Ted Danson, Jean Smart, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Ed Bradley, Sheila Nevins, and Ted Sarandos were enshrined in the TV Hall of Fame on Thursday in an all-star ceremony.
Danson was introduced by his wife, Mary Steenburgen. Danson is a two-time Emmy Award winner for his long-running role on Cheers and an 18-time nominee. His other series include Becker, C.S.I., Curb Your Enthusiasm, Damages, Fargo, The Good Place, and A Man on the Inside. He and Steenburgen also received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.
Danson joked about his mother’s response to his success in the early days of Cheers. Her comment at the time was, “Well, of course I’m happy for him. But I’ve always believed in the nobility of quiet failure.” He also discussed how his family had no TV set when he was growing up, so he would devour shows when visiting family. The first person he saw on a TV when he moved to New York City was Dick Van Dyke falling over an ottoman in the opening credits of The Dick Van Dyke Show.
Smart was inducted by Hacks co-creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky. She has won seven Emmy Awards for roles on Frasier, Samantha Who?, and Hacks. Her other television credits include Designing Women, Mare of Easttown, Watchmen, and Fargo. For her career, she has received 14 Emmy nominations and is in second place for performance wins, just behind the eight won by Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Smart tearfully saluted her team from Hacks, which also included co-stars Hannah Einbinder and Christopher McDonald in attendance. Smart also shared her love of television history, notably Bonanza, The Dinah Shore Show, The Twilight Zone, and variety from Carol Burnett and Dean Martin. She noted that those classic shows and her favorite yearly specials were programs that everyone had to wait to see, and lamented that audiences today might be missing out by being able to stream anything on demand.
Parker and Stone were inducted by their former South Park writer and Emmy winner Bill Hader. The duo are animators, writers, producers, directors, and songwriters best known for co-creating South Park and the musical The Book of Mormon. South Park has received 18 Emmy nominations and five wins for Best Animated Program. They are also both Tony and Grammy winners, and Parker was Oscar-nominated for co-writing the Best Song nominee “Blame Canada” from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.
Stone reminded the audience that South Park first debuted the night of Aug. 13, 1997, exactly 29 years ago. He said this was a huge honor and apologized to his wife and kids for missing so much. He added the key to television is “deadlines. We wouldn’t get anything done without deadlines. … Something is going on the air, and what is it going to be?” Parker then joked that he used ChatGPT to help write his speech because he couldn’t remember everybody who needed to be thanked.
Jerry Seinfeld took the stage ostensibly to induct Netflix co-CEO Sarandos, but also took time out from his presentation to launch his own campaign for next year’s Hall of Fame class.
Sarandos has been responsible for all content operations at Netflix since 2000. He led the company’s transition into original content production beginning in 2013 with the launch of House of Cards, Arrested Development, and Orange Is the New Black. Other series under his leadership include Bridgerton, The Crown, Ozark, The Queen’s Gambit, and Stranger Things.
He discussed his passion for television since he was a “fan” as a child, and that he’s always looked to work with Creators (“with a capital C”). He added, “The relationship we have with people on TV is intimate, and we spend more time with it than a lot of people in our lives. They become part of our family. They help us discover more about ourselves. They’re also there with us in the best and worst of times.”
Emmy, Grammy, and Tony winner Lily Tomlin inducted Nevins, who was unable to travel due to an illness. In a taped acceptance speech, Nevins thanked Dr. Anthony Fauci for helping bring vaccines to the U.S., which has helped her get over COVID quickly this month. She also discussed the rest of the inductees and what they have meant to her and to television itself.
Nevins is one of the most influential producers in documentary filmmaking. She was both president of HBO Documentary Films and head of MTV Documentary Films division. She has produced more than 1,500 documentaries, including Spike Lee’s Peabody-winning Hurricane Katrina documentary, If God Is Willing and da Creek Don’t Rise, as well as For Neda, Baghdad ER, Section 60 Arlington National Cemetery, and To Die in Jerusalem. She has worked on productions that won 36 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, 44 Peabody Awards, and 27 Academy Awards. She has won 32 individual Primetime Emmy Awards, more than any other person.
Bradley was inducted by longtime CBS journalist Lesley Stahl, in a pre-recorded clip. He was among the first Black journalists to achieve national prominence and the first to serve as White House correspondent for CBS News, his broadcast home for four decades. Following a stint as a weekend anchor of the CBS Evening News, Bradley joined 60 Minutes in 1981 and would remain a fixture at the newsmagazine until his death in 2006 at the age of 65. He received 20 Emmys over the course of his career along with the a Peabody Award.
Bradley’s widow, Patricia Blanchet, accepted on his behalf. In the ending of her speech, she took on the current state of news: “When the viability of this most necessary of public services, such a fundamental pillar of our democracy, is at risk, I miss the special skills that Ed brought to the work that we need to uphold our way of life.”
This was the 28th Hall of Fame ceremony presented by the Television Academy. Since its founding in 1984, the TV Hall of Fame has honored individuals whose lasting contributions have shaped the medium — either through remarkable single accomplishments or a career of pioneering work. The inaugural event in 1984 featured the inductions of actress and executive Lucille Ball, actor Milton Berle, writer Paddy Chayefsky, producer and writer Norman Lear, journalist and host Edward R. Murrow, CBS founder William S. Paley, and NBC founder David Sarnoff. Last year’s class included actors Viola Davis and Henry Winkler; host and writer Conan O’Brien; producer and director Don Mischer; producer, director, and writer Ryan Murphy; and composer Mike Post.
