I shouldn’t have been surprised. There were reports released within the last week that CBS/Paramount could consider firing Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart as a means of appeasing the Trump administration, as Paramount attempts to merge with Skydance Media.

And as anybody who pays attention to television knows that late-night talk shows have been a slowly dying breed that someday in the near future might cease to exist altogether.

But I still viewed the “Late Show” as something off-limits for the network. Maybe Colbert wasn’t off-limits, but surely the show would be?

That’s why Thursday’s news, which Colbert broke during the taping of that night’s “Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” was so shocking to me. The “Late Show” was a television institution under David Letterman and continued in this role with Colbert. I thought that would at least continue for as long as the other major broadcast networks, especially NBC’s “The Tonight Show,” existed. After all, Colbert’s “Late Show” was the most-watched of the three network 10:35 p.m. (CST) shows and is still earning Emmy Award nominations, something Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight Show” isn’t doing.

CBS said in a statement on Thursday: “This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

The last part of that statement feels like a boldface lie, especially in the aftermath of Paramount agreeing to pay President Donald Trump $16 million to settle a lawsuit Trump filed over a “60 Minutes” interview with his election opponent Kamala Harris, in which he accused the most-respected news program likely in television history of deceptive editing. The editing in question was merely the typical editing you’d see from any news program trying to fit an interview into their allotted broadcasting time. It’s a fight many believe CBS and “60 Minutes” would have won, had they not backed down to the President in hopes of his help in pushing through the Paramount/Skydance Media merger, which requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), whose five commissioners are appointed by the President.  

Longtime “60 Minutes” executive producer Bill Owens resigned from his position in April, telling his staff in a memo: “over the past months, it has become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it, to make independent decisions based on what was right for ’60 Minutes,’ right for the audience.”

Big brother had won the fight when it came to the news on its network, and many felt it might turn toward attempting to silence two of Trump’s most prominent critics within its organization, Colbert on CBS’ “Late Show” and Jon Stewart and his cohorts on the Paramount-owned Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”

Colbert had spoken out on the “Late Show” about the Paramount/Trump settlement just two days before the announcement of his show ending, saying: “I am offended. I don’t know if anything – anything – will repair my trust in this company. But, just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million would help.”

As far as “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” goes, it will end its run after more than 10 years on CBS in May of 2026. I sincerely hope Colbert goes scorched earth on both the Trump administration and CBS, Paramount and Skydance Media the entire time.

Make no mistake, “The Daily Show” is on thin ice, and my guess is will be canceled or an announcement of its ending will be made by year’s end.

CBS and Paramount have proven to be cowards all the way through this pending merger with Skydance Media, with their lips firmly applied to the backside of the President of the United States. And they’ve gutted two of their longest-running and most celebrated shows in the process. If only those writing the checks had the integrity of “60 Minutes” and the morality of Stephen Colbert. 

by Tyler Glover and Julian Spivey

The nominees for the 77th annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced on Tuesday, July 15. The Word on Pop Culture's Tyler Glover and Julian Spivey each chose five of their favorite nominations.  

All of the Nominations for "Shrinking"
Apple TV+’s “Shrinking” is a show that has been recommended to me to check out for a while. With summer here and fewer extracurricular activities to take kids to, I finally decided to give it a chance. I fell utterly in love with this uplifting comedy about grief, loss, friendship, family, love, redemption and hope. There has not been a television show since NBC’s “Friends” that has had characters I would love to meet and hang out with in real life. The writers have done an incredible job of making a show full of complex, complicated, realistic and relatable characters. We, as viewers, are eager to accompany them on their journeys. For the first season of this show, the Emmys only nominated Jason Segel for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series and Jessica Williams for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series. While it was exciting to see the show get some recognition, it deserved more. I was hoping the Emmys would give “Shrinking” more love for its second season and it did. Segel and Williams picked up repeat nominations, but the show also received nominations in Supporting Actor for both Harrison Ford and Michael Urie AND for Outstanding Comedy Series. My favorite nominations of the morning were the love for this outstanding show. I’m hoping the Emmys will now decide to reward the show with some Emmy gold. TG
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Adolescence for Outstanding Limited Series
One of the most stunning and shocking series on television this year was Netflix’s four-episode limited series, “Adolescence,” which told the story of a murder case of a teenager by a teenager and saw it through from the arrest, the investigation and the aftermath. Each of the four episodes of the series was told in one continuous take, making it one of the most harrowing shows on television in some time. “Adolescence” was nominated for 10 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited Series, which it’s likely a shoo-in to win, and it saw five nominations for its excellent cast. JS

