The Producers Guild of America announced it will honor award-winning television and film producer and director J.J. Abrams with the 2013 Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television.
The award will be presented to Abrams at the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards ceremony on Jan. 26 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.
“J.J. Abrams has produced some of the most iconic and highest-rated television shows of the past decade and longer, series that have changed the landscape of television,” Producers Guild Awards Chairman Michael DeLuca said in a statement. “His talent is astonishing, and through his commitment to ingenious storytelling, compelling characters and television programming of the highest quality, he truly lives up to this award’s namesake. We are so pleased to honor J.J. this year with the Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television.”
Abrams co-created his first show, "Felicity," in 1998 with Matt Reeves. Since then, he has created many of the small screen's most successful and distinctive shows, including "Alias," "Lost" and "Fringe." He won a pair of Emmys for "Lost" in 2005 and has received other nominations for that show as well as "Alias."
Abrams and his production company Bad Robot have also branched into film, rebooting both the "Mission Impossible" and "Star Trek" franchises.
Meanwhile, Bad Robot launched three shows in the last two years — CBS' "Person of Interest," Fox's "Alcatraz" and NBC's "Revolution."
Though "Alcatraz" failed, both "Person of Interest" and "Revolution" have registered strong ratings, and "Revolution" has played a prominent role in placing NBC at the top of the ratings heap thus far this fall season.
Don Mischer won the 2012 Norman Lear Award, and other past recipients include Tom Hanks, Jerry Bruckheimer, Lorne Michaels and Mark Burnett.
