Andor, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Other Notable Honorees

Mo Amer has been named as the host for the 2026 Peabody Awards, an event honoring a diverse array of storytelling across television, film, and digital media. The 86th annual awards recognize a wide selection of programs, including Heated Rivalry, The Pitt, and Andor, as part of the organization’s ongoing commitment to excellence in broadcasting and journalism.

The announcement of the 2026 winners, made on April 23, 2026, highlights several productions that have already achieved critical success. Among the honorees are The Pitt, Andor, Adolescence, and Pee-wee as Himself, all of which were previously recognized as Emmy winners.

Notably, Heated Rivalry secured a Peabody Award despite facing potential Emmy ineligibility due to Television Academy regulations. The program joins a list of other recognized works that include Pluribus, The Rehearsal, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the latter two of which are noted as future Emmy nominees.

Special Honorees and Career Achievements

Beyond the program awards, the 2026 Peabody Awards include special recognitions for influential figures in the entertainment industry. Amy Poehler has been granted the Career Achievement Award, while screenwriter Sterlin Harjo has been honored with the Trailblazer Award.

Documentary and Nonfiction Success

The 2026 awards emphasize a strong showing for documentary filmmaking. Mr. Nobody Against Putin and No Other Land both received Peabody Awards, adding to their previous accolades as winners of the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2025 and 2026, respectively.

Other documentary winners include The Alabama Solution and Come See Me in the Good Light, both of which were also nominees for the Best Documentary Oscar.

Broad Spectrum of Honored Programs

The full list of winners reflects a broad range of genres and subjects, from scripted dramas to children’s programming and investigative reports. The following programs were also named as Peabody winners:

• Dying For Sex
• Forever
• Common Side Effects
• Mussolini: Son of the Century
• Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

Jeffrey P. Jones, the executive director of Peabody, emphasized that the selection of winners is tied to the organization’s core values of cultural impact and storytelling.

The winners of the 86th annual Peabody Awards reflect Peabody’s mission to honor storytelling that has the potential to change culture, whether it’s examining the destructive tactics of ICE, viewing terminal illness through a deeply personal lens, or resisting attempts to stife free speech, we look forward to recognizing and celebrating these winners.

Jeffrey P. Jones, executive director of Peabody

Nominees Not Selected

While the 2026 list celebrates many achievements, several nominated programs did not receive the final award. Among the nominated series that did not win are Death by Lightning, Invisible Boys, Mo, Mr. Loverman, and Shape Island.

The documentary category also saw several nominees miss out on the award, including Mr. Scorsese, The Perfect Neighbor, Predators, and Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.