Surprise Nominations for "Paradise"
For weeks, it was becoming more of a possibility that Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown could get a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series for Hulu’s “Paradise.” It seemed like the show would have to settle for that being its biggest nomination. It appeared to be on the bubble for an Outstanding Drama Series nomination and had a significant chance of missing. However, Emmy morning came, and “Paradise” was nominated for Drama Series and Lead Actor for Brown. What was even more surprising is that it picked up surprise nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series for James Marsden and Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series for Julianne Nicholson. I had just finished watching this show the evening before the nominations were revealed, and I thought it just got better as it went on. I wasn’t too shocked at Brown getting in (deservedly), but I am so glad that the series, Marsden and Nicholson got to join him. “Paradise” is a thrilling and suspenseful show that truly leaves you on the edge of your seats, and I cannot wait for season two. I am hoping now that “Paradise” can surprise even more by bringing home some Emmy gold. TG
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Noah Wyle for Outstanding Lead Actor for "The Pitt"
Noah Wyle isn’t a stranger to Emmy nominations, but he hasn’t been nominated this millennium, with all his prior nominations coming in the heyday of “ER” in the ‘90s. He came back to his sweet spot of medical dramas with HBO Max’s stunning “The Pitt” this year and his performance as a grieving, hard-working emergency room doctor having a tough and tragic day at the office was one of the most touching dramatic performances on television in recent years. Not only is he back to being an Emmy nominee, but he might also be the favorite to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.  JS
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Pedro Pascal for Outstanding Lead Actor in "The Last of Us"
I am a major fan of HBO’s “The Last of Us.” I thought the first season of the show was some of the most compelling television I have ever watched. I have watched shows like “Game of Thrones,” so I am accustomed to watching shows where characters who do not appear to be expendable meet their end right before our shocked eyes. While “The Last of Us” gives us the sense that no one is safe, you do have a sense of security that some people are safe. You could not be more wrong. At the end of episode two, the LEAD of the SHOW, Pedro Pascal’s Joel, meets an untimely end. I was devastated and heartbroken by this loss. Because of Emmy rules that state once you are nominated in Lead for a role, you cannot be dropped to Supporting or Guest Actor, the only spot Pascal could have been nominated for Joel in “The Last Of Us” was in Lead Actor. I was worried he could miss out on a nomination, and I was elated to know that the Academy still made a spot for him. Pascal’s performance as Joel is so brilliant. Joel is not a saint by any means of the word, but Pascal manages to make you love him so much that you feel he was justified in actions that are inexcusable. TG
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Jean Smart & Hannah Einbinder in Outstanding Lead Actress and Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series for "Hacks"
There isn’t a more exciting duo than Jean Smart’s Deborah Vance and Hannah Einbinder’s Ava Daniels on television right now. The stars of “Hacks” have managed to garner nominations for every season of the show so far. (Smart has turned all of those into Emmy wins.) It would still have been a crime to miss an opportunity to give these two amazing and hilarious actresses recognition for their complex and hilarious performances. The writers of “Hacks” have a difficult job of trying to put these characters in situations that test their relationship but also keep them in each other’s orbit. They have done this to near perfection. That is probably why the show pulled off a surprise win for Outstanding Comedy Series last year. The biggest blunder the Emmys haven’t corrected so far is not giving Einbinder an Emmy. The show has won the Series award, Smart has won the Actress award, and now it's time for Einbinder to get her due. If they keep on denying her the Emmy for too much longer, we might start thinking that they are just “hacks.”  TG
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Zach Cherry for Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series for “Severance” 
Don’t get me wrong, I am very excited about all of the nominations for Apple TV+’s magnificent drama series, “Severance.” However, it had long been anticipated that it would be the leader in nominations. It was anticipated to get into Drama Series, Actor for Adam Scott, Actress for Britt Lower, Supporting Actor for Tramell Tillman and John Turturro, and for Patricia Arquette to get another nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress. One nomination that I felt deserved and needed to happen was for Zach Cherry to be nominated for his portrayal of Dylan G./Dylan George. Cherry’s performance is a little more subtle than the others but not less deserving. The scenes where Dylan G. gets to interact with his “outie’s” spouse, played by Emmy nominee Merritt Wever, are some of the most emotional moments of the series thus far. Cherry plays the nuances and complications of the moment to perfection. Cherry broke my heart this season by showing us his. It would have been a missed opportunity not to give Cherry a nomination, so I am so glad that the Academy made it a priority to not let Cherry get missed in all of the love they showed for “Severance” today. TG
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Bridget Everett for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for "Somebody Somewhere"  
One of my hopes for the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards was that Bridget Everett would finally get the love she deserves for her role as Samantha in HBO’s “Somebody Somewhere.” I’d hoped that love would come with a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. It didn’t. But fortunately, she was nominated along with Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen for writing the fantastic series finale of the show, titled “AGG.” It’s wonderful to see this hilarious little slice-of-life comedy get some love, even if it wasn’t enough and came late in the run. JS
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"SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night" for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series  
“Saturday Night Live” is one of my biggest pop culture fascinations, and I was really pumped up for the milestone 50th anniversary season. While the season of new, live episodes as a whole was hit and miss like most ‘SNL’ seasons are, I was blown away by the documentary specials produced by the show, most importantly Peacock’s “SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night,” a four-episode docuseries highlighting the writing process of the show, the audition process of the show, the behind the scenes of the Cowbell Sketch (perhaps the greatest sketch in the show’s history) and a look into the show’s strange 11th season when the show was hanging on by a thread. My only criticism is that I wish there had been more than four episodes of this series. I hope this one comes out on top. JS

Amir “Questlove” Thompson & Oz Rodriguez for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary or Non-Fiction Program 
From the moment I saw the extraordinary “Ladies and Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music,” directed by Amir “Questlove” Thompson and Oz Rodriguez – really the first 10-minute or so opening montage that’s everything a music lover could want – I wanted the documentary special to be nominated for an Emmy. I was bummed it didn’t crack the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, but at least Thompson and Rodriguez garnered a nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program. In hindsight, I wonder if they even submitted for the big prize (they likely did) with Thompson’s other high-profile work of the year, “Sly Live! (Aka The Burden of Black Genius)” for Hulu receiving a nomination in the Documentary or Nonfiction Special field. JS

by Tyler Glover & Julian Spivey
The nominees for the 77th annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced Tuesday, July 15. Before the nominations are revealed we wanted to share some shows and performances we would love to see among the nominees, some that will most likely happen and many that probably won't, but sure would make our day. 

"Shrinking" for Outstanding Comedy Series
Last month, I renewed my Apple TV+ subscription. Apple has been releasing numerous critically acclaimed and high-quality programs this year, and I had to check them out. The show at the top of my list was the hysterical and heartbreaking “Shrinking.” This comedy series follows Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel), a therapist who is dealing with intense grief after his wife’s sudden death in a car accident. One day, Jimmy decides to break ethical barriers by telling his patients exactly what he is thinking. This leads to chaos at first, but Jimmy is making a real difference in people’s lives. This cast is quite simply one of the best ensembles in recent TV history. Every character is unique, complex, interesting, and we care about all of them. An afternoon sitting around with these characters would truly be a treat. The cast includes Jessica Williams, Michael Urie, Christa Miller, Harrison Ford, Ted McGinley and Lukita Maxwell. The writers manage to balance comedy and drama to near perfection. I do not typically binge-watch shows, but I got through Seasons 1 and 2 very quickly. I am anxiously awaiting the third season this fall. What blows my mind is how the Emmys only managed to nominate Segel for Actor and Williams for Supporting Actress last year. While I am happy they received their recognition, the show should have easily been nominated for Best Comedy Series, along with nominations for Writing, Directing and more of the cast. I am hoping to see the Academy give “Shrinking” more affection this time. If the Emmy nominations are announced and “Shrinking” is missing from the Comedy Series category again, I am going to recommend that everyone in the Academy see their therapist to find out what their problem is.  TG
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Jessica Williams (Shrinking) for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
It is no secret that I believe “Shrinking” is one of the best shows on television right now, all you have to do is read the paragraph above. The writers have successfully brought such amazing characters to life. My favorite one is Gabby Evans, played by Emmy nominee Jessica Williams. Gabby is smart, funny, beautiful inside and out, and a true friend. I would love to have someone like Gabby in my life. She tells her friends exactly what she is thinking and does not cave to what that person may want her to tell them. What makes Williams’ performance so extraordinary is how she manages to balance the comedy and drama to perfection. Sometimes, even in the same scene, she goes from making us laugh to making us feel the tension of the moment. I am grateful the Academy nominated her for the first season, but they have to nominate her again. TG 

