News

An upcoming arrival on Go90 will give four funnywomen a platform through which they can display their comedic chops. Sorry Not Sorry, a sketch series co-produced by Astronauts Wanted, Diga Studios, and Complex Networks, will arrive on July 25.

Each of Sorry Not Sorry’s eight episodes will consist of brief clips that will be loosely connected by a central theme. These scenes will be played out by four performers, including Manon Matthews and Hannah Pilkes, both of whom had substantial followings on Vine back when Twitter’s six-second video platform was still a thing. Joining them will be Esther Ku, who has appeared on MTV’s Girl Code, and Traci Stumpf, who has landed hosting gigs on digital platforms like ClevverTV and terrestrial channels like MTV.

The significant MTV ties among the Sorry Not Sorry cast should not come as a surprise, given that Judy McGrath, the exec at the top of Astronauts Wanted,...

Astronauts Wanted, a joint venture of former MTV Networks CEO Judy McGrath, Sony Music Entertainment and Diga Studios (Scream, Teen Wolf) have teamed with Complex Networks on Sorry Not Sorry, an eight-episode female comedy sketch show, for premiere July 25 on Verizon’s go90. Featuring rising comics Manon Mathews, Esther Ku, Traci Stumpf and Hannah Pilkes, Sorry Not Sorry takes inspiration from viral shortform content and is an extension of the casts' existing work on…...

Digital producers cheered last year when the Television Academy expanded its short-form programming categories. But then they saw the nominees and winners.

Most of last year’s short form contenders didn’t come from digital-first producers or platforms, but came from traditional networks and talent. Adult Swim’s “Childrens Hospital” led all nominees, followed by the History channel’s “The Crossroads of History” and AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462.”

“Childrens Hospital” ultimately won the Outstanding Series category, which included just one independent contender: “Her Story,” about two transgender women living in Los Angeles. Besides “Crossroads of History” and “Flight 462,” the two other nominees were behind-the-scenes looks at popular TV shows: “Hack into Broad City” and “UnREAL The Auditions.”

In the short form nonfiction or reality series, another marketing series won, FX’s “Inside Look: The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”

That wasn’t quite what...

Youth content company Astronauts Wanted is teaming up with Mikey Murphy -- a popular vlogger and filmmaker, who counts 1.3 million subscribers on YouTube -- to produce a short film about high school bullying.

Dubbed Andy (working title) and co-written by Murphy and Emily Mattoon, the film is loosely based on Murphy’s personal experiences. It follows a bullied teen who is driven to exact revenge on his tormentors through social media, leading to harrowing consequences. Murphy will executive produce and direct the project alongside Judy McGrath, Nick Shore, Kim Rosen, and Cassidy Lunnen, who are serving as EPs for Astronauts Wanted.

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Fullscreen has given the greenlight to H8TERS, an original series starring digital comedy’s Kian Lawley and Jc Caylen, with a 10-episode order. The new comedy pokes fun at internet celebrity and Millennial culture. Produced by Astronauts Wanted (a joint venture between former MTV Networks Chairperson/CEO Judy McGrath and Sony Music Entertainment), H8TERS is written by Cody Lutz and Max Lavine and expected to premiere in early 2017. The shot-in-l.A. series will be…...

Over the course of a year, we talk to a lot of Hollywood’s brightest talents, about the projects which have inspired them most and the industry which at times supports, and at times hinders, their efforts to make their best work. As individuals, we’re often blown away by their insights; in gathering them together, we end up with a portrait of a community of artists and creators who love their art, for better and for worse.

Read More: The Best of 2016: IndieWire’s Year in Review Bible

Here are some of the best things our favorite actors, directors, writers, producers and more have shared with us over the last 12 months.

Diversity in the Industry (and The World)

“Do I want to make a huge studio picture that’s incredibly successful? Fuck yes, of course.” – Lake Bell

“‘Dolores, run!’ The first take we did, I ran — I’m not supposed to run.

Digital studio Astronauts Wanted has inked a pact with Pretty Little Liars star Tammin Sursok to produce a new scripted series titled Aussie Girl. The show, about an Australian star who aims to build a new life in Hollywood after her career suddenly takes a turn for the worse, is described by Astronauts Wanted as being “in the vein of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt meets Inside Amy Schumer.”

