ON A JUNE afternoon in Austin, a clip reel of scenes from comedies like The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Laverne & Shirley, Cheers and Friends has an audience at the annual ATX Television Festival howling with laughter. But one person watches with tears in his eyes: TV veteran James Burrows (below), who, over the span of a five-decade career, directed all these famous faces—Moore, Ted Danson and Shelley Long, Kelsey Grammer and Jennifer Aniston—and helped shaped their now-classic sitcoms into the shows we know and love.
As ATX honored Burrows, 82, with the festival’s Achievement in Television Excellence award, TV GUIDE MAGAZINE’s West Coast bureau chief moderated a discussion with the 11-time (!) Emmy winner. It was a walk down memory lane that included everything from his first big break to the secret of his directing success to whether we’ll ever see a Cheers reboot.
Your career started in the theater with your writer-director father, Abe Burrows. How much did that impact you being a TV director?
What I do, the multi-camera situational comedy in front of a live audience, is theater; it’s not television. Everything has to do with staging a play and the reaction of the actors. Then the last two days, I bring in cameras to cover the play. It’s all about pleasing the audience, and you’ve got to make them laugh. We never had fake laughter on Cheers because if a joke didn’t work, [the writers] changed the joke.
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THE CHOSEN
It's a bumpy start for Jesus (Jonathan Roumie) and His followers in the fourth season of the Bible-based historical drama. They're about to face rougher terrain-and we're not talking about sleeping arrangements on the road. Jesus' cousin, preacher John the Baptizer (David Amito), has been executed by King Herod (Paul Ben-Victor), and the group is reeling from that loss. In September 8's episode, Jesus declared apostle Simon (Shahar Isaac) is now \"Peter,\" the rock of the group. They're going to need him for what's to come.
FOUND
The chains are now off in the cat-andmouse game at the center of this perpetually taut NBC thriller. In Season 1, public relations specialist Gabi (Shanola Hampton) held her former kidnapper, Hugh Evans, aka Sir (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), captive in her basement and used him to help her team find missing people.
ELSBETH
Carrie Preston has played quirky, brilliant Elsbeth Tascioni for 14 years, through memorable appearances on The Good Wife, The Good Fight and now this warmhearted mystery. Viewers can't seem to get enough of this over-the-top Chicago defense attorney turned NYPD police consultant-and unofficial detective.
FBI
Last season ended with Special Agent Tiffany Wallace (Katherine Renee Kane) completely spent after a harrowing struggle to track down and finally kill the terrorist who murdered fellow agent and friend Hobbs (Roshawn Franklin).
RETURNING FAVORITES
Everything's coming up roses for Joan Vassos, whose search for a new romance begins our annual look at all the shows you love
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS
As the third young woman hired to play The Young and the Restless' Sharon Collins in 1994, Sharon Case didn't really know if her new gig would last. \"Soaps tend to be a revolving door,\" says the actress, who had previously appeared as Dawn Winthrop on General Hospital and Debbie Simon on As the World Turns. \"I didn't have super-high expectations.\"
Only Murders in the Building
This season's investigation introduces a set of West Tower oddballs harboring secrets across the courtyard
BOLD'S KARATE KID
The Bold and the Beautiful's Sean Kanan is thrilled that he is once again playing Mike Barnes in the sixth and final season of Cobra Kai, streaming now on Netflix.
Nelly Knows Mysteries: A Fatal Engagement
LEE AND ROSEMARY COULTER, is that you? When Calls the Heart stars Pascale Hutton and Kavan Smith (above) may be reuniting for this new Hallmark Mystery movie, but their roles are a far cry from the Hope Valley power couple they play on the Western romance series.
WHAT'S WORTH WATCHING
Your day-by-day guide to the week's best television