The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors has announced that multi-award-winning actress and podcast host Amy Poehler will be honored with the Peabody Career Achievement Award; award-winning director, producer, and screenwriter Sterlin Harjo will be honored with the Peabody Trailblazer Award; and historic programmer PBS KIDS will be honored with the Peabody Institutional Award. Poehler, Harjo, and PBS KIDS will be celebrated at the 86th annual Peabody Awards ceremony on May 31 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
“These honorees represent the very best of storytelling in media and the profound impact it can have on culture,” said Jeffrey Jones, executive director of the Peabody Awards. “Amy Poehler has built a remarkable career bringing intelligence, humor, and fearless creativity to work that continues to shape comedy and inspire audiences. Sterlin Harjo has expanded the possibilities of television with work that is both deeply personal and culturally groundbreaking, with overdue stories and voices Americans have long ignored. And for decades, PBS KIDS has set the gold standard for educational children’s media, creating thoughtful, enriching stories that continue to shape how young audiences learn, grow, and understand the world. We’re proud to recognize each of them for their lasting impact on the media landscape.”
The Career Achievement Award recognizes an individual whose exceptional body of work and creative contributions have made a significant impact on media and culture. Previous recipients include Andrea Mitchell, Mel Brooks, and Sam Pollard.
Poehler is one of Hollywood’s most versatile and sought-after talents, with credits that include actress, writer, director, executive producer, New York Times bestselling author, host, and founder of Paper Kite Productions. She is currently in production on an all-new comedy series, “Dig,” for Peacock, reuniting with “Parks and Recreation” co-creator Mike Schur. Poehler will star in, co-write, and co-produce the series, which centers on a group of women at an archaeological dig in Greece who uncover a buried secret. Last year, she launched her chart-topping video podcast, “Good Hang with Amy Poehler,” in partnership with Spotify’s The Ringer and the audio division of Paper Kite Productions. The podcast won the inaugural Best Podcast award at the 2026 Golden Globe Awards.
Among her extensive body of work, she is a nine-time Emmy nominee and Golden Globe winner for NBC’s hit comedy series “Parks and Recreation,” in which she starred and served as a writer and producer. She had an iconic eight-season run on “Saturday Night Live,” which earned her three Emmy nominations, including being the first SNL star nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She went on to win an Emmy in 2016 for co-hosting the show with Fey. In 2024, she reprised her role of “Joy,” the leading emotion in Disney’s critically acclaimed sequel “Inside Out 2,” which became the highest-grossing animated film of all time.
Through Paper Kite Productions, Poehler has produced a multitude of projects within the cultural zeitgeist including the hit Comedy Central series “Broad City; Netflix’s Wine Country,” which marked her feature directorial debut; Amazon’s Emmy-winning documentary “Lucy & Desi,” her documentary directorial debut; Netflix’s Emmy-nominated series “Russian Doll;” Amazon’s “Harlem;” Adult Swim’s “Three Busy Debras;” Peacock’s unscripted series “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning” and “Baking It;” NBC’s “Making It;” FOX’s animated series “Duncanville;” Roku’s First Time Female Director; and Netflix’s “Moxie,” which she directed and starred in. On the audio front, Paper Kite also produced the scripted series “Say More with Dr? Sheila,” featuring Poehler as the titular character, “The Chris Chatman Do-Over,” and “Women Talkin’ ‘Bout Murder.”
Additional acting credits include “The House, Sisters,” “Wet Hot American Summer,” “They Came Together,” “Are You Here,” “Baby Mama,” “Blades of Glory,” and “Mean Girls.” She has lent her voice to several hit-animated features, including “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” “Monsters vs. Aliens,” “Horton Hears a Who!,” “Shrek the Third,” and Disney Pixar’s Oscar-winning animated film “Inside Out.”
Before starring on SNL, Poehler co-founded the famed sketch comedy troupe, the Upright Citizens Brigade. She currently splits time between Los Angeles and New York.
The Trailblazer Award recognizes visionaries whose innovative storytelling styles impact culture and effect social change. Previous recipients include Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Quinta Brunson, and inaugural winner Issa Rae.
Harjo (Seminole/Mvskoke) is a MacArthur Genius award-winner, writer, director, and showrunner from Holdenville, Oklahoma. Most recently, Harjo created, wrote, directed and is the executive producer of “The Lowdown,” currently airing on FX and Hulu, starring Ethan Hawke. Previously, Harjo was the showrunner, co-creator with Taika Waititi and director of “Reservation Dogs” for FX. The series ran for three seasons and received numerous awards including a Gotham Award, two Peabody Awards, two Independent Spirit Awards and honors from the Television Academy.
The Institutional Award recognizes institutions and organizations, as well as series and programs, for their enduring body of work and their lasting impact on the media landscape and the public imagination. Previous recipients include “Saturday Night Live,” “Fresh Air with Terry Gross” and “60 Minutes.”
PBS KIDS, the children’s educational media brand of the Public Broadcasting Service, serves young audiences across the United States through trusted and research-backed streaming and on-air content, award-winning games, and community-based initiatives. Since the launch of PBS KIDS as a dedicated programming block in 1999, the brand has become a central presence in public broadcasting, building on earlier children’s programming created by pioneers such as Fred Rogers and Jim Henson. Its programming for children ages two to eight includes series such as Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Carl the Collector, Wild Kratts, and Alma’s Way, alongside a wide range of educational games and resources for parents, caregivers, and teachers. A cornerstone of the PBS KIDS mission is to support children’s learning anytime, anywhere through its partnership with local PBS stations across the country to ensure this programming and interactive learning content is available for free to families everywhere.
Jury duty
The Peabody Board of Jurors is comprised of media industry professionals, as well as journalists, critics and scholars, appointed to six-year terms. All programs that are nominated and win Peabody Awards must receive a unanimous vote by the Board of Jurors. Chris Bannon, former head of podcasts at Condé Nast, and Jean Escoffery, professor of communication studies at Northwestern University, have joined the Board of Jurors, Kudzi Chikumbu, VP of creator partnerships at Tubi, has joined the Interactive Board of Jurors, and current juror Michael Isip, president & CEO of KQED (the San Francisco Bay Area’s PBS and NPR media resource), will serve as the new Board chair of 2026.
Nominees for the 2026 Peabody Awards will be unveiled on April 7 and April 9 with winners announced later that month.
Past Peabody Award winners include some of the most beloved and groundbreaking series of all time, including “Hill Street Blues,” “Murphy Brown,” “The Wire,” “Veep,” “The Sopranos,” “Breaking Bad,” “The Office” and “Succession,” and limited/mini-series including “Roots,” “Tales of the City,” “Chernobyl,” and “Dopesick.” Children’s and youth honorees have included “ABC Afterschool Specials,” “Bluey” and “Doc McStuffins,” while landmark educational programs such as “Cosmos” and “NOVA” have also been honored. Peabody began recognizing Interactive and Immersive Media in 2021, with organizations such as The New Yorker, The Washington Post and The New York Times receiving honors. The Peabody Awards precede The Emmy Awards as the longest-running awards program to honor how television/broadcasting, and now digital and podcast programming, can have positive effects on society.
