Peabody Awards will present its Peabody-Smithgall Lecture on Wednesday, March 29 at 4pm at the Chapel on North Campus at the University of Georgia. “A Conversation with Marcy Carsey” will feature Marcy Carsey, television producer of such iconic hits as The Cosby Show, A Different World, Roseanne, Grace Under Fire, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and That ’70s Show, interviewed by Dr. Jeffrey Jones, executive director of the Peabody Awards and Lambdin Kay Chair of the Peabodys in the Department of Entertainment and Media Studies. Peabody is based out of UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
The Peabody-Smithgall lecture is part of the university’s Signature Lecture Series, which features speakers noted for their broad, multidisciplinary appeal and compelling bodies of work. The event is co-sponsored by the Institute for Women’s Studies and the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, and is free and open to the general public. UGA students, faculty and staff are encouraged to attend.
“Marcy is an icon of the television industry, producing some of our most beloved programs, especially those focused on the family. We’ve been fortunate to have her serve as a juror for the Peabody Awards, bringing her experience and insight into the process of selecting the best stories of the year,” said Jones. “We’re delighted to have her share her numerous experiences with the UGA community.”
Marcy Carsey teamed with Tom Werner to form The Carsey-Werner Company, the television production company responsible for The Cosby Show, Roseanne, 3rd Rock from the Sun, That ’70s Show, and A Different World. Carsey graduated from the University of New Hampshire and began her show business career as an NBC tour guide. After years of story editing and advertising work, she rose through the ranks at the ABC network to become senior VP of Prime-Time Series. She left ABC in 1980 and formed her own production company, which became the Carsey-Werner Company. Most recently, she co-produced That ’90s Show, which premiered on Netflix in January 2023.
In addition to being inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Broadcasting and Cable Magazine’s Hall of Fame, the Carsey-Werner producing team has received numerous awards, including a Peabody Award, an Emmy, the Humanitas Prize, the People’s Choice Award, a Golden Globe, and an NAACP Image Award. Carsey also received the Lucy Award from Women in Film.
The Peabody-Smithgall Lecture is named in honor of Lessie Bailey Smithgall (ABJ ’33) and her late husband, Charles Smithgall. In the late 1930s, Mrs. Smithgall introduced Lambdin Kay, general manager of Atlanta’s WSB Radio, to John Drewry, dean of the University of Georgia’s School of Journalism. Together, their efforts led to the establishment of the George Foster Peabody Awards in 1940. In 2003, the Smithgalls endowed the Lambdin Kay Chair, now held by Peabody’s Executive Director. The Peabody-Smithgall Lecture is supported with funds from the Lambdin Kay Chair.