The Peabody Awards Returns to Los Angeles May 31 as It Celebrates 86 Years of Recognizing Excellence in Impactful Storytelling.
Athens, GA (November 12, 2025) – The Peabody Awards will return to Los Angeles and the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on May 31, 2026, as it celebrates 86 years of stories that encourage empathy, champion public interest, and expand our comprehension of the world around us.
Awards will be given in the following categories: entertainment, documentary, news, podcast/radio, arts, children’s and youth, immersive and interactive media, and public service programming.
“We look forward to honoring the creators, journalists, and visionaries who continue to make Peabody the foremost honor for impactful storytelling,” said Jeffrey Jones, executive director of Peabody. “In a particularly fractured time, our mission at Peabody remains to celebrate stories that unite audiences and explore the richness of humanity through diverse perspectives.” The Peabody program is based at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
The Peabody Board of Jurors is comprised of media industry professionals, as well as journalists, critics and scholars, appointed to six-year terms. All programs that are nominated and win Peabody Awards must receive a unanimous vote by the Board of Jurors.
The 2025 Peabody Awards ceremony, hosted by Roy Wood Jr., took place on June 1 at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in Beverly Hills where Andrea Mitchell was honored with the Peabody Career Achievement Award and “Saturday Night Live” was honored with the Peabody Institutional Award. In October 2025, the Peabody Awards honored musician, Academy Award-winning filmmaker, and activist Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson with the 2025 Peabody Trailblazer Award.
Past Peabody Award winners include some of the most beloved and groundbreaking series of all time, including “Hill Street Blues,” “Murphy Brown,” “The Wire,” “Veep,” The Sopranos,” “Breaking Bad,” “The Office” and “Succession”, and limited/mini-series including “Roots,” “Tales of the City,” “Chernobyl,” and “Dopesick.” Children’s and youth honorees have included “ABC Afterschool Specials,” “Bluey” and “Doc McStuffins,” while landmark educational programs such as “Cosmos” and “NOVA” have also been honored. Peabody began recogning Interactive and Immersive Media in 2021, with organizations such as The New Yorker, The Washington Post and The New York Times receiving honors. The Peabody Awards precedes The Emmy Awards as the longest running awards program to honor how television/broadcasting, and now digital and podcast programming, can have positive effects on society.
Nominees for the 2026 Peabody Awards will be announced in April, with winners announced in May. For more information, please visit peabodyawards.com.
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ABOUT THE PEABODY AWARDS
The Peabody Awards is celebrating 86 years of honoring stories that defend public interest, encourage empathy and expand our understanding of the world. Respected for its integrity and revered for its standards of excellence, the Peabody is an honor like no other for television, podcast/radio, and immersive and interactive media. Chosen each year by a diverse Board of Jurors through unanimous vote, Peabody Awards are given in the categories of entertainment, documentary, news, podcast/radio, arts, children’s and youth, and public service programming. The annual Peabody winners are a collection of stories that powerfully reflect the pressing social issues and the vibrant emerging voices of our day. From major productions to local journalism, the Peabody Awards shine a light on the Stories That Matter and are a testament to the power of art and reportage in the push for truth, social justice, and equity. The Peabody Awards were founded in 1940 at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia and remain there today. For more information, visit peabodyawards.com to sign up for our newsletter.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Michael Donkis
Aloft Strategic Communications
E-mail: mdonkis@aloftpr.com
Cell: 310-387-0220
Rebecca Taylor
Aloft Strategic Communications
E-mail: rtaylor@aloftpr.com
Cell: 310-447-4831