The winners of the 2013 Peabody Awards, given for excellence in radio and TV were just announced, and Lorne Michaels, Louie, Girls, and D.L. Hughley’s Comedy Central special The Endangered List all scored prizes. Lorne Michaels’s award is a rare achievement in that the Peabody Awards rarely recognize individuals and give the majority of their accolades to TV shows or specials, but if anyone deserves it, it’s the guy who simultaneously produces SNL, 30 Rock, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and Portlandia. Portlandia was one of last year’s Peabody winners alongside Parks and Recreation and The Colbert Report, two rare top-notch TV comedies that Lorne Michaels doesn’t have a hand in.
Hit the jump to see the comments from the Peabody judges on the comedy winners:
D.L. Hughley: The Endangered List (Comedy Central)Comedy Central, Five Timz ProductionsIn this provocative satirical documentary, the comedian goes on a crusade to get American black men the same EPA protections afforded snail darters.Louie (FX)Pig Newton, Inc., FX ProductionsLouis C.K.’s self-reflective, shape-shifting series about a single, show-biz dad is daring and endearing, scandalous and sensitive, a milestone of comedic reach and candor.Girls (HBO)Aptow Prod and I am Jenni Konner Productions in association with HBO EntertainmentCreator/star Lena Dunham’s singular, decidedly unglamorous take on sex and the single girl and the city reverberates with anxiety, angst, insight and rueful humor.Lorne MichaelsA rare Individual Peabody goes Lorne Michaels because he’s the patron saint of satirical television comedy and, as one of his old co-conspirators would say, you’re not.
