2025 Best in Network TV: Hall of Fame

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 often overlooked by the time the annual Emmy Awards rolled around, which had begun to focus mainly on cable, premium cable, and later streaming series.
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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),  “30 Rock” (NBC) and “The Andy Griffith Show” (CBS)

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, Andre Braugher and The Writers (during the 2023 writer’s strike). 

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Hall of Fame Legend(s): Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner (The First Cast of "Saturday Night Live") 
When “Saturday Night Live” celebrated its 40th season in 2015, it was a no-brainer that TV season to enshrine the show’s creator and executive producer, Lorne Michaels, as our TV Hall of Fame Legend for that year. Now that the show recently celebrated its 50th season, we feel it’s another no-brainer to honor the legendary first cast of the legendary sketch comedy show, who at the time were credited as “The Not Ready for Primetime Players.” The cast members were Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman and Gilda Radner. Those seven cast members would quickly become television icons among the younger set of television viewers, who had grown up seeing stars they considered part of their parents’ generation, not their own. These cast members were essentially the equivalent of The Beatles on network TV shortly after ‘SNL’ debuted in October 1975. Not only would they go on to create a lasting legacy on the show, but many would also have a significant impact on the world of comedy in films for decades to come. This isn’t the first time the entire first cast of ‘SNL’ has been honored in such a fashion. In 2017, the first cast was inducted into the Television Academy’s Hall of Fame for their lasting impact on the television medium. 

Photo: NBC

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Hall of Fame Show: Gilmore Girls (The WB/The CW) 2000-2007
“Gilmore Girls” premiered on The WB on Oct. 5, 2000, and has stayed in viewers’ hearts long after its seven-season run ended on May 15, 2007. Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, who unfortunately exited the show right before its final season due to contract negotiations, “Gilmore Girls” was a unicorn in a more traditional landscape of network shows at the time — you had sitcoms like “Everybody Loves Raymond,” crime shows like “CSI” and reality shows like “Big Brother.” “Gilmore Girls” centered on Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her relationship with her teenage daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel), as they navigated single parenthood in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Conn. The backdrop included Rory’s wealthy and often judgmental grandparents, Richard (Edward Herrmann) and Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop), as well as close family friends like Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) and, of course, romantic relationships. Lorelai’s best one was with diner owner Luke (Scott Patterson), and Rory had a few standouts like Dean (Jared Padalecki), Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) and Logan (Matt Czuchry). Team Jess always, if you’re curious. Because Lorelai had Rory at 16, the 32-year-old’s parenting style was always part mom, part friend. With the brilliant, funny and fast-paced writing style of Sherman-Palladino — think the female version of Aaron Sorkin — and her husband Dan Palladino, Lorelai and Rory are what most mothers and daughters, deep down, aspire to be in their relationship. It was the first time viewers saw a comedy/drama zero in on this type of relationship. I watched the show with my mother, as many viewers likely did. The relationship between a mother and daughter is so complex that, when appropriately portrayed onscreen, it can’t help but resonate with viewers. You can see echoes of “Gilmore Girls,” I think, in every family-relationship-focused show that came after it, like NBC’s “This Is Us” and “Parenthood,” two frequent winners of this site’s honors). Its longevity is a testament to the unique writing and stellar cast. “Gilmore Girls” carved out a place for family relationships on the small screen beyond a cookie-cutter way.

Photo: Warner Bros.