TV NEWS ON JULY 13

http://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2012/07/abc-news-and-peoples-best-in-tv.html ABC News and People Magazine are joining forces for their second special about the "best." In March 2011, ABC and People brought us the special ABC News and People's Best in Film: The Greatest Films of Our Time hosted by Tom Bergeron and Cynthia McFadden. Now ABC and People will bring us Best in TV: The Greatest TV Shows of Our Time! The film version brought in over seven million viewers during a two-hour special for ABC and did decent, so perhaps a TV one will do even better? Who better to host this than one of the best all-time people on TV? The legendary Barbara Walters has been tapped to host this two-hour special. There will be fifteen different categories to vote on. For example, the nominees for best TV comedy: All in the Family, Cheers, I Love Lucy, Seinfeld, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Cosby Show, The Honeymooners, and The Simpsons. What are the greatest television shows of all time? Who are our favorite TV mom and dad? Who is our favorite television host of all time? It is America's turn to decide, as a collaboration between ABC News and People Magazine gives TV fans the opportunity to vote online at www.bestintelevision.com for their favorites of all time. The results will be revealed during an unprecedented two-hour broadcast hosted by Barbara Walters in September 2012, in conjunction with ABC's live broadcast of the Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 23. The program will include many classic clips from America's favorite shows, fresh interviews with some of the stars and directors of the winning television series, as well as outtakes, screen tests and rarely seen behind-the-scenes footage. Also, a panel of pop culture and television experts, including several editors and writers from People, will weigh in with their thoughts and memories. The list of nominees was created after a focus group of several dozen of the industry's leading actors, directors, producers and TV journalists narrowed the field in a preliminary ballot from hundreds of popular shows both old and new. That panel of all-star voters included editors from People and Emmy winners and luminaries like Norman Lear, James L. Brooks, Stephen Bochco, Shonda Rhimes, Chuck Lorre, Tim Allen, Ryan Seacrest, Valerie Harper, and Eric Stonestreet. (View the list of the all-star preliminary vote panelists) Now it's time to for you to pick your favorites, share with your friends and help decide what is truly the Best in TV. Start voting today and see if your picks are what was chosen by many others! While on the site, television fans also have the opportunity to view clips, slide shows and interviews. Voting is open through July 23. We'll bring you an official air date when we get word, so stay tuned.