Mindy Kaling, Paul Anthony Kelly, Thomas Doherty and Owen Thiele honored at Newport Beach TV Fest
Newport Beach TV Fest presents Mindy Kaling with the Artist of Distinction Award. Plus, the six stars who earned Breakout Awards!
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- From the Newport Beach Film Festival comes the Newport Beach TV Fest, which returned for its second year.
The four day event, which runs June 4-7 at the Lido Theater, spotlights "excellence in television and streaming content from around the globe."
Being honored this year were Mindy Kaling (Creator, "Not Suitable for Work), Paul Anthony Kelly ("Love Story"), Owen Thiele ("Adults), Thomas Doherty ("Paradise"), Sebastian Maniscalco ("It Ain't Right"), Seth MacFarlane ("Family Guy) and more.
Kicking off the festival, On The Red Carpet spoke with Mindy Kaling, who received the Artist of Distinction Award. She had an exciting week, with her new series "Not Suitable for Work" debuting at #1 on Hulu.
"We found out yesterday," she told us on Thursday evening. "Because, you know, we are- All the cast is out there. They're working so hard to do promote the show, and I've been there with them. And so it's just like, you know, over 150 people worked on the show. So that made me so happy. And I'm so thrilled to be here receiving this, receiving this well-earned award," she joked. "No, I'm just excited to be- I'm just excited to be here, getting this award and coming to Newport Beach for the first time."
After creating hit after hit centered around her early years ("Never Have I Ever," "The Sex Lives of College Girls" and "Not Suitable for Work"), which were loosely based on her experiences in high school, college and her 20s, we were curious whether we could see other facets of her life come to our TV screens.
We asked, "Could we ever see a show about motherhood? Writing? Show-running?"
"For sure. I tend to be the most creative about things that were long before, because I have to have like, a sense of perspective in order to write about them," she explained. "So I definitely want to write about, I mean, I love shows about families, I love 'Modern Family,' I love the show 'Parenthood.' So I definitely want to contribute at some point to that genre, but I'm not sure about that being anytime soon. But I look at 'The Mindy Project' and I miss it, and I when I'm on set for 'Running Point,' which is a show obviously about grown ups, like I do miss like, a funny ensemble, like an adult workplace show."
If you want to check out her new series, "Not Suitable for Work" releases new episodes Tuesdays on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
In addition to highlighting established talent like Kaling, the festival also works to celebrate new faces, presenting the Gold Derby Breakout Awards to Shabana Azeez ("The Pitt"), Thomas Doherty ("Paradise"), Paul Anthony Kelly ("Love Story"), Ashley Padilla ("SNL"), Owen Thiele ("Adults") and Karolina Wydra ("Pluribus").
We spoke with a few of the stars on the carpet Saturday night about the honor.
"I feel like the people I'm recognized with are so talented, beyond talented, so I'm so lucky to be here. I broke out! Finally. I have my first pimple," Thiele joked.
Kelly shared that "I feel great. I feel elated, exhilarated. You know, my dreams are coming true. It's a little like... okay! It's a little humbling. It's nice."
Doherty was filled with gratitude, both for the award and for the people in his life.
"I feel very very honored, very flattered and incredibly fortunate. I mean, this industry- it's not easy, you know. You get breaks and you get very fortunate. But you have to owe it to all of the people around you," he said.
"Paradise," "Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette" and "Adults" are streaming now on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.
On Sunday, Sebastian Maniscalco will receive the Comedy Special of the Year Award for his "It Ain't Right" comedy special on Hulu and MacFarlane the TV Performance of the Year Award.
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