William H. Macy (“Train Dreams”), Shawn Hatosy (“The Pitt”) and Troy Kotsur (“CODA”) are among the actors set to be honored during this year’s Astra TV Awards ceremony, with Lisa Ann Walter (“Abbott Elementary”) hosting the show.

Taking place Saturday at the InterContinental in Los Angeles, the Astra TV Awards celebrate performers making an impact with dedicated honorary awards. Macy will receive the timeless award, Hatosy will receive the virtuoso award and Kotsur will receive the impact award; additional honorees include Cedric the Entertainer (“Barbershop”) with the actor spotlight, Jason Ritter (“Matlock”) with the generations award and Natalie Alyn Lind (“Dutton Ranch”) with the TV breakout star award.

The ceremony will be livestreamed on The Astra Awards’ YouTube channel beginning at 7 p.m. PT on Saturday. Members of the Hollywood Creative Alliance, which include critics, entertainment journalists, content creators, industry insiders and creatives, vote on the awards. [More at Source]

Instead of giving its doctors and nurses several seasons to evolve, the second season of “The Pitt” jumped 10 months into the future. This allowed the actors the unusual opportunity to explore new facets of their characters. For Shawn Hatosy, Gerran Howell and Patrick Ball, each nominated for an Emmy for supporting actor in a drama series, that meant very different performances.

At the end of Season 1, Ball’s Dr. Frank Langdon was forced to depart the hospital after Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) discovered his drug addiction. Season 2, set on the Fourth of July, marks his first day back after rehab.

“It was a great dramatic problem for me,” Ball says, speaking with Howell and Hatosy over Zoom from Los Angeles. “He’s been out of the Pitt and going through this profound spiritual transition and hasn’t seen anyone for 10 months. He has to come back and reestablish these relationships. He realizes over the course of the season that, actually, everybody here has changed.”

Hatosy, who plays night-shift attending Dr. Jack Abbot, remembers getting a call from [creator] R. Scott Gemmill about Episode 7 and worrying that his character might be in peril. Instead, Gemmill outlined a storyline that revealed Abbot’s work as a SWAT medic.

“It’s not too different than Robby’s self-diagnosis of taking a motorcycle journey across the country without a helmet,” Hatosy says. “Abbot is seemingly doing this work, but there’s a lot of red flags there. I started the first episode [of the show] on the roof, literally about to jump, so I’m never sure when he’s going to come in and not make it.”

Being part of “The Pitt” has helped Hatosy let go of the need to know everything about his character or the story ahead of time. “There is something incredibly freeing about not knowing and being present,” he says. “I’ve given up asking because I don’t really want to know. Instead, I accept it and go with the flow.” [More at Source]

I’ve updated the gallery with photos of Shawn attending the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations in Los Angeles yesterday.

I’ve updated the gallery with photos of Shawn attending HBO’s “The Pitt” Season 2 Emmy FYC Event in Los Angeles yesterday (June 09).

“The Internet’s Newest Babygirl.” “Silver Fox.” “Sex Symbol.”

Shawn Hatosy is aware of his newfound fame on the internet. But he has no idea how he got there.

A busy actor for the last three decades, Hatosy became a celebrity in projects like “The Faculty” and “Outside Providence.” He earned a spot in millions of viewers’ homes when leading TNT crime drama “Southland,” followed by “Animal Kingdom.” Both of those TV series have something huge in common with the project that Hatosy is now in the headlines for, “The Pitt.” And by something, we mean someone: Producer John Wells.

This time last year, Hatosy told me how “full circle” talking about “The Pitt” felt, since he once had a guest spot on another little Wells project: “ER.” Little did he know then that his part on another massive Wells medical drama would win him an Emmy for his guest role of Dr. Jack Abbot.

Viewers fell in love with Abbot from his first appearance in Season 1, both for his charm and dry wit (something that Hatosy believes comes from creator R. Scott Gemmill), and his undeniable chemistry with Noah Wyle’s Dr. Michael “Robby” Robinavitch. The pair have a history and connection that doesn’t need heavy dialogue; the comfort felt in a silent look exchanged is powerful enough. In the final two episodes of the second season, Abbot reminds Robby, who is struggling with his mental health and admits he’s not sure he wants to be alive, that he’s his emergency contact. “And I don’t want to be contacted,” Abbot tells him — in a tone that’s not funny or harsh but reassuring and loving.

“We’ve just been kicking around for so long. We’ve seen each other at the John Wells holiday parties for 20 years now,” Hatosy says now of his bond with Wyle. “There’s something about that chemistry when you just have a level of trust and understanding of each other.”