Ted McGinley (Shrinking) for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
There are certainly more critical supporting acting performances on AppleTV+’s excellent “Shrinking” than Ted McGinley’s performance as Derek. In fact, he’s probably the least important character of the show’s cast – but dammit if the performance isn’t so hilariously charming, and McGinley has been in this business with little recognition for so long that it would be amazing to see him honored with a nomination. JS
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The Actresses of "The Pitt" instead of "The White Lotus" for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
OK, this one sounds mean, but every time there is a season of “The White Lotus” almost the entirety of the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category is taken up by the cast, and it’s not always because they give the best performances, but because it’s a show voters know and Emmy voters tend to be among the laziest award show voters. I fully expect to see at least four of the seven nominees in the category on Tuesday, when the nominations are announced, to be from the third season of “The White Lotus” – and this year that would truly be abhorrent when performances from the talented cast of Max’s “The Pitt” were, frankly, better. So, on Tuesday, I hope the actresses from “The Pitt” are the ones who dominate this category, because Tracy Ifeachor, Katherine LaNasa, Supriya Ganesh, Fiona Dourif, Taylor Dearden, and Isa Briones deserve the recognition.  JS
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Natasha Rothwell (The White Lotus) for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series 
The third season of “The White Lotus” is full of amazing performances. I will be shocked if they do not have many nominations on Emmy morning in both Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. The one that I am hoping for the most, though, is Natasha Rothwell for Supporting Actress. Rothwell plays Belinda Lindsey, a spa manager from the White Lotus hotel in Hawaii. She is attending a work exchange where she stumbles upon someone she recognizes: “Gary,” played by Jon Gries. It turns out he was married to a millionaire heiress, who turned up dead under suspicious circumstances. He meets with her and gives her an opportunity. It is truly a battle between her conscience and her ambition in life. Rothwell masterfully portrays the complexity of the situation, prompting us to question what we would do if faced with the same dilemma. Rothwell was the standout for me and I hope the Academy agrees on Emmy morning. TG 
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The Studio for “Outstanding Comedy Series” 
What can I say? Apple TV+ is the one to watch this year at the Emmys. They have been on fire with the second season of “Severance,” “Shrinking” and this new comedy series brought to us by the hilarious Seth Rogen. I have always been a fan of movies and television shows that take us behind the scenes of the entertainment industry. It is a world I have always longed to be a part of, and I get excited to watch shows that explore this world. In “The Studio,” Rogen plays Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of a struggling film production company, Continental Studios. Matt’s ambition is to make quality entertainment and not just movies that are solely made for the money. He struggles to balance his wishes versus the demands from his boss, Griffin Mill (played by Emmy winner Bryan Cranston). The supporting cast is also exceptionally strong. The standouts for me are Catherine O’Hara as Patty Leigh, the former head, and Kathryn Hahn as Maya Mason, the company’s head of marketing. What I love about “The Studio” is that it manages to keep the overarching story of Matt trying to achieve success as he defines it, but it is written in a very episodic manner. It is a callback to sitcoms of the past where issues arose and were solved by the end of the episode. One brilliant aspect of this show is that it managed to create a Golden Globes episode with so many guest stars that it felt like we were genuinely at the Golden Globes. That is tough to pull off, but “The Studio” did it perfectly. TG
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Bridget Everett (Somebody Somewhere) for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
I’ve always been a fan of the television underdog. I was high on Hulu’s “Reservation Dogs” for its excellent three-season run and always disappointed when it failed to get the Emmy recognition, I felt it deserved. Now that it’s run is over, I’ve moved that underdog support over to HBO’s “Somebody Somewhere.” It’s hard to view an HBO show as an underdog but the series that sees Bridget Everett’s Samantha trying to survive the hardships of life in a small Kansas town has always been beloved by critics but never gotten love by the Television Academy – I wonder how these things happen. Everett is a revelation in “Somebody Somewhere,” perhaps given the most real-to-life performance in any comedy of the last few years. She will make you bust a gut laughing, but you will always wipe away tears when her performance turns dramatic. She deserves the recognition.  JS
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Zahn McClarnon (Dark Winds) for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Zahn McClarnon has been doing exceptional work on television for a while now – and not just in drama, his performance in Hulu’s comedy “Reservation Dogs” of that show’s exquisite three seasons was one of the funniest on TV. His done incredible dramatic work on AMC’s throwback “Dark Winds,” over that show’s three seasons, but always seems to be forgotten when it comes time for yearly honors. I realize his chances of receiving an Emmy nomination this year are slim-to-none, but it would truly be the highlight of Emmy nomination release day to me if he found his way into the mix. JS
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Ariana Grande (Saturday Night Live) for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
There is no doubt that the “Saturday Night Live” writers gave Ariana Grande amazing material for her hosting gig in October 2024. It's remarkable that four sketches are instant classics for me. 1) “Castrati,” where Grande plays a shy, Renaissance-era boy named Antonio who communicates through high-pitched singing. 2) “Maybelline,” where Grande plays Jennifer Coolidge in a mirror talking to the “real” Jennifer Coolidge, played by Chloe Fineman hilariously as she prepares for a date, 3) “Bridesmaid Speech,” where Grande plays a bridesmaid, alongside many SNL greats, singing a song to the tune of “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter. Throughout the song, we discover that the bachelorette party involved a man named Domingo, who may be interested in the bride for himself. 4) Finally, my favorite one was “Charades With Mom.” Grande plays a mom who meets her son’s boyfriend and then plays a game of charades with them. Grande goes from cool mother-in-law to crazy mother-in-law fast, and the results are hilarious. Grande shows her versatility as a comedic actress in this ‘SNL’ episode, and if she isn’t nominated, she will have been robbed. TG

