Christina Applegate, Jean Smart, Casey Bloys, Kerry Washington, Niecy Nash-Betts, Elle Fanning Join Variety TV FYC Fest

Two years after announcing her Multiple sclerosis diagnosis, Christina Applegate won't quite relinquish hope she can one day act again. While accepting the TV Legacy Award at Variety's TV Fest, Applegate alluded to uncertainty with her career as she reflected upon receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last fall. "Thank you so much for being so understanding as I journey through this new part of my life," she began, addressing the audience.

Project Angel Food has announced its upcoming Lead with Love telethon will feature a slew of celebrity guests, including Carol Burnett, Cindy Crawford, Niecy Nash-Betts, Kris Jenner and Earvin “Magic” Johnson and many more. The event will take place on June 24 and broadcast live on KTLA and the KTLA YouTube channel at 7 p.m. PT. Project Angel Food and the Lead with Love fundraiser strive to end food insecurity and deliver medically tailored meals to critically ill men, women and children in Los Angeles County. “Through Lead with Love, Los Angeles comes together to support one another and help Project Angel Food’s vital mission serving those living at the intersection of health, food and financial insecurity,” Project Angel Food CEO Richard Ayoub said in a statement.

Sophia Scorziello editor Variety’s annual TV FYC Fest was packed with big names and your favorite stars from the small screen. Christina Applegate (“Dead to Me”) made a rare appearance to accept the Legacy Award, Brooke Shields spoke passionately about the reality of co-existing in the world of social media and Kerry Washington (“UnPrisoned”) joined a collective of equally hilarious actresses including Elle Fanning (“The Great”), Janelle James (“Abbott Elementary”) and Gina Rodriguez (“Dead To Me”) to discuss forging vanity for laughs and embracing the “messy” woman. The all-day discussion also tackled the state of television today amid a writers strike and an ever-changing landscape of streaming. We’ve rounded up the standout moments from Variety’s TV FYC Fest panels and presentations which brought out important — and at times hilarious — conversations about this season of shows.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer HBO and Max chief Casey Bloys thinks AI has no place in the creative process at his brands. “Two things to keep in mind when I say this: One is, remember I grew up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which is Steel Town,” Bloys, the chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, told Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton during a keynote conversation Wednesday at the Variety TV FYC Fest. “So I am very, very aware of what happens when a company does not think about the future or is not aware of the future. But also, I’ve been at HBO for 19 years and I have never tested a pilot to decide whether to pick it up or not. We just don’t use all of the things other places do, it’s just not something we do. So my take on AI, the idea that AI would be involved in any sort of development or the creative process in the kinds of shows that I do, or we do, at HBO, that’s not something I want to be a part of.

Sophia Scorziello editor What does it mean to be a funny girl? Actors Elle Fanning (“The Great”), Janelle James (“Abbott Elementary”), Gina Rodriguez (“Not Dead Yet”) and Kerry Washington (“UnPrisoned”) discuss being a woman in comedy at Variety TV FYC Fest’s Disney Women of Comedy panel, moderated by Variety’s Angelique Jackson. Each TV character they play — whether she’s an empress of Russia, a public school principal, a family therapist or a journalist who talks to the dead — is layered and complicated. Through comedy, these actors have found the freedom to be contradictory, to not have it all together and to be a little messy.

Niecy Nash-Betts, 53, graced the latest cover of Variety‘s Emmy Extra Edition as the face of Women of Awards Season, where she sat down for an exclusive interview to discuss her thoughts on her controversial series “Dahmer”.

After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2021, Christina Applegate’s future as an actress remains uncertain.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Senior Correspondent “The Rookie: Feds” remains on the bubble, as one of two shows at ABC awaiting news regarding a renewal — and its star, Niecy Nash-Betts, is crossing her fingers for a second season. Nash-Betts has had an in-demand year, starring in Netflix’s “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and hosting Fox’s gameshow “Don’t Forget the Lyrics,” in addition to headlining “The Rookie: Feds.” And she’s hoping to keep her busy schedule going, continuing to play her character, Simone Clark, on the ABC police procedural. “I love my job so much, I love the people that I work with, and I love the fact that I get to work with my better half over there,” Nash-Betts says of her wife, musician Jessica Betts, who plays her love interest on “The Rookie: Feds.”

Hunter Ingram Christina Applegate was very intentional about who stood at the podium last November when she received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Watching from the crowd with her husband and daughter at her side, Applegate heard remarks from her other family — “Married… With Children” co-stars Katey Sagal and David Faustino, and her “Dead to Me” support system, co-star Linda Cardellini and creator/writer Liz Feldman.   For Applegate, the foursome represents the full breadth of her 40-year career in Hollywood.  “There was no mistake as to who I asked to speak, kind of my beginning and my…,” she hesitates for the moment, editing her thoughts in real time, before she continues, “…my possible end. That was really important to me. It was about where I came from and where I landed.” 

