“I think most people, including myself until I started doing this show, didn’t really have much sense of what someone is like who has Down syndrome,” says Jonathan Murray, executive producer of A&E’s “Born This Way.” “What I love about this show is you see that each of our seven cast members are incredibly unique.” Murray and the cast react to the show being feted at the 2016 Television Academy Honors (watch above). The ceremony takes place on June 8 in Los Angeles.
TV Academy Honors: Winners include ‘Homeland,’ ‘The Knick,’ ‘Born This Way’ and …
While these prizes are awarded by the TV academy, they differ from the Emmys by focusing specifically on programs that shed light on social and cultural issues. In addition to “Born This Way” the academy is awarding “Homeland,” “The Knick,” “Mississippi Inferno” and “Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom.”
Murray adds about the impact of “Born This Way,” “One of the things we discovered is that a lot of women who are told they are going to have a child with Down syndrome have a very dark view of what that would mean for their lives, and what I love about this show is it’s showing them that having a child with Down syndrome isn’t that different … There’s a joy that these children bring to their families and communities … For all of us who’ve worked on the show, it has enriched our lives.”
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