With programming that ranged from definitive biopics to animation to riotous unscripted and scripted programming, Viacom scooped up six NAACP Image Awards at this year’s ceremony honoring outstanding performances by people of color.
BET earned a pair of honors for its standout biopic The New Edition Story, while Comedy Central’s animated Legend of Chamberlain Heights took home one statuette. Viacom’s newest network – Paramount Network – brought in two more wins with its beloved Lip Sync Battle, while the Paramount Television-produced 13 Reasons Why added one more.
Take a look at the diverse Viacom properties that impressed this year’s selection committee.
BET – The New Edition Story
- Outstanding Television Movie, Limited-Series or Dramatic Special
- Outstanding Writing in a Television Movie or Special – Abdul Williams, Night 2
When The New Edition Story landed last January, it hit as BET’s most-watched premiere in five years, racking up more than 4 million viewers per episode and dominating the social media conversation. Critics loved it.
COMEDY CENTRAL – Legends of Chamberlain Heights
- Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance – Tiffany Haddish
Comedy Central’s ribald animated portrait of three benchwarming hoops wannabees returned for a second season in June. Turns out the trio can’t hit the starting lineup in the awards circuit either: Tiffany Haddish, who plays Cindy on the series, out-hustled the guys to win this honor for the year’s best voice-over. Haddish also earned the Outstanding Supporting Acrtress in a Motion Picture honor for her role as Dina in Universal Picture’s Girls Trip.
PARAMOUNT NETWORK – Lip Sync Battle
- Outstanding Variety or Game Show
- Outstanding Host in a Reality/Reality Competition, Game Show or Variety (Series or Special) – LL Cool J
It was little surprise when Paramount Network chose a special edition of Spike’s insanely successful celebrity (fake) sing-off to announce its existence to the world on Jan. 18. It was the right move – Lip Sync Battle Live: A Michael Jackson Celebration dominated its basic cable time period and social media. The show’s fourth season is currently steaming along on Paramount Network, joining a lineup that includes a six-part Waco miniseries and other premium programming.
PARAMOUNT TELEVISION – 13 Reasons Why
- Carl Franklin, Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
Paramount Television – a division of Viacom’s Paramount Pictures – more than tripled revenues in 2017 behind mammoth hits such as Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why. The studio has been hammering out headlining programming for a couple of years now, including USA Network’s Shooter, Amazon’s Jack Ryan, and EPIX’s Berlin Station.
Viacom earned 16 total NAACP Image Award nominations, including acknowledgements for Nickelodeon and VH1.