seinfeld” (NBC), “The Tonight Show” (NBC), “Cheers” (NBC), “Will & Grace” (NBC), “Gunsmoke” (CBS), “Frasier” (NBC) and “30 Rock” (NBC). Our past recipients of our Hall of Fame Legend honor are: Alan Alda, Rod Serling, Andy Griffith, David Letterman, Lorne Michaels, Lucille Ball, Edward R. Murrow, Johnny Carson, Mary Tyler Moore, Ted Danson, Norman Lear, Betty White and The Writers (during the 2023 writer’s strike). Hall of Fame Legend: Andre Braugher Andre Braugher was always one of our favorite television actors here at The Word on Pop Culture. He’s also one of the most nominated and honored actors in our annual Broady Awards for excellence on network television. His nine nominations are the second most of any actor in the 15 years of us handing out these honors. His four wins, all for his glorious portrayal of Capt. Raymond Holt on the Fox/NBC sitcom “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” are tied for the most all-time at these honors. It was Braugher’s portrayal of Holt that made us fall in love with him but Braugher was one of TV’s best dramatic actors multiple decades before his comedic turn on “Brooklyn Nine Nine.” His performance on NBC’s crime procedural “Homicide: Life on the Street” from 1993-1999 is hailed as one of television’s greatest and won Braugher an Emmy Award in 1998. Due to the series not appearing on streaming, it's a performance that hasn’t been widely seen and appreciated by people of my generation. I’ve purchased the entire series on DVD and hope to get to it soon! We’d hoped we’d get to see Braugher act for years to come in other terrific roles but were shocked when the veteran actor died from lung cancer at 61 years old last December. Braugher was always destined for this particular honor we just wish it had come a few years down the road.  Photo: NBC Hall of Fame Show: "The Andy Griffith Show" (CBS) 1960-1968 One classic TV show that seems to be losing steam unfortunately and without much explanation over the last decade or more has been “The Andy Griffith Show.” I can’t recall how many lists of “Greatest TV Shows of All-Time” lists I’ve perused online over the last five-plus years and have been completely dismayed by their omission of the classic ‘60s small-town comedy. We honored Andy Griffith the actor as our third annual Hall of Fame TV Legend in 2013, the year following his death, but haven’t gotten around to celebrate the show itself. Our last two recipients of this honor – “Frasier” and “30 Rock” – have been more modern TV classics, so we felt it was time to dig a bit deeper into the history of great network shows and “The Andy Griffith Show” with its downhome, family-friendly and good-natured humor seemed like the perfect choice. The show was definitely of its time, trying to make you laugh, while also teaching a moralistic story, but it probably succeeded in this style of show better than any other of its time. The tight-knit cast of Griffith, Don Knotts, Ron Howard, Frances Bavier and others continue to make me laugh to this day, even though I’ve seen my favorite episodes time-and-time again (thanks Dad!). I don’t think there are too many shows from its era that hold up as well as “The Andy Griffith Show” does.  Photo: CBS
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