Peter Friedlander, Katherine Pope, Ravi Nandan, Amy Israel and Amy Entelis Join the Peabody Awards’ Board of Directors as Awards Program Gears Up for May 31 Ceremony Honoring Stories That Matter
Athens, GA (February 4, 2026) – Industry leaders Peter Friedlander, Head of Global Television, Amazon MGM Studios; Katherine Pope, President, Sony Pictures Television; Ravi Nandan, Partner and Global Head of Television, A24; Amy Israel, President of Television, Peter Chernin’s The North Road Company; and Amy Entelis, Executive Vice President, CNN Worldwide have joined the Board of Directors of The Peabody Awards, which honors storytelling that reflects the social issues and emerging voices of our day.
The Peabody Board of Directors brings together prominent executives from organizations across the media landscape. The Board provides expert counsel and stewardship while advancing Peabody’s commitment to outstanding and transformative storytelling, and is comprised of East Coast and West Coast arms, which reflects the diversity of Peabody’s constituencies. Friedlander, Pope, Nandan and Israel will serve on the West Coast Board of Directors, while Entelis will serve on the East Coast Board of Directors.
“When it comes to maintaining the integrity of an institution like The Peabody Awards, while at the same time evolving with the changing landscape that is television, podcasts, radio and interactive content, it is the strength and commitment of your board of directors that makes those goals possible,” said Jeffrey Jones, executive director of The Peabody Awards. “We are so excited to have Peter, Katherine, Ravi, and both Amy Israel and Amy Entelis, joining our already formidable board, who all share Peabody’s commitment to honoring outstanding and transformative storytelling.” The Peabody program is based at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
Friedlander is the Global Head of Television at Amazon MGM Studios, producers of acclaimed series like “Fallout,” “The Boys,” “Reacher” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” In this role, he is responsible for setting the strategic direction of scripted and unscripted series as well as overlooking first-look and overall deals. Prior to joining Amazon, he was Vice President of Scripted Series at Netflix. Breakout hits under his direction included the cultural phenomena “Stranger Things 4” and “Wednesday,” which rank as the top 2 most watched English-language series ever on Netflix; “Bridgerton” and “Inventing Anna” from Shonda Rhimes; “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and “The Watcher” from Ryan Murphy; “The Night Agent,” “Ozark,” “Emily In Paris,” and “Cobra Kai”; the revival of “Manifest,” “Lucifer” and “YOU”; and “3 Body Problem” from David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
Pope is the President of Sony Pictures Television, overseeing the studio’s scripted production business, which currently produces over 30 series across all platforms. Under her leadership, the studio has delivered numerous critically acclaimed hits, including “Pluribus,” Vince Gilligan’s latest series for Apple TV+ starring Rhea Seehorn, which has been named one of the “Best TV shows of 2025” and received numerous awards nominations including Golden Globes, Critics Choice and AFI; the fourth season of Prime
Video’s “The Boys,” from Eric Kripke, with its fifth and final season premiering in April of 2026; HBO’s “The Last of Us” and Peacock’s “Twisted Metal,” both based on PlayStation video games and both renewed for a third season; “Outlander” and its prequel
“Outlander: Blood of My Blood” on Starz; “Doc” on FOX, starring Emmy Award-nominated actress Molly Parker; and Netflix’s “The Night Agent,” returning for its third season in February 2026. Most recently, Pope received Emmy and Golden Globes nominations for serving as executive producer on the FX limited series “Dying for Sex,” starring Michelle Williams. Earlier in her career, she spent 10 years at NBC/NBC Universal Television Studios where she held several leadership roles, developing hit shows like “Heroes,” “Friday Night Lights,” “30 Rock” and “The Office.” Before NBC, she produced documentaries and specials at CBS and ABC News.
Nandan is Global Head of Television for A24, overseeing the studios scripted and unscripted slate. A24 television has produced and served as the studio on multiple series including the Emmy-winning HBO drama “Euphoria” and Netflix limited series “Beef,” as well as “Ramy,” “The Curse,” “The Sympathizer” and more.