Sursok’s production company, Charlie Baby Productions, and the writer/director Sean McEwen are also developing the series. Astronauts Wanted is a youth-leaning joint venture between former MTV Networks chairperson and CEO Judy McGrath and Sony Music Entertainment.

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Bernie Su and David Tochterman’s Canvas Media Studios and Judy McGrath’s Astronauts Wanted plan to tell the story of a social media-obsessed teen who investigates a serial killer. Now, MTV has joined that mission. As first shared by The Hollywood Reporter, the music television network has signed on the co-develop the crime thriller Socio.

We first heard about Socio back in February, when its pilot had already been shot and Astronauts Wanted and Canvas were on the hunt for a distributor. The two production companies have since settled on MTV. Its unclear where the Viacom-owned network, which maintains an expansive digital presence to go along with its popular TV channel, will distribute Socio, nor has the project’s release date been revealed. No matter the ultimate details, Socio will serve as a reunion for McGrath and her former colleagues. Before launching Astronauts Wanted in 2014, she worked at MTV Networks,...

The ate-night digital series Tawk, produced by Astronauts Wanted and starring rapper-slash-actress Awkwafina, will return for two more seasons beginning next year on Verizon’s mobile go90 video platform, the companies announced today.

Astronauts Wanted, a joint venture between former MTV executive Judy McGrath and Sony Music Entertainment, initially premiered Tawk in 2014, and this year the series was nominated for a Streamy Award. Past episodes have featured Awkwafina (whse real name is Nora Lum) in strange scenarios with bold-faced guests, including rapping in a supermarket with SNL player Pete Davidson and dissing farm animals at a house party with YouTube megastar Lilly Singh. Guests for seasons four and five, which will begin to air in 2017, include the actor Josh Peck, singer-songwriter Jay Sean, and social media stars GloZell Green and Nicholas Megalis.

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Over its first two years, Astronauts Wanted has produced a number of projects led by big-name online video stars. Now, with its latest project, the studio founded by ex-mtv bigwig Judy McGrath is expanding its network of creative partners while maintaining its expertise across the social media landscape. It has announced Flight Club, which will incubate transmedia projects that will feature members of YouTube’s up-and-coming class.

As has been the case with Astronauts Wanted’s other productions, the programs developed by Flight Club will play out across multiple social media platforms, from Tumblr to Snapchat to Facebook Video. For its first project, Flight Club is taking a page out of another transmedia company’s book and producing a modernized adaptation of a classic work of literature. In this case, the work in question is Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which will be adapted into an offbeat, oddball series called Midsømmer.

Astronauts Wanted has introduced Midsømmer and the creators who will star in it via a series of videos on its YouTube channel. In one, for example, aspiring comedian Alex Vergel offers up his unique interpretation of the trickster Puck.

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A pair of digital studios are teaming up for a new web series. Astronauts Wanted, the production company founded by former MTV exec Judy McGrath, will team up with Bernie Su and David Tochterman’s Canvas Media Studios for Socio, an upcoming crime thriller.

Socio will star actress India Eisley as a social media-obsessed teenager who teams up with a detective to hunt down a serial killer. Su described Eisley’s character to The Hollywood Reporter as “a teenage sociopath who operates on social media,” so viewers should expect a darker tone, especially when compared to previous Su projects like The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and Emma Approved.

Both Astronauts Wanted and Canvas are known for productions that use social media as a storytelling device, so their collaborative effort will naturally feature a large number of transmedia integrations. Viewers will be able to follow the main characters on Twitter and interact with them across social sites,...

Verizon’s mobile-centric video platform Go90 is hungry for original content, and Astronauts Wanted will provide it with a pair of new shows. The studio run by former MTV exec Judy McGrath has announced a deal with Go90 that will include two new seasons of the talk show Tawk With Awkwafina and an extreme sports spinoff of the travel web series HeyUSA.

The new episodes of Tawk With Awkwafina will star the series’ titular rapper (whose real name is Nora Lum) as she sits town with her celebrity guests. Notable people who will appear on the show will include actress Alia Shawkat and YouTube star Lilly Singh (the latter of whom previously teamed up with Astronauts Wanted for a tour documentary called A Trip To Unicorn Island.)

