The Peabody Awards roll out their lists of winners in stages, beginning with a batch of 60 finalists and standalone honorees, and culminating in a ceremony in New York City that this year will be hosted by Keegan-Michael Key. The awards body is still winnowing the list of finalists down to the Peabody 30, but Variety reports that the entertainment and children’s category winners have just been announced, the results of which should raise you in your friends’ estimation, provided that you have the good sense to enjoy Master Of None.
Netflix nabbed three of the 11 spots, with Aziz Ansari’s semi-autobiographical series recognized for being an “imaginative, shape-shifting comedy.” Cary Fukunaga’s “superbly acted, strikingly photographed film” Beasts Of No Nation also received top honors in the entertainment category for the care it took in “never losing sight” of the humanity of its child soldier subjects, even as they committed acts of brutality. And with Marvel’s Jessica Jones, the Peabody Awards notes that Netflix and Krysten Ritter helped viewers to “discover the strengths and vulnerability” of the neo-noir badass.
Elsewhere, Amazon’s “bold, honest dramedy” Transparent was acknowledged for its irreverence and poignancy, while Lifetime’s UnREAL skewering of the very real off-camera machinations of reality TV propelled it to the Peabody 30. Kenya Barris’ insightful comedy Black-ish has also entered that hallowed hall, along with Deutschland 83, Mr. Robot, The Leftovers (our No. 6 pick for 2015), Katie Morag (that would be the children’s programming pick), and Wolf Hall.
The documentary and education honorees are still to come, so if your tastes didn’t sync up with the TV selections, perhaps you’ll find one of your favorite recent documentaries among those winners.