Israel is the President of Television at The North Road Company’s independent studio, overseeing all aspects of the company’s global scripted television division including development and production. Having worked on a multitude of high-profile and award-winning series, she is focused on building a world-class slate and establishing North Road as the pre-eminent independent studio and supplier of high-quality, premium television shows. North Road is currently in production on “The Body” for Netflix. In her career, which spans both the television and film industry, Israel has always been a passionate advocate for artists, having developed and overseen “Yellowjackets,” “Billions,” “The Affair,” “Fellow Travelers” and “Ripley” in television, and Academy Award winners “No Country for Old Men,” “There Will Be Blood” and “Life Is Beautiful” in film.
Entelis is Executive Vice President for Talent at CNN Originals, and Creative Development for CNN Worldwide, where she leads the network’s premium long-form storytelling efforts and oversees talent strategy across its global platforms. Since joining CNN in 2012, Entelis has launched and built CNN Originals into an internationally recognized portfolio. Under her leadership, this work has earned more than 120 awards and 450 nominations, including CNN’s first Academy Award for “Navalny.” Collectively, Entelis has acquired, commissioned, or executive produced more than 70 feature and short films for CNN Films, including the two-time Academy Award nominated “RBG,” “Three Identical Strangers” and “Apollo 11.” For CNN Original Series, she has also led the development and launch of more than 100 multipart series, including the Peabody and 13-time Emmy Award–winning “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.” Entelis has played a key role in expanding the creative scope of the network, championing new voices and pioneering innovative nonfiction formats and cultural events. In 2025, she spearheaded CNN’s historic live telecast of George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s “Good Night, and Good Luck,” marking the first-ever live broadcast of a Broadway production.
Additional West Coast Board of Directors members include:
- David Kramer (Chair), CEO, United Talent Agency
- Bela Bajaria, Chief Content Officer, Netflix
- Lorrie Bartlett, Co-Head of Talent, Creative Artists Agency
- Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content
- Karey Burke, President, 20th Television
- Kathryn Busby, President of Original Programming, STARZ
- Craig Erwich, President, Disney Television Group
- Cliff Gilbert-Lurie, Senior Partner, Ziffren Brittenham LLP
- Alix Jaffe, President of Television, Miramax
- Tilane Jones, President, ARRAY Alliance
- Kristie Macosko Krieger, Film and Television Producer
- Bruce Ramer, Partner, Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown
- David Stapf, President, CBS Studios
- Zack Van Amburg, Head of Worldwide Video, Apple TV+
- Jamie Waldron, Senior Managing Director, Teneo
- Tiffany Ward, Managing Director, Creative Artists Agency
- Richard Weitz, Co-Chairman, William Morris Endeavor
Additional East Coast Board of Director members include:
- Martha Nelson (Chair)
- Melinda Arons, Founder, Arons Advisors
- John Bredar, Vice President of National Programming, GBH
- Emerson Coleman, Former President/Programming, Hearst Television, Inc.
- Katie Couric, Founder, Katie Couric Media
- Maria Cuomo Cole, Founder, Cuomo Cole Productions
- Bianna Golodryga, Anchor/Senior Global Affairs Analyst, CNN
- Madeleine Haeringer, Senior Vice President/Digital, Audio & Longform, MS NOW
- John Huey, Former Editor-in-Chief, Time, Inc.
- Paula Kerger, CEO, PBS
- Pat Mitchell, Editorial Director at TEDWomen
- Courteney Monroe, President of National Geographic Global Television Networks
- Michele Norris-Johnson, Senior Contributing Editor, MS NOW
- Soledad O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer, Soledad O’Brien Productions
- Connor Schell, CEO and Founder, Words + Pictures; Co-creator of 30 for 30 ESPN series
- Regina K. Scully, Founder and CEO, Artemis Rising Foundation
- Kashif Shaikh, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Pillars Fund
- Neal Shapiro, President and CEO, WNET New York Public Media
- Ali Zelenko, Former Senior Vice President/Strategic Initiatives, NBC News
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 recognizing 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 and the winners will be announced in April. The 2026 ceremony will take place May 31, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. The award-winning Peabody podcast “We Disrupt This Broadcast,” co-produced and co-directed with The Center for Media & Social Impact, is distributed by public media organization PRX, and available free on-demand across all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart and Overcast. 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. The Peabody Awards also produces the award-winning podcast “We Disrupt This Broadcast, available on all major podcast platforms. 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