Short clips from Tawk are available via Go90; the show’s first season episodes can be viewed on the Astronauts Wanted YouTube channel.

"Seeing the world through the eyes of a Blaria (a.k.a. Black Daria)." With those 12 little words, my blog began in 2012. More than expressing my musings on race, gender, and pop culture, the most important aspect of Blaria, which I didn't realize until just now, is that it's a nod to one of the best and most influential '90s feminist icons: Daria Morgendorffer. Anyone who went to Blaria instantly knew what tribe I aligned myself with, and what a tribe it was: sarcastic, droll, hyper-self-aware, and way too smart to deal with the shallow and flawed world around it. Daria was its queen.  Daria started out as a supporting cast member on Beavis and Butt-head because MTV's president, Judy McGrath, deemed that the show should have at least one intelligent female character. That's right, the mandate was not to have a bombshell character, or a sexy villain, or...

On May 22nd, Lilly Singh will travel to Mumbai for the first stop on her worldwide tour, “A Trip To Unicorn Island.” Singh, who releases videos to YouTube on her IISuperwomanII channel, will hit four cities in India before bringing her tour around the globe, and Astronauts Wanted will follow her on her journey. The studio founded by former MTV exec Judy McGrath will produce a feature-length film that will document Singh’s tour.

The film “will capture everything from Singh’s musical performances to her beloved Manjeet and Paramjeet sketches and ‘motivational philosophy for a new generation,’” according to information provided by Astronauts Wanted. Scott Winn, who is known on YouTube for his work with Devin Super Tramp and his ScottDW channel, will serve as director.

In a press release, Singh offered some thoughts about the project:

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Amazon has elected former MTV CEO Judy McGrath to its board of directors, another reminder of the company's growing interest in video production and distribution. McGrath worked at MTV for 30 years, rising from copywriter to chairman of not just MTV but a division that included VH1, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. She stepped down in 2011. McGrath has since teamed with Sony Music to establish Astronauts Wanted, a joint venture producing video and other media for the same demographic that once swore by MTV. The company is producing the second season of “@Summer Break,” a reality show only available for...

Amazon has elected to add former MTV Networks CEO Judy McGrath to its board of directors, effective Oct. 1. McGrath was also appointed to the Leadership Development and Compensation Committee at Amazon, according to a Friday SEC filing, and she was granted 2,520 shares of stock over three years. On Friday, Amazon's shares were trading at $308 each. McGrath ran MTV Networks for nearly seven years, from 2004-2011, after joining the cable channel when it first launched in 1981. For the past 13 months, she has been president of Astronauts Wanted *No Experience Necessary, her digital-entertainment joint

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Young filmmaker Desiree Akhavan and newcomer Peter Mark Kendall have been added to the fourth season of HBO comedy Girls as recurring. I hear they will play fellow students in the writing program Hannah (Lena Dunham) attends. Iranian American Akhavan shares the same filmmaker-actress pedigree as Girls creator and star Dunham. She directed and stars in her debut feature Appropriate Behavior, which premiered at Sundance, with an acquisition deal pending. Akhavan also is the co-creator and star of web comedy series The Slope and is in production on The Origin Of Shame, an animated series for Judy McGrath’s site Astronauts Wanted. She recently signed with UTA. Since graduating last year, Kendall, repped by Abrams Artists & AC Management, has landed a guest-starring role on another HBO series, the upcoming The Leftovers, a potentially recurring role in the TNT pilot Public Morals and a featured role in the film Time Out Of Mind.

Astronauts Wanted, No Experience Necessary, the joint venture between Judy McGrath and Sony Music Entertainment, has tapped Billy Parks as chief content officer. Parks is moving to Astronauts Wanted from The Chernin Group where has served as Evp Digital Production and Programming, it was announced today. At Astronauts, he will be responsible for developing and producing series and branded content aimed at young, social-savvy consumers. “Billy’s talent as a creative storyteller is perfect for Astronauts Wanted as we look to engage young people in bold new ways,” said McGrath. “He has a unique understanding of today’s young adults and how they consume, create and share content. Engaging this generation of content creators is our mission. Billy will team with Nick Shore, our Chief Creative Strategist, to develop content with and for the new wave of social media stars.” During his tenure at Tcg, Parks co-created and served as Executive Producer of @Summerbreak,...