Hatosy applauds the way Wyle arrives each day, both prepared and spontaneous, something vital to the way “The Pitt” operates. “When you have a leader like that, it brings out the best in everyone,” he says. “Being in a scene with Noah, I never stress about those scenes. I feel very free. I feel like I have no inhibitions about choices and I can take big risks.” [More at Source]

The Television Academy Foundation today announced its second annual “Emmys Pickleball Slam” fundraiser will be held on Sunday, May 17, at the southland’s premier pickleball facility, the Calabasas Pickleball Club. Proceeds from the event will support the Foundation’s core education programs.   

Jason George (Grey’s Anatomy) and Phil Keoghan (The Amazing Race) will cohost the charity event where television stars, entertainment industry leaders, pickleball pros and sports enthusiasts will come together for a day of fun and fundraising in this doubles pickleball tournament. Celebrity participants competing include Wayne Brady (Let’s Make a Deal; Wayne Brady’s What If?! with Jonathan Magnum), Nancy Cartwright (The Simpsons), Da’Vinchi (BMF), Shawn Hatosy (The Pitt), Simone Kessell (The Last Frontier; Yellowjackets and pickleball pro), Jonathan Mangum (Let’s Make a Deal), Jessie Prez (George & Mandy’s First Marriage), Sugar Ray Leonard (world champion pro boxer) and celebrity chef Jet Tila. [More at Source]

The Pitt star Shawn Hatosy is going from the ER to the kitchen.

Hatosy will star in Yes, Chef, a two-episode immersive audio romance for audio erotica app Quinn, The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively announce. Yes, Chef marks the latest Quinn Original series, the app’s produced romances that “complement Quinn’s thriving erotica creator community.”

In Yes, Chef, Hatosy stars as Grant Reilly, a “seasoned executive chef of North & Vine, a restaurant fighting to maintain its Michelin star in an industry that’s rapidly evolving. After a viral negative review threatens the restaurant’s legacy, Grant’s business partner brings in rising culinary star Iris Adams to shake things up and take North & Vine from ‘classic’ to ‘relevant.’ As Grant and Iris work side by side, their differences spark undeniable chemistry.”

Securing Hatosy as a narrator is sure to make app fans happy given he’s been a top choice among listeners.

“Shawn is one of our most requested narrators ever,” Caroline Spiegel, founder and CEO of Quinn, said in a statement. “With Yes, Chef, most of the story takes place inside the chaos of a Michelin-star kitchen. We wanted to emulate the high-pressure settings that fans love seeing Shawn in, and we couldn’t be more excited to have him step into this world with us.”

“Grant is wrestling with his identity and what that means. That really resonated with me, because I’ve been there. Then things happened in my career — like The Pitt — that changed my trajectory,” Hatosy said in a statement. “Grant isn’t feeling like he has a lot of value outside of the kitchen, but he starts to see through Iris, through her youth and vitality and what she brings. And by listening to her, really paying attention to her, he grows.”

“There’s a huge catalogue of intimate scenes I’ve done over 25 or 30 years, and audiences have been taking that material and creating content. I don’t have any control over that,” Hatosy said. “With Quinn, it gave me an opportunity to step into this space with intention, and help shape this kind of new media in a way where I can participate and feel like we’re building something meaningful together.” [More at Source]

Shawn Hatosy never thought he’d play a doctor. Now he’s breaking out as Jack Abbot, an attending physician who works the night shift on HBO Max’s hit The Pitt. Despite having a lot less screen time than his costars, he’s emerged as a fan favorite for his antics both onscreen—which also earned him an Emmy last fall—and on social media. His presence resonates especially with a younger generation of fans, who seem charmed by his casually confident tweets about his “great arm muscles” and Quentin Tarantino.

The show’s success is exciting—but it’s also put a lot of pressure on Hatosy, especially as his character emerges as a lawful-good counterpart to Noah Wyle’s increasingly polarizing Dr. Robby. The way the actor sees it, “It’s a lot. But these are great problems to have.”

On the eve of season two’s finale, we spoke with Hatosy about navigating internet fame, whether Tarantino would think he’s a “weak sauce” actor, and if he could really help you in a medical emergency.

Vanity Fair: You’ve earned a lot of love for your posts, and for being The Pitt’s answer to George Clooney. How have you adapted to all of this attention?

Shawn Hatosy: It’s definitely changed my life. I’m somebody that has a long history of being involved with social media; I always enjoyed looking at it like another creative outlet. With Twitter, it was almost something I used to get writing thoughts out in a way that was never intended to be serious. I try not to take myself too seriously, because I think there’s a lot of serious shit out there. I’ve gotten older, and social media has changed so much. And now with this huge success of The Pitt, I’ve definitely received a lot of attention, like you said. [More at Source]