The Board of Jurors for the Peabody Awards revealed the 60 nominees for the 2020 class and there were few surprises among the bunch. Based on projects released in the calendar year of 2019 (sorry, no “Tiger King” this time around), programs such as “Watchmen,” “Succession” and “Fleabag” made the cut. One of the few legitimate surprises was Apple TV+’s “Dickinson.”
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In a statement, Peabody Awards executive director Jeffrey P. Jones noted, “Peabody is proud to champion this year’s nominees who inspire our connection, provoke our thinking and delight our senses. From the communal strength of black women to the eminence of science to the conviction of those who speak up, these stories and their creators celebrate the diversity of human experience and of our democracy. Amidst the challenges of our present moment, we can find empathy, entertainment and truth in these nominees.”
Head-scratching surprises on the list included the third season of “Stranger Things” and “Good Omens.” Surprise omissions include “The Mandalorian,” “Russian Doll,” “Fosse/Verdon” and “PEN 15,” among other programs.
Over 1,300 entries were submitted and 19 jurors widdled them down to the 60 programs below. 30 winners will be announced at a later date. Earlier this year the Peabody Awards announced they would be moving their annual ceremony to Los Angeles just in time for Emmy season. Clearly, that potential red carpet event will likely not happen during the current pandemic.
PBS and HBO led all networks with 11 and seven, respectively, followed by Netflix (five), Amazon (three), and SHOWTIME, CNN, NBC News, and the podcast company Pineapple Street Studios (two each). Disney Plus and Apple TV+ earned their first nominations.
A complete list of this year’s nominees are as follows:
CHILDREN’S & YOUTH
· “Molly of Denali” WGBH Educational Foundation, Atomic Cartoons (PBS Kids)
· “Treasure Island 2020” Gen-Z Media (BYUradio)
DOCUMENTARIES
· “16 Shots” SHOWTIME Documentary Films in association with Topic, Impact Partners, and Chicago Media Project (SHOWTIME)
· “American Factory” Higher Ground Productions and Participant Media for Netflix (Netflix)
· “Apollo 11” CNN Films (CNN)
· “For Sama” FRONTLINE, Channel 4 News, ITN Productions, Channel 4 (PBS)
· “Independent Lens: HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING” A production of Idiom Film, LLC and Louverture Films, in association with Field of Vision (PBS)
· “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (if you’re a girl)” Grain Media for A&E IndieFilms Network (A&E)
· “Leaving Neverland” Amos Pictures and HBO Documentary in association with Channel Four (HBO)
· “One Child Nation” Next Generation in co-production with ITVS, WDR/ARTE, Motto Pictures and Pumpernickel Films in association with Chicago Media Project and Chicken & Egg Pictures (Prime Video)
· “POV: América” Lifelike Docs, American Documentary | POV (PBS)
· “POV: Inventing Tomorrow” Fishbowl Films, Motto Pictures, 19340 Productions, Shark Island Institute, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, IQ190 Productions, American Documentary | POV (PBS)
· “POV: Midnight Traveler” Old Chilly Pictures LLC, American Documentary | POV, Independent Television Service (PBS)
· “POV: Roll Red Roll” Sunset Park Pictures, Artemis Rising, Fork Films, Doc Society, Multitude Films, American Documentary | POV (PBS)
· “POV: The Distant Barking of Dogs” Final Cut for Real, Mouka Filmi, STORY, Bayerischer Rundfunk, ARTE, American Documentary | POV (PBS)
· “POV: The Silence of Others” Semilla Verde Productions, Lucernam Films, American Documentary | POV, Independent Television Service, Latino Public Broadcasting, El Deseo (PBS)