1. Made in NY: The Made in NY Media Center by Ifp officially opened yesterday. It features the first government-sponsored incubator for transmedia and offers memberships for storytellers, artists, technology entrepreneurs and media corporate partners. Among the anchor tenants signed on to the Media Center are Astronauts Wanted, a new cross-platform entertainment company headed by Judy McGrath and Nick Shore, and Playmatics, which builds engaging games and user experiences on the internet and social media. Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson will be the Media Center's founding artist-in-residence. 2. Hulu on Chromecast: Hulu's subscription video-on-demand service is now available on Google's Chromecast streaming device for Hdtvs. "At Hulu, we are always thinking of new ways to make watching TV a more delightful and convenient experience for our users. The Hulu Plus app on Chromecast does just that, and we are very excited to announce its arrival today. Our teams in Santa Monica and...

Mere weeks after announcing her new venture, Judy McGrath has made her first big hire. The former MTV Networks CEO has tapped Nick Shore, her former senior vp strategic insights and research at MTV, as the chief creative strategist for her new joint venture with Sony Music, Astronauts Wanted: No Experience Necessary. In his new role, Shore will be focused on guiding the development of entertainment and marketing content targeted at both the millennial generation, for which he and McGrath are very familiar, and their successors, Generation Z. He will also play a broad role across Sony Entertainment, where he’ll

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Former MTV Networks CEO Judy McGrath has formed a joint venture with Sony Music aimed at developing multimedia content targeted to millennials. "There’s so much great content out there, we will need to find some new ways to reflect the creativity of a new generation," McGrath told the New York Post, which first reported details of the new gig. Photos: MTV Movie Awards: Selena Gomez, Joss Whedon, Kim Kardashian Hit the Red Carpet According to the Post, McGrath's venture is named Astronauts Wanted: No Experience Necessary and will target TV, the Internet and mobile devices. Its soundtrack to expected

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Exclusive: The 2013 PromaxBDA Promotion, Marketing and Design Awards will be announced on closing night of the PromaxBDA International Conference at the J.W. Marriott at L.A. Live on June 20. The awards are hosted by PromaxBDA, the 10,000 member organization representing marketing professionals in 70 countries. The 2013 jury is chaired by Judy McGrath, former Chairman and CEO of the MTV Networks Group, and current adviser to Sony Music Entertainment and Lerer Ventures. Jurors for the 2013 awards include Adam Stotsky (Gm, Esquire Network), Steven Melnick (Svp Marketing, 20th Century Fox Television), Richard Loomis (Svp & Cmo, Disney Channels Worldwide), Patalia Tate (VP Creative & Marketing Strategy), Scripps Networks Interactive), Janet Rollé (Evp & Cmo, CNN Worldwide), John Ruppenthal (Senior Creative Director, PBS), Courteney Monroe (Cmo, National Geographic Channels Us), Pamela Levine ( Evp Marketing, HBO), Linda Schupack (Evp Marketing, AMC), Ellen Stone (Svp Marketing, Bravo Media), Guy Slattery (Evp Marketing, A&E Network), Molly Sugarman (VP, Managing Director,...

By Roger Friedman

HollywoodNews.com: The MTV Video Music Awards are so hard to watch, especially with the aftermath of a hurricane and a winning Yankee game occurring simultaneously. I don’t want to see Kim Kardashian or her like again. Aside from sampling Otis Redding, what the hell are Kanye West and Jay Z rapping about?

Britney Spears beats Adele for an award. What? Justin Bieber, who now looks so much like Ellen DeGeneres it isn’t funny, thanks Jesus because–there would have to be a Jesus to make Bieber possible. He’s a miracle of self invention. It’s just a cavalcade of crap, meaningless awfulness with the exception of Lady Gaga trying something new and Neyo — so talented–giving in to someone’s marketing plan. Let’s not forget the pitiful plan to rehabilitate Chris Brown. That dog won’t hunt.

