Even the Peabody Awards are celebrating Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary.
SNL will receive a special honor at this year’s Peabody Awards for its “legacy of 50 years in sketch comedy supremacy,” taking home the annual event’s Peabody Institutional Award, the organization has announced.
“What began simply as a need for NBC to fill weekend programming hours turned, over the ensuing decades, into nothing short of a cultural institution,” the Peabodys says, citing the show’s talent development, political satire, musical performances, and experimentation with animated shorts, commercial parodies, and music videos.
“Across its long history, the show has not been exempt from typical television ups and downs, nor exempt from controversy,” the Peabody’s description continues. “But, in fact, that makes it all the more impressive and unique; at a time in television history when most programming has become as slick and highly produced as films, SNL offers a space that welcomes risk-taking, imperfection, and the surprises that only live TV can offer.”
While the latest award is more akin to a lifetime achievement award for the show, it marks SNL’s fourth Peabody honor overall.
The show was fêted with its first Peabody Award in 1990. A second came in 2008 for its satirization of the US Presidential election. Political satire again earned the show its third Peabody in 2017.
The most recent past recipients of the Peabody Institutional Award have included Star Trek, NBC’s Today, and Fresh Air.
“Under [Lorne] Michaels’ leadership, what began as an experiment in live late-night programming has become one of the most beloved and dependably enjoyable programs to appear on American television, remaining as relevant as ever,” the Peabodys says. “And for that, Saturday Night Live is honored with the Peabody Institutional Award.”
A ceremony for the 68th Peabody Awards will be held on June 1. Nominations for regular categories are set to be announced on April 15 and April 17, and winners will be revealed May 1.
