James L. Brooks to be honored with inaugural Industry Icon Award at Peabody Awards

James L. Brooks attends the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and InStyle’s annual celebration of the Toronto International Film Festival at Windsor Arms Hotel on Sept. 10, 2016, in Toronto, Canada. (Todd Williamson/Getty Images for InStyle)

James L. Brooks is set to be honored with the inaugural Industry Icon Award at the Peabody Awards.

The Oscar winner will receive the first-ever award of this kind at the 86th annual awards ceremony, which is set to take place on May 31. The program’s board of jurors made the announcement on Wednesday.

Other honorees at the ceremony include Amy Poehler, who will receive the Career Achievement Award, as well as Sterlin Harjo, who is set to receive the Trailblazer Award. Additionally, the historic programmer PBS Kids will be given the Institutional Award.

“James L. Brooks has shaped the way we understand television as both an art form and a cultural force. His work blends humor, humanity, and sharp social insight in ways that have influenced generations of storytellers. It’s an honor to recognize his extraordinary legacy with the inaugural Industry Icon Award,” Jeffrey Jones, the executive director of the Peabody Awards, said in a press release.

Brooks is being honored with this award due to his “enduring impact and leadership in shaping the media landscape,” according to The Peabody Awards. Over the course of his career he co-created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, The Simpsons and Room 222. On the film side, he is known for his movies Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News and As Good as It Gets.

Nominees for the 2026 Peabody Awards will be announced on April 7 and April 9. The winners will be announced later that month.