PBS SoCal wins eight Los Angeles Area Emmy® Awards Marks 10th Consecutive Year Earning More Awards Than Any Other Los Angeles Television Station
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Chelsea Grosbeck
cgrosbeck@pbssocal.org
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Los Angeles, CA – July 27, 2026 – PBS SoCal, Southern California’s flagship PBS organization, received eight Los Angeles Area Emmy® Awards at the 78th annual ceremony held July 25 at the Skirball Cultural Center. PBS SoCal earned more awards than any other station for the 10th consecutive year, an unprecedented achievement in the awards’ 78-year history. The station received a record 29 nominations across 12 categories earlier this summer.
PBS SoCal’s award-winning, locally produced environmental series EARTH FOCUS earned an award in the Information Segment category for “Combating Climate Change with Trees.” The program explores how community organizations are planting trees in historically underserved neighborhoods to reduce extreme heat and create healthier, more sustainable communities across Southern California.
Two awards recognized programs featured in the PBS SoCal-produced series PST ART: FUSING ART & SCIENCE. “Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema” received an award in the Entertainment category, while “For Dear Life: Art, Medicine & Disability” was honored in the Education/Information category. The series explores how artists participating in Getty’s 2024-2025 PST ART initiative collaborated with science and technology in unexpected ways.
The PBS SoCal-produced and nationally distributed concert special ARETHA! WITH SHELÉA AND THE PACIFIC SYMPHONY received an award in the Arts category. The program celebrates the music and legacy of Aretha Franklin with a performance by Grammy-nominated vocalist Sheléa, featuring beloved classics including “Respect,” “Chain of Fools,” “Say A Little Prayer,” and “Natural Woman,” accompanied by the Pacific Symphony under the direction of Emmy Award-winning Music Director Rickey Minor.
Additional Emmy® Awards recognized ART & SCIENCE COLLIDE for Music Composition; CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT for Short Promo – Programming; the 66TH ANNUAL LA COUNTY HOLIDAY CELEBRATION for Live Special Events – Programming; and AGING IN AMERICA: SURVIVE OR THRIVE for Crime/Social Issues.
The complete list of PBS SoCal’s winning programs and recipients follows:
LIVE SPECIAL EVENTS – PROGRAMMING
- 66TH ANNUAL LA COUNTY HOLIDAY CELEBRATION - Taylor Comen, Executive Producer; Letitia Fernandez Ivins, Executive Producer; Michelle Merker, Producer; Jennifer Chang, Writer; Cristina Lucio, Associate Producer; Patrick Traylor, Associate Producer; Madeleine Ciano, Associate Producer; Aloe Blacc, Host; Maya Jupiter, Host
ENTERTAINMENT
- "Color in Motion: Chromatic Explorations of Cinema" (PST ART: FUSING ART & SCIENCE) - Jaime Morgan Muñoz, Producer; Nic Cha Kim, Producer; Angela Boisvert, Executive Producer; Tamara Gould, Executive Producer; Matt Bass, Director of Photography; Ben Boyd, Editor; Robert McDonnell, Supervising Producer
MUSIC COMPOSITION
- ART & SCIENCE COLLIDE - Dan Deacon, Composer
CRIME/SOCIAL ISSUES
- AGING IN AMERICA: SURVIVE OR THRIVE - Neil Steinberg, Director, Executive Producer; Mark Jonathan Harris, Producer; Steve Purcell, Co-Producer, Editor; Karin Hayes, Co-Producer; Martin Sheen, Host; Michelle Merker, Producer
SHORT PROMO - PROGRAMMING
- CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENT - Olivia Cox, Editor, Producer
EDUCATION/INFORMATION
- FOR DEAR LIFE: ART, MEDICINE & DISABILITY (PST ART: FUSING ART & SCIENCE) - Angela Boisvert, Producer; Nic Cha Kim, Executive Producer; Tamara Gould, Executive Producer; Matt Pappas, Director of Photography; Suzanne Méjean Pinney, Editor; Robert McDonnell, Supervising Producer
ARTS
- ARETHA! WITH SHELÉA AND THE PACIFIC SYMPHONY - Maura Daly Phinney, Executive Producer; Andy Trimlett, Producer; Steve Purcell, Director; Keena Levert, Associate Producer; Sheléa Melody McDonald, On-Camera Talent
INFORMATION SEGMENT
- "Combating Climate Change with Trees" (EARTH FOCUS) - Daniel H. Birman, Director of Photography, Executive Producer, Producer, Writer, Director; Megan E. Chao, Editor, Executive Producer, Producer; Angela Boisvert, Executive Producer; Tamara Gould, Executive Producer; Clarissa Guy, Co-Producer; Jaime Morgan Muñoz, Co-Producer; Susy Garciasalas Barkley, Co-Producer; Jason Janocko, Director of Photography; Erik C. Andersen, ACE, Editor; Robert McDonnell, Senior Supervising Producer
For the complete list of 2026 Los Angeles Area Emmy Award winners, visit Emmys.com.
Follow PBS SoCal on social at @pbssocal.
About PBS SoCal
PBS SoCal uses the power of public media for good, strengthening the civic fabric of Southern California and providing our community with an essential connection to a wider world. As a local, donor/member-supported non-profit organization, PBS SoCal is available to stream on the PBS app and the PBS Kids App and reaches over 22M viewers across 7 Broadcast channels — including 2 primary channels, PBS SoCal and PBS SoCal Plus and 5 digital subchannels. Select programming is also available on PBS SoCal’s YouTube channel. With a commitment to make content available anytime and anywhere for free, PBS SoCal offers programming that reflects the diversity of Southern California and showcases the full schedule of beloved and trusted PBS content spanning Education, News, Environment and Arts & Culture. PBS SoCal also sparks the sharing of ideas at in-person cultural events and community conversations as well as prepares children for kindergarten and beyond by bringing bilingual, hands-on learning experiences to the community for free.