Coverage of Last Year’s Devastating Fires, and the Aftermath, Dominate L.A. Area Emmy Nominations — as PBS SoCal, ABC7, KMEX Lead Tally

PBS SoCal, KABC/ABC7 and KMEX led the tally on Tuesday as the TV Academy announced nominations for the 78th annual L.A. Area Emmy Awards.

The annual ceremony will take place on Saturday, July 25, at the Skirball Cultural Center. As for this year's nominee totals, PBS SoCal landed 29 nominations; KABC/ABC7 received 21, Univision outlet KMEX received 20, Telemundo's KVEA had 18, KNBC/NBC4 landed 15 and Spectrum News 1 had 10.

Per the TV Academy, the Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards "honor locally produced programs in the categories of Crime and Social Issues, Culture and History, the Arts, Human Interest, Sports, the Environment, and Live and Breaking News Coverage."

For the station newscast awards, every TV station that submits is eligible. This year's eligibility period was for the 2025 calendar year, which means many of the news categories were dominated by local coverage of the devastating wildfires that ripped through the region last January.

Last year, PBS SoCal (KOCE/KCET) led the 2025 L.A. Area Emmy awards with eight total, but the other big winner of the night was Telemundo’s KVEA-TV, which took home all three station awards for best newscasts — for daily morning (4 a.m. to 11 a.m.), daily daytime (11 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and daily evening (7 p.m. to 12 a.m.).

Find this year's nominees here.

L.A. Plays Itself — But Not All of It — In Comedies Like ‘Hacks,’ ‘Nobody Wants This,’ ‘The Studio’ and ‘Shrinking’

It’s a cheat, but one of my biggest applause lines these days while moderating an industry panel is when I point out that a show shoots in Los Angeles. It’s an easy way to get a cheer from a Hollywood crowd looking for any good news.

So here’s some positive spin. Despite the very real concerns about runaway production and the scarcity of Hollywood shoots, there actually have been quite a few right now on the comedy side: “Hacks,” “Shrinking,” “The Studio,” “Nobody Wants This,” “Platonic,” “I Love L.A.,” “Running Point” and others.

Not only have those series chosen to film in Los Angeles, but they’ve done an amazing job showcasing cool pockets in and around the city. L.A. used to almost always play itself, but lately it feels like Vancouver or Atlanta is scrubbing in as the City of Angels. Los Angeles is having a rough go of it, but at least on TV, it’s still looking shiny and vibrant.

But is that too much of a disconnect from the malaise we’re actually feeling here? I knew the right person to ask: TV writer-producer Hayes Davenport, who is also an activist, has worked in L.A. city government and recently co-founded the local news site L.A. Material.

“I think the tension in some of these shows is that, by definition, a TV show is about people doing things,” he tells me. “And one of the biggest concerns that people have in L.A. right now is a reduction in the amount of activity in the city. Vacant businesses, population decline, affordability issues sending people out of the city and state, the loss of entire neighborhoods from the fires — all of it has led to, I think, a sense in the last few years of just a less vibrant city.”

But the creators of the series mentioned above live and set their shows in Los Angeles neighborhoods that still feel dynamic: Highland Park, Eagle Rock, Atwater Village, Silver Lake. “These neighborhoods that they’re showing are neighborhoods that have retained their activity,” Davenport notes. “These are not shows that are necessarily reflecting the drawdown in activity that we’re seeing across the city.”

Other parts of the city haven’t been so lucky. The disastrous ICE raids have turned portions of downtown, like the Flower District or Santee Alley, into ghost towns. The fires, the housing crisis … why isn’t any of that depicted in TV’s L.A. stories? That’s partly due to the time it takes to get shows made in the streaming era, Davenport notes.

“They’re trying to do things that are a bit more evergreen, stories about people that live in the city, but maybe not stories about the city itself as much,” he says. “Because the city is changing so rapidly, you risk making an outdated show if you’re trying to reflect the city as it exists right now.”

It cuts both ways: Neighborhoods like Pacific Palisades and Altadena are chilling to see right now, unrecognizable after last year’s fires. But on the flip side, areas around Wilshire and Fairfax are gaining new life as the Metro’s D line starts service and the new LACMA building opens.

“You have activity increasing here in ways that it hasn't for decades, and like the nodes of activity in the city are shifting around pretty quickly,” he says. “It's hard to anticipate how that movement is going to happen.”

Davenport says shows about the entertainment biz, like “Hacks,” “The Comeback” and “The Studio,” are perhaps the most authentic in portraying Los Angeles at the moment, since they’re tackling some of the real issues that come with the industry’s downturn and how L.A. is changing because of it.

Also missing in Hollywood’s depiction of Los Angeles is a nonwhite perspective. A decade ago, shows like “Insecure,” “Black-ish” and “Vida” celebrated a diverse city — and that representation is strikingly missing from the current crop of L.A.-set series. Davenport blames it on the business’s contraction.

“If you have fewer people making shows and movies now, you are going to see fewer experiences reflected,” he says. “That applies to neighborhoods too. The coverage is going to shift to the places where people working in the entertainment industry live — and there are fewer people working in entertainment than there were just a few years ago.” No applause there.

‘Ninja Warrior’ Obstacle Racing Joins 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

“Ninja Warrior” is making its way to the Olympics. Tokyo Broadcasting System Television — the producer behind the TV format “Sasuke” (adapted around the world, including in the U.S., as various versions of “Ninja Warrior”) — has sealed a deal with Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne to incorporate the format into the new Modern Pentathlon discipline of “obstacle racing.”

