Eddie Murphy’s AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute Heads to Netflix This May

Eddie Murphy is getting one of Hollywood’s highest honors, and for the first time, fans around the world will be able to watch the celebration on Netflix.

The streaming platform will premiere The 51st AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Eddie Murphy on May 31, giving the long-running annual special a new global stage. The event marks a major moment for both the American Film Institute and Netflix, as the prestigious televised tribute makes its debut on the service after decades as a traditional broadcast event.

Murphy, whose career has stretched across stand-up, television, and blockbuster film, will be formally honored during a gala ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on April 18. The AFI Life Achievement Award is widely considered one of the organization’s most significant recognitions, reserved for artists whose work has made a lasting impact on the art of film.

Few entertainers fit that description more naturally than Murphy. Over the course of five decades, he has built one of the most recognizable careers in modern entertainment, creating unforgettable characters in films like Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, The Nutty Professor, and Shrek. Beyond his commercial success, Murphy has also earned critical acclaim, including a Golden Globe win and an Academy Award nomination for Dreamgirls.

The upcoming tribute places Murphy among a celebrated group of past recipients that includes Francis Ford Coppola, Nicole Kidman, Julie Andrews, and Denzel Washington. AFI says the award is presented to individuals whose achievements have fundamentally advanced film as an art form and whose influence has stood the test of time.

Netflix is also using the moment to spotlight more of Murphy’s work for viewers who want to revisit his legacy ahead of the ceremony. Fans can stream the documentary Being Eddie, which traces his rise from teenage comic to Saturday Night Live breakout and global box office force, along with Netflix titles such as Dolemite Is My Name, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, and You People.

For longtime fans, the special is likely to feel less like a career retrospective and more like a victory lap for one of comedy and cinema’s most enduring stars. And with Netflix bringing the event to a wider audience than ever before, Murphy’s latest standing ovation may also be his biggest.