Update: On May 15 the Peabody Awards canceled this year’s ceremony because of the Writers Guild of America strike. The Peabody statement:
“As an organization dedicated to honoring the most compelling and empowering stories in broadcasting and streaming media, we recognize and respect the position that many of this year’s Peabody Award winners find themselves in. Due to the ongoing uncertainty and meaningful challenges that exist industrywide, we have decided to cancel the 83rd annual Peabody Awards ceremony that was set to take place on June 11 in Los Angeles. Canceling the ceremony is extremely disappointing as this year’s 39 winners are immensely talented and have brought forth powerful stories that deserve to be celebrated.”
The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors has announced the 35 winners elected to represent the most compelling and empowering stories released in broadcasting, streaming and interactive media during 2022. The winners were chosen by a unanimous vote of 32 jurors from over 1,400 entries from television, podcasts/radio and the web/digital in entertainment, news, documentary, arts, children’s/youth, public service and interactive programming. Of the 35 total wins, PBS produced the most with six, followed by Apple TV+ and Disney+ (three each), and HBO Max (two).
“Representing a wide range of mediums, genres and narrative approaches, this year’s winners continue to advance what it means to craft storytelling that is compelling, powerful and prescient,” said Jeffrey Jones, executive director of Peabody. “Whether capturing the lives of teachers in Philadelphia or young women in Afghanistan, these stories are powerful enough to make us laugh, cry and learn. They are all deserving of this honor, and we are thrilled to shine a light on their amazing achievement. All citizens should seek out, watch and engage these winners.”
The Peabody Awards were founded in 1940 at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia and are still based in Athens today.
Entertainment programming was particularly strong in 2022, which led all categories with 10 wins, followed by eight for documentaries and seven for news. Entertainment winners “Atlanta” and “Better Call Saul,” which previously won Peabodys for their first seasons, are both receiving a second Peabody for their final seasons.
This year’s winners encompass a wide range of pressing issues across categories. The 83rd Peabody Awards are sponsored by UBS, the world’s leading global wealth manager.
“These profound and moving stories not only inform and educate us on pressing issues and critical current events, they also help to connect and inspire us,” said Wale Ogunleye, head of sports and entertainment at UBS.
The winners of the 83rd annual Peabody Awards will be celebrated on Sunday, June 11, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. This will be Peabody’s first in-person ceremony since 2019, as well as the first time ever in its history that the awards will take place in Los Angeles. Bob Bain Productions is set to produce the event. Delta is the supporting sponsor, and Variety is the media partner for the awards ceremony.
Peabody previously announced four specialty awards including NBC News’ “TODAY” as an Institutional Award winner; Lily Tomlin was named winner of the Peabody Career Achievement Award; Issa Rae won the Peabody Trailblazer Award; and Shari Frilot was named the winner of the Visionary Award.
The Peabody Award winners listed by category and in alphabetical order (network/platform in parentheses) are:
Arts
“Fire of Love”
National Geographic Documentary Films presents A Sandbox Films Production / An Intuitive Pictures & Cottage M Production (Disney+)
Documentary
“Aftershock”
Onyx Collective and ABC News Studios present a Malka Films and Madstone Company Inc. Production in association with Good Gravy Films and JustFilms | Ford Foundation Impact Partners
“Batata”
Saaren Films Inc., Six Island Productions Inc., Musa Dagh Productions (Streaming platforms)
“Independent Lens: Missing in Brooks County”
ITVS, Fork Films, Engel Entertainment (PBS)
“Independent Lens: Writing with Fire”
Black Ticket Films (PBS)
“Mariupol: The People’s Story”
Top Hat Productions / Hayloft Productions (BBC Select)
“The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks”
SO’B Productions (Peacock)
“The Territory”
National Geographic Documentary Films presents a Documist And Associação Jupaú Film in association with Time Studios, Xtr, Doc Society Climate Story Fund / A Production of Protozoa Pictures, Passion Pictures, Real Lava (Disney+)
“We Need to Talk About Cosby”
SHOWTIME Documentary Films Presents, a Boardwalk Pictures Production, in association with WKB Industries (Showtime Networks)
Entertainment
“Abbott Elementary”
Delicious Non-Sequitur Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios (ABC)
“Andor”
Lucasfilm Ltd. (Disney+)
“Atlanta”
FX Productions (FX)
“Bad Sisters”
Merman / ABC Signature in association with Apple (Apple TV+)
“Better Call Saul”
High Bridge, Crystal Diner, Gran Via Productions and Sony Pictures Television (AMC)
“Los Espookys”
HBO in association with Broadway Video, Antigravico and Mas Mejor (HBO Max)
“Mo”
A24 (Netflix)
“Pachinko”
Media Res / Blue Marble Pictures in association with Apple (Apple TV+)
“Severance”
Fifth Season / Red Hour Productions in association with Apple (Apple TV+)
“We’re Here”
HBO in association with House of Opus 20 and IPC (HBO Max)
Interactive and Immersive
“ContraPoints”
Natalie Wynn (YouTube)
“Life is Strange: True Colors”
Deck Nine Games & Square Enix External Studios (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Stadia)
“Lucy and the Wolves in the Walls”
Fable Studio, Third Rail Projects, Sound+Design, Story Studio & Experiences (Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest)
“Reeducated”
The New Yorker (Oculus, Mobile, Desktop)
“The Uncensored Library”
Media.Monks, Reporters without Borders, DDB Germany (Minecraft)
News
“Guns in America”
PBS NewsHour (PBS NewsHour)
“FRONTLINE: Michael Flynn’s Holy War”
FRONTLINE (PBS) with The Associated Press (PBS)
“FRONTLINE: Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack”
FRONTLINE (PBS) with Channel 4
“The Gap: Failure to Treat, Failure to Protect”
KARE-TV (NBC/KARE-TV)
“No Justice for Women in the Taliban’s Afghanistan”
VICE News (VICE News)
“One Day in Hebron”
AJ+ (Direct From)
“Shimon Prokupecz: Unraveling Uvalde”
CNN (CNN)
Podcast/Radio
“Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s”
Spotify & Gimlet Media (Spotify)
“The Divided Dial”
On the Media/New York Public Radio (New York Public Radio)
“This American Life: The Pink House at the Center of the World”
This American Life (This American Life)
Public Service
“FRONTLINE: The Power of Big Oil”
FRONTLINE (PBS) (PBS)
