From left; host Kumail Nanjiani and Matt Bomer (Fellow Travelers); Regina King presents to Judy Blume Forever; Donald Glover with Quinta Brunson (Trailblazer Award); and Scott Bakula, Sir Patrick Stewart, Alex Kurtzman and Wilson Cruz (Star Trek)
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The Peabody Awards have been trying to get to Los Angeles since 2020—and we finally did it this year. After the pandemic and industry strikes made live award shows impossible for the past four years, the 84th annual Peabodys took place in person on June 9 at the Beverly Wilshire hotel, with host Kumail Nanjiani guiding the evening’s festivities. The gathering of stars, storytellers, and journalists proved that Zoom is no match for real-life moments, like presenter Pamela Adlon’s unexpected fangirling: “I just saw Levar Burton,” she said when she took the stage to introduce winner Somebody Somewhere, “so I need a second.”
Other highlights included Donald Glover honoring friend Quinta Brunson with a Trailblazer Award, J.J Abrams introducing Star Trek as an Institutional Award winner, and Billy Crystal presenting a Career Achievement Award to a vibrant, 97-year-old Mel Brooks. When Brunson got a standing ovation, she joked, “When Mel Brooks comes out here, you better be jumping into the sky.” That didn’t quite happen, but Brooks did receive a prolonged ovation. (More on these and other highlights below.)
As someone who has been to her share of Emmys and Golden Globes, I can attest that Peabody is truly unique in its combination of entertainment and journalistic winners, which keeps the major issues weighing on the world at center stage and highlights the ways that pop culture and news interact. For instance, Mo Amer, the Palestinian-American star and creator of the Netflix series Mo, got choked up while introducing Bisan Owda, a Peabody winner for her videos broadcast on social media from the Gaza strip after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s ongoing retaliation. Her acceptance via video garnered an audible reaction of surprise from the audience. Meanwhile, PBS News anchor Amna Nawaz, accepting an award for the organization’s breaking coverage of the war, paid tribute to the scores of journalists who have been killed covering it. “War is hell, and covering it is one of our toughest duties,” she said. Later she added, “Covering this war in particular is harder than any war I’ve ever covered.”
The media’s responsibility to keep citizens accurately informed emerged as a major theme throughout the night. 20 Days in Mariupol director Mstyslav Chernov warned, “It’s not only people who are getting killed at war, it’s the truth.” After a stretch of awards going to journalists and documentarians reporting on grave issues like war, gun violence, and transgender rights, actor Patrick Stewart was moved to give an impromptu, emotional speech appreciating the work of such winners, emphasizing their role in preserving democracy: “I feel so honored in this awards ceremony, unlike any awards ceremony I have ever imagined or indeed ever been part of,” he said. “It is extraordinary.”
Here, a closer look at five standout moments from the 84th Peabody Awards ceremony.
Kumail Nanjiani Nails It as Host
Nanjiani kept things moving smoothly, navigating the light and dark tones of the evening, starting with his opening monologue: “We’re giving awards to entertaining programs like The Last of Us, but we’re also giving awards to news stories like ‘Hate Comes to Main Street,’ which is about far-right extremism. So, tonight we’re giving awards to the zombie apocalypse and the actual apocalypse.”
Patrick Stewart Speaks Up for Democracy
Nanjiani waded into the audience for some improvised banter with Stewart, a previous Peabody host, but Stewart took the mic to deliver a serious, moving, and totally off-the-cuff speech, transfixing the room as only Stewart can, intoning: “I congratulate all of the winners … because it is also in that direction that advancement and liberty and democracy will proceed.”
Mel Brooks Delivers a Joke-Filled Acceptance Speech
Crystal saluted his “friend, mentor, and honorary uncle” who “uses humor as a form of resistance,” citing landmark comedies such as The Producers, Blazing Saddles, and Young Frankenstein and pointing out that the legendary writer/producer/performer is now only the fourth PEGOT winner in history. Brooks accepted his award with his trademark humor and perfect delivery: “I’d like to say, ‘I humbly …’ but I’m not humble. Humility is not part of my vocabulary. I don’t even know how to spell it. I think it probably starts with a U.”
Multiple ‘Star Trek’ Generations Unite for Trailblazer Award
Twenty former and current stars of the Trek universe gathered to celebrate the nearly 60-year-old sci-fi franchise, including Stewart, Burton, Rebecca Romjin, Anson Mount, Wilson Cruz, and Scott Bakula. Executive producer Alex Kurtzman delivered the acceptance speech for the group, paying particularly touching tribute to a superfan who long ago saved Star Trek from near demise: “Star Trek was born in the mind of Gene Roddenberry, but you could argue it was raised by an incredible woman—Betty JoAnne Trimble, better known as BJo, who wasn’t just a fan, but also a science-fiction writer at a time when being a woman in sci-fi was almost unheard of. In 1968, she and her husband John launched an unprecedented letter writing campaign to save Star Trek after it was cancelled in its second season. It worked, and they’re the reason it’s still here today—and I’m very happy to tell you she’s here with us tonight for an appropriate full circle moment.” BJo’s presence was a perfect stand-in for all of the Trek fans, a group that all but invented modern fandom.
Bluey and Bingo Hit the Red Carpet
Newly minted Peabody winner Bluey—yes, the cartoon dog—and her sister Bingo walked the red carpet, thrilling attendees and fielding many selfie requests from parents eager to impress their kids. The Peabody Awards may be the only place you can glimpse Bluey and Bingo snapping a photo with the star, creators, and producers of sensitive HBO dramedy Somebody Somewhere (Bridget Everett, Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen, and Carolyn Strauss).