Hollywood’s Top Talent Comes to PBS SoCal on January 9 For New Season of VARIETY STUDIO: ACTORS ON ACTORS Preceded by the 25th ANNUAL NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL HONORS
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Los Angeles, Calif. – Dec. 18, 2024 – PBS SoCal, Southern California’s flagship PBS station, announced today the lineup for the 21st season of the National Daytime Emmy® Award-winning series VARIETY STUDIO: ACTORS ON ACTORS. Co-produced with Variety, Senior Awards Editor Clayton Davis and Senior Entertainment Writer, Angelique Jackson will host the newest season of half-hour specials features intimate and exclusive conversations in the series that pairs up some of the most notable names in entertainment who are expected to be this year’s Oscar® frontrunners. This year’s pairings include Ariana Grande with Paul Mescal, Zendaya with Nicole Kidman and Cynthia Erivo with Angelina Jolie and more. All four 30-minute episodes will premiere back-to-back locally in Southern California on Thurs., Jan. 9 at 8 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal with encore airings on Fri., Jan. 10 at 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus. All episodes will be available to watch following their premieres on pbssocal.org, the free PBS app and PBS stations nationwide. Variety’s newest “Actors on Actors” issue hit newsstands on December 11 and clips of all 24 celebrities can be found on Variety.com.
Complementing the newest season of celebrity conversations in VARIETY STUDIO: ACTORS ON ACTORS, PBS SoCal will also broadcast the 25th ANNUAL NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL HONORS in partnership with the largest film festival in coastal Southern California, the prestigious Newport Beach Film Festival. This special event that was recorded in October highlights outstanding achievements across the entertainment industry and offers in-depth interviews with renowned honorees, like Oscar® nominee June Squibb and Emmy®-winner Sheryl Lee Ralph, celebrating their career-defining roles and influence across the arts, entertainment and beyond. The 30-minute special will air locally in Southern California and precede VARIETY STUDIO: ACTORS ON ACTORS on Thurs., Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal with a sneak peek world broadcast premiere on Wed., Jan. 8 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus.
This year’s awards recipients for the NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL HONORS include actors, filmmakers, musicians and industry icons who are making a significant impact in the entertainment industry. The renowned Icon Award was presented to Academy Award® winner Nicolas Cage recognizing his long-lasting achievements in film and television. The Artist of Distinction Awards celebrating overall contributions to the arts, storytelling and philanthropy, honored Bobby Cannavale (“Ezra”), Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”) and Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”). Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to two Academy Award® nominees, June Squibb for her distinguished career in film and most recently her role in “Thelma” as well as songwriter Diane Warren for her work creating film soundtracks and chart-topping hits for iconic artists such as Cher, Celine Dion, LeAnn Rimes and Aerosmith to name a few.
Additional honors included a Career Achievement Award for Joan Chen (“Didi,” “The Last Emperor”), the Maverick Award for Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”) and the Spotlight Awards for George MacKay (“1917”) and Margaret Qualley (“The Substance,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”). Ewan McGregor (“Trainspotting,” “Star Wars” films) was honored as TV Performance of the Year. This year’s Variety’s Legends and Groundbreakers Award went to honoree Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation,” “Saturday Night Live”).
Also highlighted in the program are Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch, spotlighting up-and-coming actors who have shown immense promise in the industry. This year’s rising talents include Karla Sofía Gascón (“Emilia Pérez”), Ryan Destiny (“The Fire Inside”), Josh Rivera (“American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez”), Zoë Chao (“Nightbitch”), Monica Barbaro (“A Complete Unknown”) and Fred Hechinger (“Gladiator II”).
Following the premiere of 25th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival HONORS, the 21st season of VARIETY STUDIO: ACTORS ON ACTORS will feature the following pairings and will air as listed below:
Thurs., Jan. 9 at 8:00 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Fri., Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
This episode features Andrew Garfield (“We Live in Time”) with Ryan Reynolds (“Deadpool & Wolverine”), Amy Adams (“Nightbitch”) with Demi Moore (“The Substance”) and Zendaya (“Challengers,” “Dune: Part Two”) with Nicole Kidman (“Babygirl”).
Thurs., Jan. 9 at 8:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Fri., Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
This episode features Ariana Grande (“Wicked”) with Paul Mescal (“Gladiator II”), Kieran Culkin (“A Real Pain”) with Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”) and Selena Gomez (“Emilia Pérez”) with Saoirse Ronan (“Blitz,” “The Outrun”).
Thurs., Jan. 9 at 9:00 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Fri., Jan. 10 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
This episode features Daniel Craig (“Queer”) with Josh O'Connor (“Challengers”), ZoeSaldaña (“Emilia Pérez”) with Kate Winslet (“Lee”) and Cynthia Erivo (“Wicked”) with Angelina Jolie (“Maria”).
Thurs., Jan. 9 at 9:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Fri., Jan. 10 at 10:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal Plus
This episode features Pamela Anderson (“The Last Showgirl”) with Mikey Madison (“Anora”), Harris Dickinson (“Babygirl”) with Drew Starkey (“Queer”) and Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”) with Tilda Swinton (“The Room Next Door”).
In May 2019, VARIETY STUDIO: ACTORS ON ACTORS took home a Daytime Creative Arts Emmy award, has been nominated for another Daytime Creative Arts Emmy for the 2022 season and has been awarded the Emmy for best entertainment programming at the 2015 and 2016 Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards. Now in its 21st season, VARIETY STUDIO: ACTORS ON ACTORS, an interview special that features pairings of prominent actors discussing their craft, is produced by PBS SoCal in partnership with Variety Media, LLC.
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