Niecy Nash-Betts faced tragedy. Her 17-year-old brother, Michael Ensley, was shot and killed at his high school in California. Nash-Betts has personally experienced the worst version of loss. That’s why when Netflix’s “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” was condemned by victims’ families, she had a unique perspective on the criticism. “My brother was murdered on his high school campus. And you never forget,” Nash-Betts says through tears. “You’re reminded if you pass a cemetery, by a favorite song, a smell, memory, photo. If you have had a loved one die in a horrific way, it is going to be with you for the rest of your life, not just from a TV show, so the goal would be — how do people remember them? Hopefully, there is some solace in us introducing your loved ones to the world, and not just having them just be a faceless, nameless person connected to this case. That was what I prayed for.” 

teenage hypersexualization in the media.“The Great” star, 25, got candid during the Hollywood Reporter’s Comedy Actress Roundtable interview recently, recalling how she lost out on a role because she wasn’t sexually attractive enough to casting directors when she was just 16 years old — for a “father-daughter road trip comedy,” no less.Fanning explained how her team had to “filter” explicit comments that people had said of her audition. “I was 16 years old, and a person said, ‘Oh, she didn’t get the father-daughter road trip comedy because she’s unf – – kable.'”“It [was] so disgusting.

The 2023 WeHo Pride Parade was the place to be this weekend in the Los Angeles area!

David Faustino says that Christina Applegate is trying to build her strength up amid her battle with multiple sclerosis (MS). The 49-year-old actor attended the 30th annual Race to Erase MS gala in Los Angeles on Friday (02. 06.

Niecy Nash only plays a therapist on TV, but that hasn't stopped fans from sliding into her DMs asking for advice. That being said, the Emmy-award winning actress didn't hesitate to dish one piece of advice — to her younger self.Speaking to ET's Denny Directo at the Los Angeles premiere of , the 53-year-old actress said she would tell the high school version of herself that being thick's where it's at, but she'll need to be patient."'Girl, you don't have to be skinny. It's going to be alright,'" says Nash speaking to her younger self.

Angelique Jackson Ava DuVernay’s arts and social collective ARRAY has announced its slate of summer programming, including an actor’s masterclass taught by Emmy winner Niecy Nash-Betts, a cinematic celebration of Jean-Michel Basquiat and the debut of two new commissioned projects from ARRAY’s Law Enforcement Accountability Project (LEAP).  The summer lineup is curated by ARRAY’s SVP of public programming, Mercedes Cooper, and in keeping with the ARRAY’s mission of “igniting social change through the cinematic arts,” all events are free to the public.  “ARRAY’s focus on instigating narrative change through our non-profit ARRAY Alliance allows us to gather audiences around issues aligned with our core mission and everyday work,” said Cooper in a statement announcing the lineup.

A group of SAG-AFTRA members, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jean Smart and Bob Balaban, has released a video urging their fellow performers to approve the strike authorization that’s currently out for a vote of the guild’s eligible members.

Angelique Jackson Grammy winner Erykah Badu has joined the all-star ensemble for Netflix’s feature adaptation of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson.” The singer-songwriter (“What Men Want”) will make a cameo, delivering “her soulful sound and eclectic style” with musical performances in the film,” starring Oscar winner Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington. Jackson and Washington reprise their roles from the highly successful Broadway revival of Wilson’s play, which recently received two Tony Award nominations (best revival of a play and best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play for Jackson).

William Earl Variety’s Actors on Actors series returns featuring the biggest stars in this year’s TV Emmys race for Season 18. The four episodes will debut on PBS SoCal on Thursday January 15th starting at 8:00 pm, followed by encores on KCET and public television stations across the country and the WORLD Channel (check local listings). All episodes will stream on pbssocal.org and the free PBS App following their premieres. Variety’s Actors on Actors issue will hit newsstands on June 7th and the conversations will start airing on Tuesday, June 6th on Variety.com and its social media channels. This year’s “Actors on Actors” lineup includes:

Charna Flam The Icons for the 2023 WeHo Pride Parade are Melissa McCarthy, “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” Laith Ashley, Niecy Nash-Betts and Jessica Betts, announced the city of West Hollywood and WeHo Pride producer JJLA, Jeff Consoletti. The recipients have been honored with the Drag Icon Award, the Breakthrough Icon Award, the Trailblazer Icon award and the Ally Icon award. Laith Ashley, a model, actor and activist has been named this year’s Breakthrough Icon Award. In 2017, Laith was the first transgender man to be featured in an ad campaign. Following his historic campaign, Laith starred in Taylor Swift’s “Lavender Haze” music video and volunteers for the FLUX nonprofit and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s transgender division.

. The teen anthology is back with a new mystery and fresh characters. Underwood plays Isabella LaRue, an exchange student with cool style and a mysterious past and.