Dana Carvey (Saturday Night Live) for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Dana Carvey is a “Saturday Night Live” legend and a once-upon-a-time Emmy-winner for his performance in the show (in a category that no longer exists – Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program), but I’d love to see his performance in the milestone 50th season of ‘SNL’ earn him another nomination. Carvey mostly performed as President Joe Biden in the first half of the show’s season, leading up to the 2024 presidential election, and did so in a way that gently mocked Biden’s current state, while also hitting home the playful grandfather-like aspects of the President. It was classic Carvey, taking realistic cues from a real-life person and hamming them up with some character choices that made for a lovable impression. JS

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). 

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. 

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.

​“Ghosts” on CBS, which aired its fourth season in the 2024-25 network TV season, was the most consistently funny sitcom of the year, which is why we’re giving it our Best Comedy Series honor. The show hasn’t had a whole lot of change over time – Rose McIver’s innkeeper Samantha still sees ghosts, her chef husband Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar) does not, and the ghosts inhabiting the inn are still doing their wild and wacky shenanigans – but the show’s concept hasn’t gotten old, yet, and provided the most and biggest laughs of any network TV show this year. 

​This wasn’t a great year for variety or talk shows on network TV, but that might only be our perspective on it. The world has gotten us down, and we’ve not been into the nightly reminder of how far we’ve fallen by watching the nightly talk shows with reminders of how and why, so we watched less “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers” this year than ever before. We enjoyed the over too soon differentness of “After Midnight,” thanks to comedian/host Taylor Tomlinson’s personality, but the quality of the show depended too much on the panel of guests to pull off winning this honor. NBC’s long-running sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live” celebrated its 50th season this year, and quite frankly it didn’t live up to the expectations or hype we placed upon it – as you could tell by going back into our archives and ready about each of the season’s 20 episodes, as well as its 50th anniversary special. But when it comes down to it, even with those disappointments, the highs of the season were good enough to still take the cake, as far as network variety and talk shows go. 