· “Sea of Shadows” Terra Mater Factual Studios in association with Appian Way, Malaika Pictures, The Wild Lens Collective for National Geographic Documentary Films (National Geographic)
· “Surviving R. Kelly” Bunim/Murray Productions and Kreativ Inc. for Lifetime (Lifetime)
· “The Edge of Democracy” A Busca Vida Filmes Production in association with Violet Films for Netflix (Netflix)
· “True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality” HBO Documentary Films and Kunhardt Films (HBO)
· “Warrior Women” Co-production of Castle King, LLC and ITVS in association with Vision Maker Media (WORLD Channel)
· “Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics And Men” SHOWTIME Documentary Films presents A Mass Appeal Production in association with Endeavor Content (SHOWTIME)
ENTERTAINMENT
· “Chernobyl” HBO Miniseries and SKY in association with Sister, The Mighty Mint, and Word Games (HBO)
· “David Makes Man” Page Fright and Outlier Productions in association with Warner Horizon Scripted Television (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
· “Dickinson” Apple / wiip / Anonymous Content / Tuning Fork Productions / Sugar 23 Productions (Apple TV+)
· “Fleabag” All3Media International Limited and Amazon Studios (Prime Video)
· “Float” Pixar Animation Studios (Disney+)
· “Good Omens” BBC Worldwide Limited and Amazon Studios (Prime Video)
· “Our Boys” HBO in association with Keshet Media Group and MoviePlus Productions (HBO)
· “Ramy” Hulu, A24 Television (Hulu)
· “Stranger Things” Monkey Massacre Productions & 21 Laps Entertainment (Netflix)
· “Succession” HBO Entertainment in association with Project Zeus, Hyperobject Industries, and Gary Sanchez Productions (HBO)
· “Unbelievable” Timberman-Beverly Productions, Sage Lane Productions, Escapist Fare, Katie Couric Media, and CBS Television Studios for Netflix (Netflix)
· “Watchmen” HBO in association with White Rabbit, Paramount, Warner Bros. Television and DC (HBO)
· “When They See Us” Participant Media, Tribeca Productions, Harpo Films, Array Filmworks for Netflix (Netflix)
NEWS
· “A Different Kind of Force: Policing Mental Illness” (NBC News)
· “American Betrayal” NBC News, Engel Unit (NBC/MSNBC)
· “Capitol Hill Controversy” NewsChannel 5 Investigates (WTVF-TV)
· “Coal’s Deadly Dust” FRONTLINE, NPR (PBS)
· “Flint’s Deadly Water” FRONTLINE with Five O’Clock Films (PBS/WGBH)
· “Police. Arrest” PCCW NowTV (Now News)
· “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: Raced to Death—The Plight of the American Thoroughbred” Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)
· “The Hidden Workforce: Undocumented in America” (CNN)
· “The Invisibles” NBC5/KXAS-TV & Telemundo 39 (NBC5/KXAS-TV)
· “Unwarranted” (WBBM-TV)
PODCAST/RADIO
· “70 Million” Lantigua Williams & Co.
· “Dolly Parton’s America” Osm Audio and WNYC Studios (WNYC)
· “Finding Fred” Co-produced by iHeartMedia and Fatherly in partnership with Transmitter Media (iHeartMedia)
· “Gangster Capitalism: The College Admissions Scandal” C13Originals, a division of Cadence 13 (C13Originals)
· “Gospel Roots of Rock and Soul” (WXPN)
· “Have You Heard George’s Podcast?” BBC Sounds/George the Poet Ltd. (BBC Sounds)
· “Headlong: Running From COPS” Pineapple Street Studios, Topic Studios (Stitcher)
· “In The Dark: The Path Home” American Public Media (APM Reports)
· “Silencing Science” Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX (Public radio, Reveal)
· “Stonewall OutLoud” (NPR)
· “The Catch and Kill Podcast with Ronan Farrow” Pineapple Street Studios, Glass Cannon Inc. (Pineapple Street Studios)
· “The Refuge” Auricle Productions, Montana Public Radio, Pulitzer Center (Montana Public Radio)
PUBLIC SERVICE
· “Border Hustle” The Texas Tribune and TIME
· “Detained” The Marshall Project in partnership with The Guardian
· “Long Island Divided” Newsday