​Comedy Central sketch duo Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele of “Key and Peele” are now proud owners of Peabody Award statues, on the same level as PBS, CNN, “House of Cards” and Tom Brokaw. “Key and Peele” was honored for its “inspired satirical riffs on our racially divided and racially conjoined culture,” as other TV brands followed suit.

The 73rd George Foster Peabody Awards were presented Monday to TV, radio and video brands highlighting and fairly treating often overlooked issues such as race, crime, disease and war. The Peabody board gave out 46 statues, more than any before in the award’s history. Familiar TV faces Tom Brokaw and Charlie Rose were also honored for their history in reporting these and related topics.

FX’s “The Bridge” received a Peabody Award for “spotlighting issues along the border that are rarely seen on mainstream U.S. television,” according to the Peabody winners breakdown. “House of Cards” was honored “broaching new possibilities for television storytelling,” adding a list of winning TV series that also included “Breaking Bad,” “Broadchurch,” “Orange in the New Black,” “The Returned,” “Orphan Black” and “Scandal.”

Docu-series including Ken Burns’ “Central Park Five” and PBS’ six-part “The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross” took home awards, as well as both NFL—related documentaries from ESPN and PBS. The two networks had originally teamed up to cover the issue of head injuries in professional football before ESPN dissolved the partnership, splitting off to cover it each on their own (via “Outside the Lines” and “Frontline”).

Read more at The Hollywood Reporter and see the full list of winners here.

Brief Take: The Peabodys shine a light on TV series and events that address difficult and ignored topics, so it’s especially tough for a comedy brand like “Key and Peele” to take home a statue for its sensitive treatment of tough issues.

[Image courtesy of Peabody Awards]

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