And then there’s Adele.

By Kim Palacios

hollywoodnews.com: With the final episode of “The Oprah Show” looming, media focus has been on an increasingly-impressive list of guests, from former Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, to Ralph Lauren and family, to scorned California First Lady Maria Shriver. Yet, as the billionaire drives towards what ABC is hyping to become the most memorable finale in its network’s history, another network, Oprah’s Discovery Network venture, Own, continues to suffer in silence.

Signs of trouble were evident when it was announced on May 6th that short-lived CEO Christina Norman had already made her exit; Discovery Networks COO Peter Liguori assumed the interim role amid rumors that recently stepped-down MTV head Judy McGrath would assume the role.

Though recent weeks’ ratings outperformed other Discovery Networks franchises during the same weeks in 2011, both Discovery Communications Chief Executive David Zaslav and Winfrey admit that Own has been a...

In case you missed them, here are the 15 most popular topics over the past week at We Love Soaps TV:

1.   News: Genie Francis, Molly Burnett, Oprah, James Franco, CBS

2.   News: Daytime Ratings, New Demo Low For Gh, B&S, Nc Murder

3.   News: Who Killed Soaps, Nielsen Homes, Glee, BBC America

4.   News: Depp's Dark Shadows, Zimmer/Newman, Alison Sweeney

5.   News: Taylor Groothuis on AMC, Facebook Funerals, Disney Sues Dish, Nicollette Sheridan

6.   News: Jeva Reunion, Fans Place Ad, Shenaz, Thomas McDonell

7. This is America: Why is our Television Trending Fascist?

8.   News: Lorenzo Lamas Weds, Save Our Soaps, Eric Martsolf, John Cena

9.   News: Martha Madison, Judy McGrath, Jackie Cooper, Twitter, Friend

10. Will General Hospital Be Axed To Make Room For Katie Couric?

11. News: Rick Springfield DUI, John Loprieno, Matt Smith, Dylan McDermott

12. News: Steve Burton, Gcb, Taissa Farmiga, Alison Sweeney, WGA

13. Marian Mercer Has Died At Age 75

14. Sada Thompson, Actress Known for Maternal Roles,...

After a little over than two years on the job, Christina Norman is leaving as CEO of Own: Oprah Winfrey Network. Peter Liguori, COO of Discovery Communications, who has been hands-on involved in the fledgling network, a co-venture between Discovery and Winfrey's Harpo, will serve as interim CEO while continuing in his Discovery role. Discovery and Harpo had been quietly searching for a replacement for Norman for the past couple of months, with CBS syndication executive Terry Wood rumored for the job at one point. Then speculation heated up yesterday that Judy McGrath, who stepped down as chairman and CEO of MTV Networks, may be a prime contender. She was originally approached for the top Own job in 2008. Word is that no decision will be made for a few months and that the new person may jointly oversee Own with Liguori whom Discover Communications president and CEO David Zaslav today called "Discovery's creative leader.

In the eleventh hour of getting her Jive Records debut ready for public consumption, Crystal Bowersox stopped by VH1's offices Thursday morning (November 4) for a brief acoustic set. Apparently the gig was supposed to be a conference room performance just for executives, but the VH1 higher-ups believe so strongly in Crystal's potential that they wanted to share her casual mini-concert with their viewers. Expect to see the full four-song set streaming on VH1.com in the coming weeks.

The "American Idol" runner-up kicked things off by premiering "Hold On," the first official single from her album. Curiously enough, the song wasn't written by Bowersox, who has notoriously insisted she will have her hand in every album track. Instead, Nickelback's Chad Kroeger penned it with former "Idol" headache judge Kara DioGuardi.

But fear not, music fans with good taste. If those two names have you running for the hills, take a breather.

There have been a lot of rumblings about whether or not "The City" will be returning for another season, since the network hasn't announced its renewal yet. Now, the show's star says the show isn't coming back and Zap2it's sources close to the production confirm that the show has been canceled.

"As of right now, it doesn't really look like we're doing it anymore," Whitney Port, 25, tells Ryan Seacrest on his radio show. She went on to tell Seacrest that there are no plans for the reality show to move to another network.

