2026 Contenders Television: Documentary Lineup

There was a movie called This Year 50 years ago. taxi driver It confirmed the emergence of the incredibly talented director Martin Scorsese in the medium of film. Five years after that milestone, and after decades of producing many more incredible films, Scorsese’s incredible artistic accomplishments are highlighted in an Apple TV documentary series. Mr. ScorseseDirected by Rebecca Miller.

Miller is one of the panelists on Saturday’s Deadline’s Contenders Television: Documentary. The program is a direct showcase of the best non-fiction films and series competing for Emmy recognition. Mr. Scorsese Hollywood’s biggest names will participate, from the director’s collaborators Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day Lewis, Jodie Foster, and Sharon Stone to his filmmaking colleagues Steven Spielberg and Spike Lee.

Today’s Contenders TV: Documentary airs live for the first time from the new PMC Theater in Los Angeles and begins at 10 a.m. PT. (Check out the full lineup below.)

Also part of this year’s lineup is a Prime Video documentary about a comedy icon that has received powerful praise for its emotional quality. John Candy: I ​​like myself.. Chris Candy and Jennifer Candy-Sullivan, children of directors Colin Hanks and John Candy, will share insight into the making of the film, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in Candy’s hometown last September.

Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and Canadian Sarah McLachlan founded Lilith Fair, a landmark music festival for female recording artists, in 1997. The incredible success of the festival is explored in a Hulu documentary. Release Fair: Creating a MysteryAnother headliner in the lineup. Joining us are director Ally Pankiw and executive producer Cassidy Hartmann (who, coincidentally, also premiered her film at TIFF).

After winning the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship, UCLA coach Cori Close joins the Contenders starting lineup to discuss: Can you see LA?This is a Fox Sports documentary documenting the team’s growth. Executive producers Kelsey Trainor, Jeff Luini, and Harshal Dave also joined the conversation.

Oscar winner Octavia Spencer has become one of the most respected and beloved actors and powerful producers in the entertainment industry. She serves as the executive producer and narrator of . Lost Women of AlaskaAn Investigation Discovery documentary series that soberingly explores the case of a serial killer who targeted Indigenous women. Spencer and fellow EP Matt Robins will represent the series through a panel conversation.

Stay tuned to Deadline.com and our social media platforms (via #DeadlineContenders) for today’s coverage, and check back on Monday when we launch our event streaming site with video of the full panel.

Contenders Television: Documentary 2026

Always P.T.

10 AM – Opening Remarks

fox sports

Can you see LA?

Kelsey Traynor (Executive Producer)
Jeff Ruini (Executive Producer)
Harshal Dave (Executive Producer)
Corey Close (UCLA women’s basketball head coach)

hulu

Release Fair: Creating a Mystery

Allie Pancu (Director)
Cassidy Hartman (Executive Producer)

prime video

John Candy: I ​​like myself.

Colin Hanks (Director/Producer)
Chris Candy (Executive Producer)
Jennifer Candy-Sullivan (Executive Producer)

Apple TV

Mr. Scorsese

Rebecca Miller (Director)

ID

Lost Women of Alaska

Octavia Spencer (Narrator/Executive Producer)
Matt Robbins (Executive Producer)

also…

Emmy Awards Status

Debra Birnbaum (Editor-in-Chief, Gold Derby)
John Ridley (director/writer/author and co-host of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast)