On Thursday nominations were announced for the 2023 NAACP Image Awards.

The 54th annual award show will be broadcast live from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California on February 25th, at 8 p.m. ET on BET.  This will mark a return to an in-person ceremony since back in February 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Image Awards celebrate artists within the categories of motion picture, television, music and literary, including streaming and other digital media. For the first time, this year the craft awards will be given out for: outstanding hairstyling, outstanding make-up and outstanding costume design.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever led the the motion picture nominations, with 12 nods, while Abbott Elementary lead the TV race with nine.

Notable nominees in the television categories included: This Is Us stars Sterling K. Brown, who received a nod in the Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Randall Pearson in the final season of the beloved series.  Brown’s on-screen wife, Susan Kelechi Brown also received a nod for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Beth Pearson.

In addition, daytime talk shows were represented in the Outstanding Talk Series category where Tamron Hall and Sherri (Sherri Shepherd) scored nominations for their shows.

Jennifer Hudson also landed a nomination in the Outstanding Host in a Talk or News/Information (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble for her freshman series, The Jennifer Hudson Show.

You can check out the full nomination and category list here.

Glad to see that Sterling and Susan received recognition for their performances in the final season of ‘This Is Us’? What do you think about Jennifer Hudson scoring a host nod in a very competitive category? Comment below.

As we close 2022, CBS is looking ahead to their 2023-2024 television season with the news today that The Never Game, the dramatic series starring and executive produced by Justin Hartley (ex-Adam, Y&R, ex-Kevin, This Is Us), is the first show to receive a series order from the network for next season.

In a statement, Amy Reisenbach, president of CBS Entertainment shared: “I am overjoyed to give the first new show order for next season to this thrilling new series led by the incredibly talented Justin Hartley. The Never Game is an excellent addition to our already successful drama lineup, and since our viewers love shows with action, intrigue, mystery, and complex characters, they will love The Never Game — it delivers on all fronts.”

The Never Game is  is based on the bestselling novel by Jeffery Deaver. In it, Hartley plays lone-wolf survivalist Colter Shaw, who roams the country as a “reward seeker,” using his expert tracking skills to help private citizens, and law enforcement solve all manner of mysteries while contending with his own fractured family.

Joining Hartley as series EP’s are Ken Olin (This Is Us) and Ben H. Winter.  The Never Game received a pilot order back in July.

The drama series cast is comprised of: Robin Weigert, Abby McEnany, Eric Graise, Fiona Rene, and Mary McDonnell along with Hartley.

Taking to Twitter on Thursday afternoon, Justin shared on the announcement, “Very excited for this one”

So, will you be checking out Justin’s new TV drama series when it’s ready for its premiere? Comment below.

TV nominees for the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards were announced on Tuesday, which featured nominations for This Is Us favorites in their final season, Sterling K. Brown and Mandy Moore, plus soap opera alums, Murray Bartlett (ex-Cyrus, GL). Amanda Seyfried (ex-Joni, AMC ex-Lucy, ATWT) and Renée Elise Goldsberry (ex-Evangeline, OLTL).

ABC’s Abbott Elementary led all the nominations with six, followed by AMC’s Better Call Saul with five nods.  The Talk Show category featured nominations for daytime favorite, The Kelly Clarkson Show.

Photo: ABC

The awards will be handed out in ceremony that will air live on Sunday, January 15th at 7pm ET/6 pm CT on The CW.  The second part of the nominations for the Critics Choice in films will be revealed on December 14th.

Check out the just announced TV categories featuring the aforementioned nominees below:

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jeff Bridges, The Old Man
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Diego Luna, Andor
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Adam Scott, Severance
Antony Starr, The Boys

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Christine Baranski, The Good Fight
Sharon Horgan, Bad Sisters
Laura Linney, Ozark
Mandy Moore, This Is Us
Kelly Reilly, Yellowstone
Zendaya, Euphoria

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary
Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant
Renée Elise Goldsberry, Girls5eva
Devery Jacobs, Reservation Dogs
Jean Smart, Hacks

Photo: filmmagic

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Julia Garner, Inventing Anna
Lily James, Pam & Tommy
Amber Midthunder, Prey
Julia Roberts, Gaslit
Michelle Pfeiffer, The First Lady
Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Murray Bartlett, Welcome to Chippendales
Domhnall Gleeson, The Patient
Matthew Goode, The Offer
Paul Walter Hauser, Black Bird
Ray Liotta, Black Bird
Shea Whigham, Gaslit

Photo: NBC

BEST TALK SHOW
The Amber Ruffin Show (Peacock)
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBC)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (Bravo)

Check out the full TV nominations here

What do you think about the TV nominations for the 2023 Critics Choice Awards? Happy to see some of your favorites from This Is Us, and those who started in daytime and went on to success in primetime received recognition? Comment below.