The winners of the 86th annual Peabody Awards, honoring the most enlightening TV, radio, and online media of the year, were announced yesterday, and the Marvel Disney Channel series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur won in the category for Best Children’s/Youth releases. The Peabody judges praised the show as “a refreshing take on an age-old superhero origin story,” that puts “a STEM-loving girl at the center of a heartwarming family story about embracing the bravery it takes to be wholly oneself.”
Adapted by Steve Loter, Jeffrey M. Howard, and Kate Kondell from the comic by Brandon Montclare, Amy Reeder, Natacha Bustos, and Tamra Bonvillain, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur follows the exploits of the titular young supergenius Lunella Lafayette (voiced by Diamond White) and her pet T. rex (Fred Tatasciore). It ran for two seasons from 2023 to 2025, and had picked up several prizes from the Humanitas Prizes, the Annies, and the Children’s and Family Emmy Awards, as well as a Peabody nomination for the first season.
The show also proved to be controversial for some, when it emerged an episode from the second season, “The Gatekeeper,” had gone unaired, apparently for focusing on the transgender character Brooklyn (Indya Moore). The episode was leaked online on November 15, 2024, a few months before the second half of the final season was released on Disney+, and was subsequently honored at The Rainbow Project’s inaugural Velma Awards for Best Episode (Period!) That Also Never Saw the Light of Day.
Moon Girl was nominated alongside the Apple TV series Shape Island, and is the second Marvel project to win a Peabody, following Jessica Jones, which was one of several recipients in the Entertainment and Children’s category in 2016. A few other Disney shows, namely Andor season two, Dying for Sex, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, were also honored in this year’s Entertainment category, alongside Netflix’s Adolescence and Forever; HBO Max’s Heated Rivalry, The Pitt, and The Rehearsal; Apple TV’s Pluribus; Adult Swim’s Common Side Effects; and MUBI’s Mussolini: Son of the Century.
Other nominees this year included Art Spiegelman: Disaster is My Muse in the Documentary category, which ultimately wasn’t recognized. This year’s Documentary honorees instead consisted of The Alabama Solution, Come See Me in the Good Light, Mr. Nobody Against Putin, No Other Land, Pee-wee as Himself, Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, Southpaw — The Life and Legacy of Jim Abbott, and Thoughts & Prayers.
For the judges’ takes on all of this year’s winners, click here, and for all the nominees, head here. The honorees will be feted at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday, May 31, which you’ll be able to watch on the official YouTube channel.