​None of the new network sitcoms really stood out all that much, but the three that interested us the most were Fox’s “Going Dutch,” NBC’s “Happy’s Place” and NBC’s “St. Denis Medical,” which all had their highs and lows throughout their freshmen season. We’ve chosen “Going Dutch” because the father/daughter relationship and chemistry between Denis Leary and Taylor Misiak provided the most consistent laughs (it might help that the season was about half as long as the other two, which isn’t really a compliment). “Going Dutch,” about a U.S. military base in the Netherlands deemed “the least important Army base in the world,” has the capability to grow into something more and it pairs well with “Animal Control,” one of our favorites, on Fox. 

​Here’s the thing … we figured the 50th anniversary special of “Saturday Night Live” would be our winner for Best Comedy Episode of the 2024-25 season before it even aired. We’re ‘SNL’ nerds and putting that many legendary cast members and hosts together for a three-hour-plus night of comedy is just too much to pass up on. While we didn’t find the 50th anniversary special to be perfect, it focused too much on the last quarter-century of the show, or as good as the one that preceded it a decade prior, it was still impossible to top as far as a single comedy episode of the season. These were our favorite moments from the episode… Click the link to check them out! 

​Utkarsh Ambudkar probably has the most challenging job of any actor on the CBS supernatural sitcom “Ghosts,” as his character, Jay, is the only one on the show who can’t commune with the spirits that inhabit the inn that he and his wife run. This leads to a lot of scenes where Ambudkar has to play the butt of the joke or confusion, and he always does yeoman’s work with it. There’s a charming awe-shucks-ness about the character that Ambudkar effortlessly pulls off.  

​Quinta Brunson’s performance as the uber-optimistic, outgoing second-grade teacher Janine Teagues on ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” a show she created, has been one of the loveliest performances on network TV over its four seasons. It was nice to see Janine back in the classroom in season four, after what we considered a misstep by the show in having her join the school board the previous season. The classroom and antics with her teacher coworkers at Abbott are where the character and Brunson’s performance shine the most, and her budding relationship with Tyler James Williams’ Gregory Eddie was a highlight of season four. 

​Janelle James has been one of the comedic standouts on ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” as outlandish school principal Ava Coleman over the show’s four seasons. James has managed to make a character who spends much of her time bullying her staff and seemingly being inept at her job into a lovable character, never more so than in season four when the show’s writers give her character a bit more heart, and equally as important is shown not to be as bad at the job as we thought she was. James’ performance provides laughter every time she’s on screen. 

​James Austin Johnson has already joined legends like Dana Carvey, Darrell Hammond and Bill Hader as far as greatest impressionists in the 50-year history of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” and because he plays the most accurate version of Donald Trump the show has ever seen, he gets a large amount of time on screen to show his craft. We may like to see JAJ’s Trump on ‘SNL’ a little less, especially as time goes on, but you have to admire the perfection that is the impression. Johnson had the opportunity to break out another fantastic impression in season 50 in Bob Dylan that I hope we’ll get to see more of, but I’m not sure that would make a whole lot of sense. 

​Dana Carvey is an all-time “Saturday Night Live” legend. It was fantastic to see him so often on the show for the first half of the milestone 50th season, as he was tasked with the impression of President Joe Biden, whom had a more minor role on the show as he backed away from being the Democratic Party’s candidate for President, but was still President. Carvey played Biden the way he and much of the country viewed him in his final year in office, super aloof, a bit confused and full of grandpa-ness. Carvey has always been fascinating with impressions as he’s able to play them with equal amounts of accuracy and character that make them one-of-a-kind. It was also terrific to see him reprise his most frequently recurring character from his time on the show, The Church Lady, during the season.  

​One of the toughest things in show biz is likely when a musician has to pull double duty as host and musical guest on NBC’s long-running sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live.” Lady Gaga’s acting skills likely make it a bit easier for her, but still, it has to be a long week. She had done it before, more than 10 years prior, but in season 50, she completely knocked it out of the park, especially with hilarious live sketches like riding luggage around Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center and memorable pre-taped segments like “Pip,” one of our favorite ‘SNL’ moments of the season. Lady Gaga is probably too busy to host ‘SNL’ frequently, but she showed she’s game for anything and applies her charm wonderfully.  

