“Mo” Wins 2022 Entertainment Peabody Award

Mo Amer’s Netflix series “Mo” won a Peabody Award this year in the entertainment category. The George Foster Peabody Awards honor the most compelling and empowering stories released in broadcasting, streaming and interactive media during 2022. 

Peabody winners are chosen by a unanimous vote of 32 jurors from over 1,400 entries from television, podcast/radio and the web/digital in entertainment, news, documentary, arts, children’s/youth, public service and interactive programming. Fellow winners from this year’s entertainment category include “Abbott Elementary” and “Andor.”

Jeffrey Jones, executive producer of Peabody Awards, said, “Representing a wide range of mediums, genres, and narrative approaches, this year’s winners continue to advance what it means to craft storytelling that is compelling, powerful, and prescient. Whether capturing the lives of teachers in Philadelphia or young women in Afghanistan, these stories are powerful enough to make us laugh, cry, and learn. They are all deserving of this honor, and we are thrilled to shine a light on their amazing achievement. All citizens should seek out, watch, and engage these winners.”

“Mo” was honored for telling the unique story of its main character, Mohammad “Mo” Najjar, a Palestinian undocumented immigrant, who is working to support his family and get approved for asylum. The critically acclaimed series was lauded for its nuanced portrayal of the struggles of undocumented immigrants, and its cultural specificity and authenticity. “Mo” was semi-autobiographical for Amer, its creator, who co-wrote the show with Ramy Youssef, Emmy-winning creator of “Ramy.” 

Amer has spoken about the difficulty and personal nature of the portrayal of the nuances of the American legal immigration system, especially because it is also a shared experience for people across cultures. At a Deadline Contenders TV event, Amer said, “People are so deeply emotional when they feel seen for the very first time on television. And I couldn’t be more grateful. It’s a tremendous responsibility and something I don’t take lightly. I think we need more of it, and I’m just happy to be a small part of moving that forward.”
“Mo” has been renewed for a second and final season by Netflix.

Here are your winners for the 83rd Annual #PeabodyAwards! 🏆

These winners represent the most invigorating stories across tv, streaming, radio/pods, interactive media, and beyond. ✨

Press release: https://t.co/BYS6SoMUmP#Peabody83 #StoriesThatMatter pic.twitter.com/u7NOTbeqdI

— Peabody Awards (@PeabodyAwards) May 9, 2023

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