Peabody Awards honor ‘Bluey’, ‘The Bear’, Mel Brooks, Quinta Brunson

From documentaries about the war in Ukraine and Gaza to the sweetness of ‘Bluey’ to the earthiness of ‘Somebody Somewhere’ and ‘Reservation Dogs’ to the canon of Mel Brooks, Sunday’s 84th annual Peabody Awards ceremony greeted an array of notable TV shows, movies, documentaries, podcasts, video games and more.

The esteemed awards, administered by the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications, were held at the Beverly Wilshire hotel, marking the first time the Peabodys had been presented on the West Coast after decades in New York.

“Finally, Los Angeles gets an awards ceremony,” host Kumail Nanjiani joked at the start of the more than two-hour ceremony.

The sheer number of conflicts around the world and in the US – from school shootings to hate crimes and the spike in political extremism – was reflected in the programs selected for this year’s award and in the winners’ on-stage comments . A number of documentary makers, producers and filmmakers have sounded the alarm about the dangers of disinformation and deepfakes seeping into the digital historical archive.

“It’s not just the people who are killed in the war — it’s the truth,” said Mstyslav Chernov, director of “20 Hours in Mariupol,” which won the Oscar for feature film in March and was also recognized with a Peabody. “I wish all my fellow documentary makers out there the strength and energy to fight for the truth, because that is the fight that awaits us.”

Phil Williams, a news anchor at NBCUniversal-owned WTVF-TV Nashville, echoed Chernov’s sentiment, urging the crowd to remember that local broadcast journalists are in a daily battle to establish the facts of any given situation. “Local journalists are fighting for the truth in their own communities – we need all of you now more than ever,” Williams said as he accepted the Peabody for “Hate Comes to Main Street,” an expose of the far-right local candidate’s troubled past Gabrielle. Hanson.

Another topic that came up more than once on stage was the turmoil in the industry due to the digital transition and now the beginning of the AI ​​era. Ron Nyswaner, veteran screenwriter and showrunner, spoke for many in Hollywood in expressing his fears about the future of the kind of filmmaking and content creation celebrated by the Peabodys. He was honored for the Paramount+ Showtime drama “Fellow Travelers,” an examination of the infamous Lavender Scare that devastated the lives of thousands of LGBT employees in the 1950s.

“Art is about making people think and feel,” Nyswaner said. “I hope we continue to tell artists to be provocative and more ambitious and not serve algorithms that don’t really care whether we make people think or feel.”

The precarious state of democracy was also discussed. Moses Bwayo, director of “Bobi Wine: The People’s President,” cited his home country’s example as a sign of the dangers of complacency about political systems. Uganda has worked for more than sixty years since independence in 1962 to establish a truly democratic political system, as evidenced by his documentary about the struggles of the pop star and populist politician.

“We must protect our democracies,” Bwayo said. “Protect your democracies. Protect that system.”

There were lighter moments during the marathon presentation of 37 awards. Peabody lawyers saw fit to celebrate the popular Australian cartoon series “Bluey,” about a family of dogs. Melanie Zanetti, who provides Mom’s voice, was present to accept the award. She got a big laugh when she ended her short thank you with the Australian slang that has become a staple of the series: “Wackadoo.”

Mel Brooks, the 97-year-old groundbreaking figure in comedy, was awarded the Career Achievement Award for his longevity in stand-up, stage, TV, film and Broadway. No less a legend than Billy Crystal was on hand to pay tribute to the man he called “my friend, my mentor and my honorary uncle.”

Brooks beamed and basked in a prolonged ovation. Despite his advanced years, he was relatively spry on stage and knew how to charm the audience. “Humility is not part of my vocabulary,” Brooks joked. He concluded with a vow: “I promise the people of Geoge Foster Peabody – I will not sell this.”

Quinta Brunson, creator, showrunner and star of “Abbott Elementary,” was recognized with the Trailblazer Award, presented by multi-word Donald Glover. Glover joked that she had been asked to present Brunson with numerous awards in recent years because of her impact. “She uses comedy to highlight the real and everyday problems of underfunded public schools,” he said.

Brunson explained that another part of her motivation for creating “Abbott Elementary,” which revolves around public school teachers in Philadelphia, was to find a show she could watch with her mother and her young niece. Praise from organizations like the Peabody Awards is “a dream come true. It makes me believe even more in the work I have been able to do,” said Brunson.