In the meantime, Port is setting her eyes on the future. "I'm working on some other things," she says. "It's okay. One door closes and another opens."

There has been a lot of talk in the industry that MTV under new president Judy McGrath has set its priorities on steering away from reality shows and more...

'We are loving people, and this [event] is a great example of that,' Wyclef says of telethon, airing tonight at 8 p.m.

By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Gil Kaufman

Wyclef Jean

Photo: MTV News

It's well known that Wyclef Jean, who helped organize Friday night's "Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief" telethon, has a deeply personal connection to the earthquake that devastated the country: He grew up in Haiti. Through the years, he's proudly represented his country and has spent many hours raising money to help its poverty-stricken residents via his Yele Haiti foundation. He said he's elated to see so many people banding together to help the country in the wake of the earthquake.

"People [are] stepping up — the world is compassionate," Jean told MTV News during a break from rehearsals for the telethon on Thursday night. "Despite what many may think, the hearts...

'It's gonna be historic,' Wyclef says of 'Hope for Haiti' telethon, airing Friday at 8 p.m. Et.

By Shaheem Reid

Wyclef Jean

Photo: MTV News

New York — Since last week's devastating earthquake struck his homeland of Haiti, Wyclef Jean has been tirelessly rallying support for relief for the ravaged country via his Yele Haiti foundation and many public calls for assistance. And, as one of the organizers of Friday night's "Hope for Haiti" telethon, he plans to incorporate some of the country's traditional music into his set.

"I'mma start with 'Rivers of Babylon,' " Wyclef told MTV News during a break from rehearsals for the event on Thursday (January 21). "Then, after that, I'm gonna go to a traditional Creole song, one of my songs called 'Yele.' Then we're gonna close it out with some Racine. Racine is roots music of the country. Everybody loves Haiti. I haven't...

New York -- Viacom Inc. is experiencing a "creative renaissance," president and CEO Philippe Dauman argued here Thursday at the company's annual shareholder meeting.

He and chairman Sumner Redstone promised that being a hit factory and having streamlined operations in the recession will further boost Viacom's shares and fortunes as the economy recovers.

"Creating hits is the name of the game," Dauman said at the meeting that ended in less than an hour.

He touted that Viacom shares are up 19% since the start of the year, compared to a 3% gain in the S&P 500 stock index and a peer group increase of 15%.

The comments came as shareholders and analysts continue to lament how weakly the stock has performed longer-term and as they question whether the company can maintain its cable networks' recent ratings momentum and fully turn around its film studio.

In the only question of the meeting, a...

Oprah Winfrey, chairman of Harpo, has been named the most powerful woman in entertainment on The Hollywood Reporter's 17th annual Women in Entertainment: Power 100 special issue.

Published under separate cover today, the Power 100 List honors the top 100 women in the motion picture and television industries. The unveiling of the ranked list will be Friday morning at The Reporter's annual breakfast at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

"The decision to place Oprah at the top of the list was based on her dizzying array of Oprah-branded media and her immense cultural influence," THR editor Elizabeth Guider said. "Today's most powerful woman in entertainment might just be the most influential woman in America."

Winfrey's is the most notable shift on the list, moving up from 2007's No. 6 spot. Of last year's top 10, nine are making at least their third consecutive appearance; only Mary Parent is new to the top 10.

The top...

New York -- The gloves were off as Richard Parsons, Philippe Dauman and Judy McGrath delivered raucous roasts of Bet Networks CEO Debra L. Lee at the annual Center for Communication Frank Stanton Award Luncheon.

Lee is only the second woman after Katherine Graham to be honored in the award ceremony's 24-year history. After growing up in the segregated South, the exec graduated from Brown and Harvard, going on to lead one of the biggest media networks in the world. But Lee's high-powered colleagues weren't about to let these achievements distract them at the Pierre Hotel Grand Ballroom ceremony Tuesday.

After an intro by A&E Television Networks head Abbe Raven, Viacom CEO Dauman launched a mock employee review of Lee, citing her "great reality programming ... Unfortunately, [Viacom and CBS chairman] Sumner [Redstone] has decided to pass on the 'Hell Date' guest spot you offered him."

A brief video appearance by Dora the...