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.

Here are this year’s Broady Drama winners: 

​ABC’s “Will Trent” has been the best drama series on network television for a couple of years now, showing that a procedural cop drama can become more than a “case of the week,” when you mold characters as interesting as the ones it showcases, and have a cast with incredible chemistry. Based on author Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent series of novels, the show focuses on the titular character, played wonderfully by Ramon Rodriguez, a talented special agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, who has a troubled backstory stemming from a childhood spent in foster care. “Will Trent” deftly combines fun, crime stories with a charming sense of humor, making for one of television’s most enjoyable watches. 

As you probably guessed from the nominations for Best Drama Series, our Best New Drama Series of the 2024-25 television season is the CBS series “NCIS: Origins.” Never would we have guessed a prequel to the long-running, popular CBS naval crime drama “NCIS” would be such a riveting drama, especially given that series seemed to be dwindling with the mothership in its 22nd season and all of its American sequels having come to an end. But there was still some life left in the story of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, whom Mark Harmon played on “NCIS” for most of its run. The story of how Gibbs, played in the prequel by Austin Stowell, became involved with NCIS, then called NIS, and how those around him helped him survive tragedy was a terrific way to continue the show’s legacy. 

​When you count up all of the episodes of the “NCIS” series over the two-decade-plus run of the shows (six in total), you have more than 1,000 episodes of dramatic television, and every single one of those episodes had been a procedural “crime of the week” story. So, it was incredibly shocking when “NCIS: Origins” aired “Blue Bayou” in its freshman season, and there wasn’t a dead body at the beginning, and a case that the special agents spent the remainder of the episode trying to solve. Instead, “Blue Bayou” tells of one of the most critical relationships Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the hero of the “NCIS” extended universe, ever had in the form of his landlady turned friend and trusted confidant. The episode is just Austin Stowell as Gibbs and London Garcia as his landlady/friend Ruth and the two expertly chew the scenery in an episode style I hope the show comes back to at some point in the future.

​Ramon Rodriguez brings so much to the role of the titular Will Trent on the ABC drama. He’s the most brilliant special agent in the room and has managed to achieve this despite having dyslexia. But he also has so much darkness in his past, growing up a foster kid, never knowing his parents, finding out his mother was murdered, and all of this stuff comes up often. He also has an on-again, off-again relationship with Detective Angie Polaski (Erika Christensen), which is off in Season Three after a devastating turn in the Season Two finale. Rodriguez has never been better than in season three, when his character experienced the truly horrifying storyline of accidentally killing an innocent teenager with an errant shot while in a shootout with a criminal.  

This was a tough choice. Kathy Bates was her typical Kathy Bates greatness in the first season of the CBS law drama “Matlock” and Erika Christensen has never been better than in the third season of ABC’s “Will Trent.” However, for the second year running, we’re going with Carrie Preston’s humorously wacky and charming performance as attorney-cum-police consultant Elsbeth Tascioni in the CBS drama “Elsbeth.” Preston was made for the role of Elsbeth, something we first realized when the character was stealing episodes and winning Emmy Awards on “The Good Wife.” It was a terrific idea with showrunners Robert and Michelle King to give the character her own series, and Preston’s performance hasn’t grown old yet. 

​Muse Watson portrayed the grizzled character of Mike Franks, the mentor and old friend of Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs, so well for 20 episodes on “NCIS” that it would be hard to imagine anybody stepping into his shoes. However, Kyle Schmid owns the character of Mike Franks in his younger days as the lead agent in an NIS office in the early ‘90s, who brings Gibbs into the fold and mentors him in his gruff, old-school way. Schmid nails the gruffness of the Franks character to a T, but where the performance truly shines is with the heart and care he puts into the role when it comes to the people closest to him, or those he can identify with, who he believes need to be cut a break. 

