ONE OF TELEVISION’S MOST CELEBRATED COMEDIANS, BOB NEWHART, TO BE HONORED BY BTJA WITH CRITICS’ CHOICE TELEVISION ICON AWARD

MOST EXCITING NEW SERIES HONOREES ALSO REVEALED

The Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) today announced that Bob Newhart, who has entertained multiple generations of television fans through classic eponymous sitcoms and many guest appearances, will be honored as the recipient of the 2013 Critics’ Choice Television Icon Award at the 3rd annual Critics’ Choice Television Awards.

Hosted by Parks and Recreation’s Retta, the Critics’ Choice Television Awards is scheduled to take place the evening of Monday, June 10, 2013 at The Beverly Hilton Hotel. The award show will be webcast live at 8pm PT on UStream at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/critics-choice-television-awards. Award show highlights as well as red carpet coverage will also air on ReelzChannel.

The Most Exciting New Series honorees as judged from pilots and early episodes for Summer and Fall 2013 were also announced today. They are:

· The Bridge – FX
· Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – ABC
· Masters of Sex – Showtime
· The Michael J. Fox Show – NBC
· Ray Donovan – Showtime
· Under the Dome – CBS

Celebrity presenters for the show were also announced including Malin Akerman, Angela Bassett, Miranda Cosgrove, Hugh Dancy, Cat Deeley, Josh Gad, Johnny Galecki, Seth Green, Allison Janney, Tatiana Maslany, Maria Menounos, Elisabeth Moss, Kunal Nayyar, Jack Osbourne, Adam Pally, Sarah Paulson, Aubrey Plaza, Kevin Rahm, John Ratzenberger, Emmy Rossum, Jimmy Smits, Eric Stonestreet and Sam Trammell.

“Bob Newhart has entertained us for more than five decades, not only as a fixture on our TV screens, but as someone who has placed an indelible stamp on the entertainment business,” said Joey Berlin, president of BTJA. He is truly a legend, and we’re thrilled that he will be the recipient of the 2013 Critics’ Choice Television Icon Award. His humor has endured and he continues to surprise us, which is no doubt why he is also a nominee this year for best guest performer in a comedy series in addition to being our Icon honoree.”

Following years as a groundbreaking stand-up comedian known for his deadpan delivery, Newhart turned to acting, starring in critically acclaimed sitcoms, all of which featured his name in the title, for almost two decades. He first starred as psychologist Dr. Robert “Bob” Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show, which aired from 1972 to 1978 and then as innkeeper Dick Loudon on Newhart from 1982 to 1990. He followed with another sitcom titled Bob.

Newhart has made guest appearances in numerous TV shows, including Murphy Brown, NCIS, Desperate Housewives, ER, for which he earned an Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series category, and, most recently, The Big Bang Theory, for which he is a Critics’ Choice Television Awards nominee in the Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series category. He has also appeared in films including Catch-22, Elf and Horrible Bosses and has provided the voice of Bernard in Walt Disney’s animated films The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under.

Best known for the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, now going into its 19th year, the Broadcast Film Critics Association established BTJA and the Critics’ Choice Television Awards in 2011 on behalf of television journalists working in electronic media to celebrate outstanding work in television. In addition to honoring the best shows and performers from the previous season in Drama, Comedy, Reality, Movie/Mini Series, Animated and Talk Show categories, the Critics’ Choice Television Awards also spotlights the Most Exciting New Series premiering in the coming months, judging from pilots and early episodes.

Nominated programs and performances aired between June 1, 2012 and May 31, 2013.

Bob Bain will executive produce the show for Bob Bain Productions.