Peabody Awards Nominees: ‘Euphoria,’ ‘Ted Lasso,’ ‘I May Destroy You,’ and More

Libby Hill
·6 min read

The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors announced this year’s crop of nominees today, singling out 60 stories from more than 1,300 submissions for its prestigious award honoring broadcasting and streaming media during 2020. The Peabody Awards recognize the finest work produced for television, podcasts/radio and the web in entertainment, news, documentary, arts, children’s/youth, public service and multimedia programming.

“During an incredibly turbulent and difficult year, these nominees rose to the occasion and delivered compelling and empowering stories,” said chair of the Peabody Board of Jurors Martha Nelson. “From COVID-19 coverage to poignant explorations of identity, each nominee not only told a powerful story but also made a significant impact on media programming and the cultural landscape. We’re thrilled to recognize their outstanding and inspiring work.”

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Perhaps unsurprising given the landscape of the last 18 months, the Peabody honorees skewed more heavily towards news programs, with only 10 Entertainment selections, as compared to last year’s 13. Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso,” HBO’s “I May Destroy You,” Amazon Studios’ “Small Axe,” and Showtime’s “The Good Lord Bird” all received notices from Peabody, as did CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever,” “Unorthodox,” and “Gentefied,” the first HBO “Euphoria” special, and Shudder underdog “La Llorona.” In comparison, the news category garnered 16 nominees.

“Peabody is proud to continue its tradition of recognizing diverse and emerging voices, those telling powerful stories that audiences need to engage with and hear,” said Jeffrey Jones, executive director of Peabody. “Once again, our nominees offer moral clarity for how we as ethical citizens might respond.”

The field of honorees this year reflect an industry still in flux after the overall disruption that defined 2020. Last month, the Peabody Awards made a disappointing, if not surprising, announcement cancelling its in-person ceremony celebrating the nominees and winners. This was the second consecutive cancellation of the Peabody Awards ceremony due to the pandemic. In 2020, the event was slated to take place in Los Angeles for the first time in the organization’s 80-year history.

In breaking down the numbers, PBS and Netflix led all competitors, scoring 12 and nine of the 60 overall nominations. HBO garnered five noms, followed by Amazon and Showtime each earning three, and Apple TV+ and CBS both nabbing two nominations.

Peabody Awards winners will be announced in June and the organization is currently working on plans to honor this year’s nominees via a virtual event. The full list of nominees below:

Children’s & Youth

“Stillwater”
Apple / Scholastic Entertainment / Gaumont (Apple TV+)

“The Owl House”
Disney Television Animation (Disney Channel)

Documentaries

“76 Days”
76 Days LLC / MTV Documentary Films (virtual cinema)

“All In: The Fight for Democracy”
Story Syndicate (Amazon Studios)

“American Experience: The Vote”
A 42nd Parallel Film Production for American Experience (PBS)

“Asian Americans”
CAAM, WETA, Flash Cuts, LLC., Tajima-Peña Productions, ITVS (PBS)

“Athlete A”
A Netflix Original Documentary in association with Impact Partners, Artemis Rising Foundation, Meadow Fund, Dobkin Family Foundation, Chicago Media Project, Grant Me the Wisdom Productions and An Actual Films Production (Netflix)

“Atlanta’s Missing & Murdered: The Lost Children”
HBO Documentary Films, Show of Force, Get Lifted Film Company and Roc Nation (HBO)

“Collective”
Alexander Nanau Production, Samsa Film HBO Europe (HBO Europe)

“Crip Camp”
A Higher Ground and Rusted Spoke Production in association with Little Punk / JustFilms / Ford Foundation for Netflix (Netflix)

“Disclosure”
Disclosure Film in association with Field of Vision and Bow & Arrow Entertainment for Netflix (Netflix)

“Immigration Nation”
A Reel Peak Films Production for Netflix (Netflix)

“In My Blood It Runs”
Closer Productions, American Documentary | POV (PBS)

“Independent Lens: Belly of the Beast”
Co-production of Belly of the Beast LLC, Idle Wild Films Inc., Black Public Media (BPM) and Independent Television Service (ITVS), with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (PBS)

“Kingdom of Silence”
Showtime Documentary Films presents Jigsaw Productions (Showtime)

“Softie”
LBx AFRICA, American Documentary | POV, We Are Not The Machine, Eyesteel Film, Doc Society, BBC (PBS)

