As the architect of several of the greatest sitcoms in TV history, including “All in the Family,” “The Jeffersons,” “Maude,” and “Good Times,” Lear has married humor with biting social commentary in a fashion that revolutionized the industry. While Lear continues to be an active mentor and producer within the community, he has also dedicated himself over the years to both political and social activism. “Norman Lear is among the most prolific creators of this generation,” HFPA president Ali Sar said in a statement....

“There’s a hunger for this character to come back,” McGregor says in the sizzle. “The fans have been waiting long enough, ya know?” All episodes of “Obi-Wan” are being helmed by Deborah Chow, who directed two fan-favorite installments of “The Mandalorian.” The show picks up after the events of “Revenge of the Sith,” with Obi-Wan living in secret on Tatooine and tasked with protecting a young Luke Skywalker. Chow set the stage for the series by saying, “This is a quite a dark time we’re coming into with him, just being a Jedi; it’s not safe....

Their goal: to stage a Zoom-less affair packed (at a safe distance) with as many live human nominees and presenters (each allowed one guest) as possible, the producers reiterated. “This is the walking definition of trying to build an airplane while it’s in the air,” said Soderbergh. The filmmaker, who has been shooting his second film during COVID, wants viewers to feel drawn into a cinematic experience far away from the television they’ve been watching and the trapped-at-home feeling of the pandemic, from wide-angle lenses, 24 fps images, and a Questlove score, to creative over-the-shoulder camera angles of attendees reacting to the show....

Looking good for a long overdue Oscar win after two acting nods is Will Smith (“Ali” in 2002, “The Pursuit of Happyness” in 2007) as a driven father and coach to tennis prodigies Serena and Venus Williams in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s sports heart-tugging Best Picture contender “King Richard” (Warner Bros./HBO Max). So far he’s won SAG, BAFTA, and Critics Choice, so the Oscar is Smith’s to lose. Landing second acting slots are two popular British stars deploying American accents: Andrew Garfield (“Hacksaw Ridge”) is a workaholic composer seeking his big break on Broadway in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s adaptation of Jonathan Larson musical “Tick, Tick, Boom” (Netflix), while Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Imitation Game”) is a surly Montana rancher undermining the wife (Kirsten Dunst) of his brother (Jesse Plemons) in Jane Campion’s western Best Picture frontrunner “The Power of the Dog” (Netflix)....

Casting “Licorice Pizza” started with Alana Haim, best known for rocking out with her sisters in the band Haim. Anderson wrote Alana’s part for her as “Alana looks like a girl from the Valley; she talks like a girl from the Valley; she is a girl from the Valley. She has a ferociousness. She’s very eager and she’s a quick learner. I don’t know how many more boxes you can tick....

The synopsis per Audible: “‘Hit Job’ follows Brynn Morris (Palmer), an aspiring artist desperate for a job to help her ailing grandmother. As a last resort, she takes a job as an administrative assistant at a company with the motto: “Do Bad Things for Good Reasons.” Joining forces with her awkward tech nerd of a coworker Geo (Davidson), she unexpectedly gets swept up in a company-wide contest that forces her to question her morals....

Both the drama and comedy series categories saw a lot of turnover from last year’s PGA nominations. In drama, current Emmy favorite, Netflix’s”The Crown,” was the lone holdover from 2020. The same goes for Pop TV’s “Schitt’s Creek” in comedy series. But perhaps the most exciting aspect of today’s nominations is that both categories have the potential to crown a series that has never before won a PGA Award, creating an opportunity to honor a new generation of TV’s best shows....