Entertainment

Judd Apatow to Get An Award, But Not for Movies

The man behind some of your favorite movies is being honored with an icon award, but before fans get too excited, it's not for any of those movies. Instead, Judd Apatow will receive the 2014 PaleyFest Icon Award for his work in television, which is highly deserved. Apatow should really enjoy the moment because odds are, he won't be winning film awards any time soon.

This is only the second time that the Paley Center for Media will give the Icon Award. Last year's inaugural prize went to Ryan Murphy, the creator of Glee and American Horror Story. Unlike Murphy, Apatow is usually associated with his film work, such as The 40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, but he's been involved with some great TV series.

Apatow served as a writer and producer on The Ben Stiller Show and The Larry Sanders Show, before working on Freaks and Geeks with Paul Feig and creating Undeclared. Though both Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared only lasted for one season, they are still regarded as two of the best TV shows of all time, and helped launch the careers of many stars — including Apatow himself. Currently, he produces HBO's Girls and has written a few episodes of the award-winning comedy.

Despite how much audiences may enjoy his movies, critics tend to be more impressed by his TV work and awards shows don't tend to even nominate full-fledged comedies. Even the Golden Globes, which has a whole Comedy or Musical category, tend to fill that category with movies like Her and American Hustle. Not exactly the same kind of comedy.

The only awards in Apatow's near future seem to be shared Emmys for Girls, so Apatow should take the time to enjoy this moment. The Paley Center considers him "one of the most sought-after innovators in all media" and that's something to be proud of.