UIPM, the international federation and the world governing body for “a multisports universe spearheaded by Modern Pentathlon,” has worked with TBS since 2022 in creating several test events based on “Sasuke”/”Ninja Warrior” and other obstacle sports elements. That led to the development of UIPM’s obstacle racing.

The Pentathlon was introduced to the Olympics in 1912, consisting of five disciplines: fencing, swimming, equestrian show jumping, running and shooting. (Running and shooting have more recently been combined as “laser run.”)

The International Olympic Committee voted unanimously in 2023 to include the updated Modern Pentathlon — with obstacle racing — at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. So, after the 2024 Paris Olympics, UIPM replaced equestrian show jumping with obstacle racing at all levels.

Read more here.

VARIETY COVER: 'Hacks' Ends With Tears, a Hilarious Lesbian Episode and the Louvre — Cementing Its Legacy as One of the Best Comedies in TV History

It’s early on a warm January morning in Las Vegas, and the entire “Hacks” team — stars, crew, producers — is milling around Kyu, a sushi restaurant at the Fontainebleau. It’s going to be a busy day of filming, with three locations scattered around the city. 

But a wistfulness permeates the production today as cameras prepare to roll. After five seasons on HBO Max, this is the final day of stateside filming for “Hacks,” so for most of the cast and crew, it is also farewell.

“I’m not going to be boisterous or fun today,” star Hannah Einbinder warns me. When Jean Smart walks over and I remind her what a monumental moment this is, she instantly tears up. “We really came to feel like best friends and family and so — yeah, that’s very hard,” she says.

Hours later, as the clock approaches midnight, production has relocated to the Orleans Arena, and it all comes down to this: a quiet, touching scene between Smart’s character, legendary comedian Deborah Vance, and her confidant and creative partner, the younger writer Ava Daniels (played by Einbinder).

The walkway where they’re shooting this two-hander — next to some brightly lit concession stands — is huge, and dozens of crew members are standing there, frozen, as they capture the shot. It’s hushed as Deborah strolls through the empty arena; she’s just faced a tremendous disappointment, and Ava is there to comfort her. The two are alone, and few words are exchanged or even necessary. Having been bonded by the events of the past five seasons, Deborah and Ava have never been closer.

“The entire crew was just standing behind the camera watching us, like every department, in a way that’s not typical,” Einbinder recalls later. “It was almost eerie and sad and beautiful and familial. It’s seared into my brain forever.”

And then it’s over. A producer breaks the tension, announcing, “After six incredible years, that is an American wrap on Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart!”

It’s late, everyone is exhausted — yet the crowd can’t stop cheering. At the center of it all, Smart has her arm around Einbinder, who returns the affection with a peck on her co-star’s cheek. By now, their eyes are bloodshot. They take a moment to soak it all in, and then Einbinder motions for the crew to get closer. It’s a group hug that lasts and lasts, and she doesn’t want to let it go: “I would like to organize some semi-regular park hangs,” Einbinder tells the crowd as they finally pull back. “I’m just putting that on your radar. You’re going to get department texts!”

And that was just the “American wrap” for “Hacks.” No spoilers, but the show traveled to Paris to shoot its final episode, and managed to film in the Louvre (no easy feat given the museum’s recent heist!). With just 12 or so people in the room, that made the series’ final take even more intimate.

“We said, ‘I love you,’ and cried,” Smart says, describing it to me later. “The last shot of us was in this long room with huge, high ceilings, and just us on a bench about the size of a couch. We were lying flat on our backs staring at the ceiling, with these 40-foot-high Dutch masters paintings, and ad-libbing. We were just making up crazy shit. It was fun to end it that way.”

What a poignant send-off for “Hacks,” after a tremendously successful and hard-won (more on that later) journey. Created by showrunners Lucia Aniello, Jen Statsky and Paul W. Downs (who also plays Deborah’s beleaguered agent Jimmy), “Hacks” returns for this final season on April 9, with the series finale airing on May 28. This is one of those “end-of-an-era” moments, as “Hacks” was a defining series of the decade — and will be remembered as one of the most influential comedies of all time.

Read more here.

‘Charlie’s Angels’ Reunion at PaleyFest: Stars Recall Bikini Battles, Cast Changes, Health Scares and Making TV History

Cheryl Ladd chuckled as she remembered being called a “troublemaker” by “Charlie’s Angels” producer Aaron Spelling. Ladd said Spelling liked her being in a bikini on the hit 1970s series — but she was having to wear one on screen so often “that it was starting to piss me off.”

Speaking on stage Monday at the Paley Center’s PaleyFest L.A. panel celebrating the 50th anniversary of “Charlie’s Angels,” Ladd recounted how she sent the show’s producers a message: “I went out and bought the tiniest little bikini ever seen on television!” Something that wouldn’t pass muster with ABC censors.

“We filmed, and Aaron was not happy,” she said. “So he said to someone, ‘tell the little troublemaker that she’s never going to do that again!’ And I didn’t, but I did make my point. And after that, I was wearing swimsuits I felt comfortable in.”

Added co-star Jaclyn Smith: “And our ratings went up!”

Ladd, Smith and Kate Jackson — who was instrumental in first getting “Charlie’s Angels” up and running — shared stories about the show’s origins, their favorite moments and other memories to a packed PaleyFest crowd at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Read more here.