‘Philly DA’ Docuseries From PBS’ Independent Lens Wins Peabody Award

Patrick Hipes
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Philly D.A., the docuseries from PBS’ Independent Lens that shines a light on Larry Krasner, who fought the city’s district attorney’s office as a civil rights lawyer for 30 years before he was elected to the position himself, has won a Peabody Award.

The eight-part series from All Ages Productions, Department of Motion Pictures and ITVS will be bestowed the honor Tuesday in the Documentaries section of the annual honors, which go to the year’s most powerful content across the fields of entertainment, docs, news, podcast/radio, arts, children’s and youth, and public service programming.

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The awards, in their 82nd year, hail from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.

Kevin Bacon announced the honor for Philly D.A. virtually as part of Peabody’s rollout this week of its 30 overall awards. Philly D.A. directors and Philadelphia natives Ted Passon and Yoni Brook accepted on behalf of the series, which took more than four years to shoot and debuted as part of Independent Lens’ 22nd season in April 2021.

Spotlighting the often-volatile intersection of ideals and practicality in local politics, Philly D.A. follows Krasner as he faces his most formidable challenge of his life: trying to change the criminal justice system from within after decades of fighting from the outside. The Peabody jury said “Krasner’s story becomes emblematic of the challenges facing those intent on restructuring a broken system.”

Here’s the announcement from Bacon on the Peabody YouTube channel:

This year’s awards are being bestowed daily through Thursday, with presenters including Melissa McCarthy, Morgan Freeman, John Legend, H.E.R., Ethan Hawke, Jon Stewart, Hasan Minhaj, Riz Ahmed, LeVar Burton, Jenny Slate, Malcolm Gladwell and Adam Scott among those announcing winners on Peabody’s social channels.

Philly D.A. joins fellow PBS documentary Mr. Soul! and Netflix’s High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America on the winners list in the Peabody Documentary category so far.

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