The Peabody Awards Extend Their Reach by Recognizing ‘Watchmen,’ ‘Stranger Things,’ and ‘Succession’

The annual Peabody Awards were revealed today. All told, 30 productions across the categories of entertainment, documentaries, podcasts, news, and children’s programming were recognized.

In the area of entertainment, the Peabody’s saluted the following programs:

Chernobyl (HBO)

David Makes Man (OWN)

Dickinson (Apple)

Fleabag (Amazon)

Ramy (Hulu)

Stranger Things (Netflix)

Succession (HBO)

Unbelievable (Netflix)

Watchmen (HBO)

When They See Us (Netflix)

The Simpsons (institutional award)

The Peabody Awards were created in 1940 to honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and online media. This year’s crop covers everything from race (Watchmen, Ramy, When They See Us) and feminism (Unbelievable, Fleabag) to nuclear holocaust (Chernobyl). The recognition of Succession and Stranger Things are particularly notable. While certainly both shows touch on a number of socially conscious issues, neither are what you would typically consider to be in the hot zone for the Peabody Awards.

The inclusion of the irreverent comedy Fleabag and Damon Lindelof’s remix of the Watchmen graphic novel are notable too. It would seem that this year’s honorees stretched the boundaries of what the Peabody’s typically recognize–although the inclusion of Killing Eve last year may have pointed to a new openness on the part of the institution. It would certainly explain how a nonetheless great show like Succession is honored even though it’s largely about terrible people doing terrible things to one another, or how more pop culture friendly entertainment like Watchmen and Stranger Things made the list.

You can read the full list of the 2020 honorees here.