By Lynn Elber, Television Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --"All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" are coming back to TV, live and for one night only.
Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Foxx and Wanda Sykes will star in re-creations of episodes from the influential sitcoms born in the 1970s.
Norman Lear, who created "All in the Family" and its spinoff "The Jeffersons," and Jimmy Kimmel are hosting the ABC primetime special airing next month, the network said Thursday.
Harrelson and Tomei will play Archie and Edith Bunker, with Foxx and Sykes as George and Louise Jefferson. Ellie Kemper, Justina Machado and Will Ferrell also will appear, ABC said, with more stars to be announced.
The original shows starred Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton as the blue-collar Bunkers, and Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford as the upwardly mobile Jeffersons.
People say "these two shows were meant for the '70s and would not work today," Lear said in a statement. "We disagree with them and are here to prove, with two great casts depicting 'All in the Family' and 'The Jeffersons,' the timelessness of human nature."
Ferrell, Lear and ABC late-night host Kimmel are among the executive producers of "Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's 'All in the Family' and 'The Jeffersons.'" Sitcom veteran James Burrows will direct the 90-minute special.
"All in the Family" was a TV groundbreaker when it debuted in 1971, using comedy as a vehicle to explore racism, women's rights and other hot-button issues. "The Jeffersons" (1975-85), about a successful black family in a largely white world, featured the TV rarity of an interracial couple.
Lear, 96, was an executive producer on a recently canceled Netflix reboot of another of his hit series, the 1975-84 "One Day at a Time," which was reimagined with a Latino family.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More