UC Santa Cruz alumnus Brannon Braga wins Peabody award for ‘Cosmos’

UC Santa Cruz alumnus Brannon Braga
UC Santa Cruz alumnus Brannon Braga

Emmy-nominated UC Santa Cruz alumnus Brannon Braga (Film & Digital Media, 1990) has received a Peabody Award for the science documentary television series, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.

The Peabody Awards recognize outstanding achievement in electronic media, including radio, television, and online content.

Braga served as executive producer and director on the show--a re-launch of Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, the iconic 1980 television miniseries from Carl Sagan broadcast on PBS.

Hosted by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, the new show premiered in 2014 and has been critically praised, winning several television broadcasting awards in addition to the Peabody for educational content.

"I'm very proud of Cosmos and getting the Peabody is the cherry on top,” said Braga. “It's gratifying to have your work get recognized with such prestige."

Braga is perhaps best known for his work as a creator, writer and executive producer of more than 300 episodes of the Star Trek series. For more than 13 years collectively, he worked on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.

His film credits include Mission: Impossible II, Star Trek: Generations, and Star Trek: First Contact.

Braga recently worked as executive producer and writer on Terra Nova along with Steven Spielberg. Prior to that, he was an executive producer and writer on the award-winning drama series 24.

He is currently a writer, executive producer, and co-creator of the drama series Salem, WGN America’s first original scripted series, which was just renewed for a third season.