“The Cave”
A Danish Documentary Production, in Co-Production with Ma.Ja.De Hecat Studio Paris Madam Films for National Geographic Documentary Films (National Geographic)

“The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show”
Big Beach (Peacock)

“The Speed Cubers”
A Netflix Original Documentary / A Saltwater/Romano Films Production in association with Wieden + Kennedy Studios (Netflix)

“Time”
Concordia Studio, GB Feature, LLC and Amazon Studios (Amazon Studios)

“Welcome to Chechnya”
Public Square Films, Ninety Thousand Words, Maylo Films, BBC Storyville and HBO Documentary Films (HBO)

Entertainment

“Euphoria Special: Part 1: Rue ‘Trouble Don’t Last Always’”
HBO in association with Reasonable Bunch, A24, Little Lamb, Dreamcrew, ADD Content Agency | HOT | TCDY Productions (HBO)

“Gentefied”
Netflix (Netflix)

“I May Destroy You”
HBO in association with BBC, Various Artists Limited, and FALKNA (HBO)

“La Llorona”
LA CASA DE PRODUCCIÓN (Shudder)

“Never Have I Ever”
Universal Television, in association with 3 Arts Entertainment, Original Langster, and Kaling International Netflix (Netflix)

“Small Axe”
BBC Studios Americas, Inc. and Amazon Studios (Amazon Studios)

“Ted Lasso”
Apple / Doozer Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television (Apple TV+)

“The Good Lord Bird”
Showtime Presents Blumhouse Television, Mark 924 Entertainment, Under the Influence Productions (Showtime)

“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”
CBS Studios (CBS)

“Unorthodox”
Studio Airlift and RealFilm for Netflix (Netflix)

News

“ABC News 20/20 in collaboration with The Courier Journal: Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor”
ABC News 20/20 + Courier Journal (ABC)

“Battle For Hong Kong”
FRONTLINE (PBS / GBH)

“Bravery and Hope: 7 Days on the Front Line”
CBS (CBS News)

“China Undercover”
FRONTLINE (PBS / GBH)

“COVID’s Hidden Toll”
FRONTLINE (PBS / GBH)

“FIRE – POWER – MONEY: Holding PG&E Accountable”
KXTV-TV ABC10 (KXTV-TV)

“Full Disclosure”
KNXV-TV ABC15 (KNXV-TV)

“Inside Idlib”
Sky News (Sky News)

“KARE 11 Investigates: Cruel & Unusual”
KARE 11-TV (KARE 11-TV)

“Muslim in Trump’s America (Exposure)”
Fuuse Films (ITV)

“PBS NewsHour COVID-19 Coverage: Global Pandemic / MAKING SENSE: The Victims of the COVID Economy”
PBS NewsHour (PBS)

“PBS NewsHour: Desperate Journey”
PBS NewsHour (PBS)

“Policing the Police 2020”
FRONTLINE (PBS / GBH)

“Undercover in the Schools that Chain Boys”
BBC News Arabic Documentaries (BBC)

“VICE on Showtime: Losing Ground”
VICE News (Showtime)

“Whose Vote Counts”
FRONTLINE, Columbia Journalism Investigations, USA Today Network (PBS / GBH)

Podcast/Radio

“Floodlines”
The Atlantic (theatlantic.com; podcast platforms)

“Language Keepers Podcast Series”
Emergence Magazine (Emergence Magazine)

“Mic Drop”
CBC Podcasts (CBC Podcasts / TRX from PRX)

“Post Reports: The Life of George Floyd”
The Washington Post (washingtonpost.com; podcast platforms)

“The Land That Never Has Been Yet”
Scene on Radio (PRX)

“The Promise: Season 2”
Nashville Public Radio (Nashville Public Radio)

“This American Life Episode #713: Made to be Broken | Act 1 – Time Bandit”
This American Life (thisamericanlife.org; podcast platforms)

“Unfinished: Deep South”
Stitcher, Market Road Films (Stitcher)

Public Service

“Cops and Robbers”
Lawrence Bender Productions (Netflix)

“Facing Race”
KING 5 (KING-TV)

“Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020”
The Entertainment Industry Foundation, XQ Institute, Springhill Entertainment, Done & Dusted (Simultaneously ran on 46 broadcast networks and digital/social media platforms)

“Shaina”
Quizzical Pictures, USAID (Zimbabwe television)

Arts

“Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché”
Be Natural Productions (Turner Classic Movies)

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