​This is one I might have to rethink next year, because honestly Skye P. Marshall’s performance as attorney Olympia Lawrence in the freshman CBS law drama “Matlock” feels like a co-lead situation with Kathy Bates. But because Bates is the titular Matlock, well, sort of (you’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen the show), we’ll let Marshall sneak into the supporting actress category at least for the show’s first season. Marshall’s Olympia is a powerhouse of an attorney, who may have gotten her foot into the big Jacobson Moore because she was married to the boss’s son, but she has more than earned her position and shows as much, while also dealing with divorce, motherhood, a fight to become partner and having the be a mentor to three attorneys, one of which is elderly and out of her comfort zone. It’s toward the end of the season when Marshall plays Olympia as a betrayed friend and co-worker that Marshall really earned this honor.  

​Michael Emerson has made a career of playing great television villains, and had recently wrapped up one of his most memorable as satanic Leland Townsend on “Evil,” created by Robert and Michelle King. He brought those terrifying tendencies to the King’s CBS law drama “Elsbeth” this season as a murderously corrupt judge, who crossed paths with the titular do-gooder. The most glorious part of Emerson’s turn on “Elsbeth” is that his real-life wife Carrie Preston plays the title character. Seeing the two work opposite of each other (which they’d done briefly before on CBS’ “Person of Interest”) was a lot of fun, representing good versus evil. It’s just a shame Emerson won’t be returning for future episodes.  

​London Garcia was an unknown actress to us before we saw her in the Season 1 “NCIS: Origins” episode “Blue Bayou,” and by the end of the episode, she had delivered one of our single favorite performances on television all year. Garcia plays Ruth, the landlady of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, in the episode, which features her irascible, no-nonsense character initially butting heads with the young Marine-turned-special agent before becoming his closest confidant. “Blue Bayou,” which kicked the usual “case of the week” aspect of “NCIS” shows to the curb for an excellent character study, sees the entire friendship between the two from the beginning to its tragic end, and Garcia instantly ingrained herself into the “NCIS” lore. 

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.


Here are this year’s Broady Drama Series nominations: 

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.


Here are this year’s Broady Comedy Series nominations: 

by Julian Spivey
July is kind of a dead month for television and streaming, but we’ve thrown together a few options to check out this month.

Here’s what you should watch for July 2025. 
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Major League Baseball All-Star Game (Fox) – Tuesday, July 15
Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game will feature the best players and biggest names in the sport, like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Paul Skenes, and more from Atlanta’s Truist Park on Tuesday, July 15. The game will be broadcast on Fox at 7 p.m. (CST). The MLB All-Star Game starters will be revealed tomorrow (July 2) at 6 p.m. (CST) on ESPN.
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The Open Championship (NBC/USA Network) – Thursday, July 17 through Sunday, July 20
The 153rd Open Championship (known by some as the British Open) will be held at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland from Thursday, July 17, through Sunday, July 20. It will be the third time the Open Championship has been held at Royal Portrush. Shane Lowry won the championship most recently at Royal Portrush in 2019. The Open Championship is the fourth and final major championship of the 2025 golf calendar and a new golfer looks to join Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and J.J. Spaun as major winners this year. The Open Championship can be seen on NBC and the USA Network.

Washington Black (Hulu) – Wednesday, July 23
Emmy Award-winner Sterling K. Brown is looking to have his second Hulu hit of 2025 when “Washington Black” premieres on Wednesday, July 23. Brown starred in Hulu’s political thriller “Paradise” in January, which might land him another Emmy nomination when those are announced in a couple of weeks. Based on the 2018 novel by Esi Edugyan, “Washington Black,” executive produced by Brown and Selwyn Seyfu, will star Ernest Kingsley Jr. as the titular character, who escapes from slavery and comes under the wing of Medwin Harris, played by Brown, who himself had a similarly traumatic childhood. All eight episodes of the series will be available on July 23.

Happy Gilmore 2 (Netflix) – Friday, July 25
The Open Championship might be the most exciting golfing event of July for traditional golf fans, but for the non-traditional golf fans, it’s without a doubt the long-awaited premiere of “Happy Gilmore 2” on July 25th on Netflix. “Happy Gilmore 2” picks up nearly 30 years after the first film and sees the titular character, played by Adam Sandler, coming out of retirement to help pay for his daughter’s ballet school. Julie Bowen, Christopher McDonald and Ben Stiller reprise their roles from the 1996 comedy classic. Bad Bunny and Sandler’s real-life daughter, Sunny, are joining the cast. More than 15 current or former professional golfers are reportedly set to cameo in the film.
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