The evening ended with the familiar sounds of the stirring “Star Trek” theme, as the late Gene Roddenberry’s venerable science fiction franchise was recognized with the Institutional Award.

JJ Abrams, the super-producer who revived the box office fortunes of “Star Trek” in 2009, praised the show’s legacy of “storytelling that projects the best of humanity far into the future.” Abrams presented the award to Alex Kurtzman, the Chief Content Officer of the “Star Trek” universe under the Paramount umbrella. Joining Kurtzman on stage have been more than twenty members of the franchise’s cast over the years.

Kurtzman echoed the spirit of the night in his remarks. He emphasized that “Star Trek” has long prospered with its consistent vision of “the hope that our better angels will guide us beyond the limits of space and ourselves with humility, dignity and respect” and the belief that “we are all out the same material exist’. stardust.”

(Photo: Peabody Awards host Kumail Nanjiani)

Here is a complete list of 2024 George Foster Peabody Award winners:

ENTERTAINMENT

“The bear” (FX) FX Productions

“Dead Ringers” (Prime Video) Amazon MGM Studios, Annapurna Television

“Fellow travelers” (Showtime) Showtime presents a production in Fremantle and Showtime Studios

“Jury Duty” (Amazon Freevee) Amazon MGM Studios, Picrow, The District, Work Entertainment

“The last of us” (HBO | Max) HBO in association with Sony Pictures Television Studios, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint and Naughty Dog

“Last week tonight with John Oliver: Israel-Hamas war” (HBO | Max) HBO in association with Peyance Productions and Avalon Television

“Reality” (HBO | Max) HBO Films presents a Seaview and 2 Sq Ft production in association with Burn These Words, In The Cut Productions, Fit Via Vi, Cinereach, Tanbark Pictures

“Reservation dogs” (FX) FX Productions

“Someone somewhere” (HBO | Max) HBO in association with Duplass Brothers Productions and The Mighty Mint

ARTS

“Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters” (World Channel and APT) Black Public Media and World Channel

“Judy Blume Forever” (Prime Video) Amazon MGM Studios, Imagine documentaries

CHILDREN/ YOUTH

“Blue” (Disney+) Ludo Studio, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, BBC Studios

DOCUMENTARY

“20 days in Mariupol” (PBS) Frontline/PBS, The Associated Press

“Everything that breathes” (HBO | Maximum) HBO Documentary Films presents in association with Submarine Deluxe and Sideshow; a production of Kiterabbit Films and Rise Films in association with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios

‘All the beauty and the bloodshed’ (HBO | Max) HBO Documentary Films presents a Participant and Neon presentation

“Bobi Wine: the people’s president” (National Geographic) Southern Films / Ventureland / National Geographic Documentary Films

“POV: While We Watched” (PBS) Britdoc Films, American documentary | POV

“The stroll” (HBO | Maximum) HBO documentary films

INTERACTIVE & IMMERSIVE

“The Hidden History of Racism in New York City” (Instagram) Gen Z Historian, Urban Planner Live

“Pentiment” (Xbox, PC, PlayStation 4|5 and Nintendo Switch) Obsidian Entertainment

“We are OFK” (PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Steam) OFK

“You destroy. We create | The war against Ukrainian culture” (Meta Quest) NowHere Media

NEWS

“Against all enemies” (NBC 5 / KXAS-TV Dallas-Fort Worth) NBC 5 / KXAS-TV Dallas-Fort Worth

“Clarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power, and the Supreme Court” (PBS) Frontline/PBS

‘Hate is coming to Main Street’ (WTVF-TV, News Channel 5) WTVF-TV, News Channel 5

“It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m still alive” (Al Jazeera Media Network) AJ+

“War in the Holy Land” (PBS NewsHour) PBS NewsHour, PBS News

PUBLIC SERVICE

“America and the Taliban” (PBS) Frontline/PBS

“The Post Roe Baby Boom: A Look Inside Mississippi’s Maternal Health Crisis” (USA Today streaming channels) USA Today and The Tennessean

RADIO/PODCAST

“The Great Excavation” (GBH News) GBH News and PRX

“The empty grave of Comrade Bishop” (The Washington Post) The Washington Post

“Post Reports: Surviving to Graduation” (The Washington Post) The Washington Post

“The Reclamations” (Serial Productions and The New York Times) Serial Productions and The New York Times

“You didn’t see anything” (Invisible Institute and USG Audio) Invisible Institute and USG Audio