Oscar Nominees "O.J. Made In America" and "13th" Among 2017 Peabody Award-Winning TV Shows
Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 11:00AM 
Founded in 1938 with the intention of recognizing the very best in television and radio according to the metrics of singularity of vision and quality over popularity, the Peabody Awards celebrate their 76th annual honors this year with a crisp crop of cutting-edge content. While it’s thrilling to see Donald Glover achieve recognition for his marvelously fresh FX series Atlanta in its freshman year – not to mention Louis CK’s double dip with the self-financed, self-distributed Horace and Pete and Pamela Adlon’s sharp-as-nails take on single working motherhood in Better Things, which he co-created – what really stands out is the cross-pollination between television and film, which should come as no surprise to observers of filmed entertainment in today’s media landscape...
Indeed, there are two Academy Award winners included amongst the bunch: recent Best Documentary Feature winner, O.J.: Made in America, and 2015's Best Documentary Short A Girl in the River. These two projects have now been celebrated with prestigious honors as both film and television. Other double dippers include Ava DuVernay’s Oscar-nominated 13th and a finalist Zero Days from Alex Gibney. Filmmakers (and/or the distribution companies they align themselves with) must submit their materials to both the Academy and the Peabody panel for eligibility so it’s not just a matter of indiscernibility between the mediums but a concerted effort for joint consideration.
Furthermore, Beyoncé’s Lemonade rightfully ranks amongst this year’s honorees but even Queen Bey can’t avoid impeachment over whether the project is a movie, a television special, or just a monster of a music video. Even Netflix’s Stranger Things – unquestionably a television series – pulls its primary influences from genre cinema of the 1980s yet finds accolade here for its accomplishments on the streaming platform as an example of what television does best.
Would you prefer the border between the silver and small screens remain porous or pure? You can find the full list of 2017 Peabody finalists here.
Reader Comments (2)
I recently watched O.J. Made in America and it blew me away. I literally can't get it out of my head. One of the best documentaries of all time and essential viewing for all Americans.
The love for 'Atlanta' is great.
I would like to see the boundary between movies & tv be less porous in terms of viewing, but not so porous in terms of awardage. It is truly strange to see the OJ doc being rewarded by both TV and movie bodies.
As for 'Lemonade', it premiered on tv, so I'm ok with it getting tv awards.