The 66th Annual Emmy Awards will include a special tribute to Robin Williams on Monday, Aug. 25. “Plans for the In Memoriam segment are in discussion,” executive producer Don Mischer told People Magazine. “While we are all still coming to terms with this week’s tragic news, we are working to give Robin Williams the proper and meaningful remembrance he so well deserves.” Williams, whose TV career began 36 years ago, got his big break on Happy Days as the bizarre alien Mork (the “My Favorite Orkan” episode of Happy Days will air on Hub Network this Friday night). The popularity of Mork led to the spin-off Mork & Mindy, which ran from 1978 to 1982 and earned Williams his first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 1979. Williams went on to score eight more nominations, winning two Emmys in the late ’80s for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. Williams was also nominated for hosting Comic Relief, which reportedly raised $80 million for charity over the years.
Announced Wednesday, HBO’s The Leftovers is coming back for a second season. The divisive series about a rapture-like event and its effect on the residents of a small suburban town, split critics and audiences alike, and even shut down production during season one, causing a delay with the series premiere. The announcement comes somewhat late in the season, with episode eight, “Cairo,” airing this Sunday. The Leftovers is created by Damon Lindelof (Lost) and novelist Tom Perrotta, who wrote the book on which the series is based. Season one will wrap up on HBO on Sunday, Sept. 7.
In an interview with Vulture this week, Outlander
‘s Sam Heughan said that he auditioned for Game of Thrones seven times. “I auditioned for Renly, Loras, some of the members of the Night’s Watch, and I’d always get so close!” Heughan told Vulture’s Jennifer Vineyard. “I’d be like, ‘Guys, just give me a sword!'” Heughan, who admitted that all those Thrones auditions probably gave him more confidence his Outlander try-out, said he had a feeling about Jamie Fraser, the Scottish warrior and love interest of Catriona Balfe’s lead character Claire Randall. “This part felt different. I knew this character. I felt a connection with him,” Heughan said. Outlander premiered Saturday on Starz and is an adaptation of a popular book series by Diana Gabaldon. It is currently 89 percent Certified Fresh on the Tomatometer.
The hit FX anthology series American Horror Story made a couple of casting announcements this week, including the addition of Jyoti Amge, the world’s smallest living woman. Amge (pictured above in a tweet by co-creator Ryan Murphy), was the subject of the 2009 documentary Body Shock: Two Foot High Teen, and stands at 2 feet, 0.6 inches. She will join the cast along with singer Patti LaBelle, who will appear in four episodes of AHS as the mother of Gabourey Sidibe’s character. Freak Show is set in 1950s Florida and will premiere on FX in October.
Airing September 2 on ABC, The Story of Frozen: Making a Disney Animated Classic will be a behind-the-scenes look at the popular 2013 Disney film. The one-hour special will include interviews with cast members Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel, along with directors, songwriters, producer, and artists. The special will also feature preview footage of Once Upon a Time, the live-action fairy-tale series returning to ABC for season four on Sept. 28 The new season will include a Frozen storyline, introducing Frozen’s Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff to Storybrooke.
