The 2024 Peabody Awards ceremony was held Sunday night, June 9, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, where Star Trek was presented with the Institutional Award, an honor which has previously been given to other groundbreaking media institutions like The Simpsons, 60 Minutes, Sesame Street, FRONTLINE, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.A number of Star Trek stars (past, present, and future) were on hand for the event, including Scott Bakula (Enterprise) Patrick Stewart (TNG, Picard), Jeri Ryan (Voyager, Picard), LeVar Burton (TNG, Picard), Tawny Newsome (Lower Decks), Anson Mount (Strange New Worlds), Ethan Peck (Strange New Worlds), Rebecca Romijn (Strange New Worlds), Wilson Cruz (Discovery), Doug Jones (Discovery), and Sam Richardson (Section 31). Also on hand were a number of producers, including J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, Terry Matalas, Olatunde Osunsanmi, Akiva Goldsman, Jenny Lumet, Michelle Paradise, Noga Landau, and Trevor Roth.
The Institutional Award was the final presentation of the night, where many of the above accepted the award on stage after Abrams introduced the award and Alex Kurtzman, who oversees the Star Trek television franchise for Paramount, accepted the award on behalf of the franchise. Kurtzman spoke in part of Star Trek creator Gene Roddberry’s enduring vision of “hope that our better angels will lead us across the frontiers of space and ourselves with modesty, dignity and respect” and the conviction that “we are all made of the same stardust.”During the event host Kumail Nanjiani went into the audience to hear from Sir Patrick Stewart at one of the Star Trek tables. The actor spoke about how honored he felt being there, “unlike any award ceremony I have ever imagined.” In a nod to fans, Paramount invited Bjo Trimble to the event. She, along with her recently passed husband John Trimble, were instrumental in the campaign to save the original Star Trek from cancellation. Trimble joined Kurzman and the award for a special portrait as well.
