TPEC (Television Publicity Executive Committee) has announced the recipients of the annual 2025 TPEC Awards, honoring publicity campaigns across television.
The TPEC Awards were held in Los Angeles, where the ceremony recognized individual achievement, including this year’s Ben Halpern Lifetime Achievement Award to Chris Ender, the executive VP and head of communications at CBS, and the inaugural Press Impact Award to Michael Schneider, Variety‘s executive editor, television.
The TPEC Awards spotlights programming campaigns and publicity from every genre and platform. Campaigns were entered by publicity teams around the world from broadcast networks, cable channels, streamers, and studios, including ABC, CBS Studios, Comedy Central, Crunchyroll, Disney Channel, Disney Jr., Disney+, FOX, FX, Hallmark, Hulu, Lifetime, Max, MTV, National Geographic, NBC, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, Prime Video and Showtime.
“With more submissions than past years, every campaign entered reflected an incredible range of creativity, innovation, and strategy from across all platforms,” said TPEC chair Wendy Zocks, founder of Wendy Zocks PR. “It’s inspiring to see the impressive work from our talented peers—plus the well-deserved recognition of industry icons Chris Ender and journalist Michael Schneider, who have both elevated our work and our stories and our Rising Star recipients who continue to help TPEC thrive.
In addition to individual achievement awards, TPEC hopes to highlight new publicists in their early-careers for their work, and create campaigns to inspire the next generation. This year’s Rising Star Recipients include Lauren Dundee at MGM+, Charlotte McManus at Amazon MGM Studios, and Leah Palacios at Disney Branded Television and Freeform.
The complete list of winners is below.
Campaign of the Year – “The Pitt“
Returning Drama Series – “Lioness” – Season 2
Kelly Andersen (Paramount Media Networks & MTV Entertainment Studios)
Jamie Kekejian (Showtime / MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Networks)
Kate Mann (Paramount+)
Patrick Santiago (Paramount Global)
Charli Wood (Showtime / MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Networks)
New Drama Series – “The Pitt” – Season 1
Sarah Alcala (WBTV)
Joslyn Martinez (WBTV)
Kristi Strupinsky (WBTV)
Allyson Weissman (WBTV)
Courtney Brown (HBO Max)
Ashley Mokma (HBO Max)
Yari Romero (HBO Max)
Lily Walker (HBO Max)
Returning Comedy Series – “Only Murders in the Building” – Season 4
Yasamin Azarakhsh (Hulu)
Emily Leitz (Hulu)
Lydia McMahon (Hulu)
Maura Wong (Hulu)
Chris Kaspers (20th Television)
Lilit Zakaryan (20th Television)
New Comedy Series – “Nobody Wants This” – Season 1
Meg Masters (Netflix)
Jennifer Tehrani (Netflix)
Tiffany Zarabi (Disney)
Returning Unscripted Series- “Secrets of the Octopus” – Season 3
Nadia Aziz (Nat Geo)
Kate Squier (Nat Geo)
Jennifer DeGuzman (Nat Geo)
New Unscripted Series – “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” – Season 1
Lauren Burnett (Hulu)
Lydia McMahon (Hulu)
Maura Wong (Hulu)
Returning Genre Series – “The Boys” – Season 4
Tamara Golihew (Prime Video)
Akiva Griffith (Prime Video)
Charlotte McManus (Prime Video)
Alex Polansky (Prime Video)
Summerlynn Powell (Prime Video)
Lauren Grossman (Sony Pictures Television)
Beth Haiken (Sony Pictures Television)
Pilar Wafer (Sony Pictures Television)
Animated Series (Adult & Children) – “Star Trek: Lower Decks” – Season 5
Nikki Kozel (CBS Studios)
Cornelia Thomson (CBS Studios)
Jennifer Verti (CBS Studios)
Rachael Wesolowski (CBS Studios)
Television Movie – “Holiday Touchdown: A Chief’s Love Story“
Maria Fischer (Hallmark Media)
Alice Rao (Hallmark Media)
Emily Robinson (Hallmark Media)
Joanne Schioppi (Hallmark)
Reid Spencer (Hallmark)
Limited or Anthology Series – “Feud: Capote vs The Swans”
Haley Baker (FX)
Bill Brennan (FX)
Susan Kesser (FX)
Justin Sutton (FX)
Chris Kaspers (20th Television)
Talk Show (Late Night/Daytime/Syndicated) – “The Daily Show“
Ronnie Brumant, Comedy Central
Parker Moreno, Comedy Central
Nicole Platt, Comedy Central
Imani Punch, Comedy Central
Natalie Lee, Minassian Media
Craig Minassian, Minassian Media
Documentary Movie / Limited Series- “Jim Henson: Idea Man”
Katherine Nelson (Disney Branded Television)
Amber Brockman (Freeform)
Cara Freitas (Disney Branded Television)
Syd Jean (Freeform)
Amanda Kell (Freeform)
Nick Rodea (Freeform)
Live or Taped Variety Show / Special – “SNL” 50th Anniversary
Nikaila Dube (NBCUniversal)
Kennedy Jirard (NBCUniversal)
Lauren Manasevit (NBC Universal)
Lauren Roseman (NBCUniversal)
Sydona Roberts (NBCUniversal)
Julianne Tarullo (NBCUniversal)
Ben Halpern Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient – Chris Ender, Executive VP, Head of Communications, CBS
As for Ender, the exec has been at CBS since 1996 and currently “oversees external and internal communications and media relations across all CBS divisions, including Entertainment, News and Stations, Sports and Studios, a role he has held since 2020.” He began his career at Bender, Goldman & Helper public relations before later serving as vice president of media relations for Sony Pictures Television.
Schneider has been covering the business of television for 30 years — most of that time at Variety, where he’s now executive editor of TV. He was previously Executive Editor at IndieWire; the Chief Content Officer for TV Guide Magazine; and TV Editor at Variety and Daily Variety.
The TPEC Award committee said it selected winners “with an eye on fully-realized, innovative and creative campaigns that made a cultural impact. The committee also considered work that thoughtfully embraced diversity and inclusion, overcame unexpected roadblocks and ultimately achieved press hits that met the goals and strategies.”
Committee members include freelancers Ryan Milling and Gabriella Alaimo; Brian Eley, Crunchyroll; Kristen J. Hall, CBS Studios; Ryan McCormick, NBCUniversal; Lindsay Miller, Amazon MGM Studios; Amy Prenner, The Prenner Group; Shari Rosenblum, Disney Television Studios; Dustin Smith, Smithhouse; Lakeitcha Thomas, Disney Television Studios; Lynn Weiss, Smithhouse; and Wendy Zocks, Wendy Zocks PR.
