Prime Minister Wins Best Documentary at 2026 News & Documentary Emmys

New York, NY – The documentary Prime Minister received the prestigious award for Best Documentary at the 2026 News & Documentary Emmy Awards held on Thursday evening at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall. This documentary, produced by HBO Documentary Films and CNN Films, chronicles Jacinda Ardern’s journey to becoming New Zealand’s 40th Prime Minister.

Notable Awards of the Evening

In addition to Prime Minister, several other documentaries were recognized for their excellence. Simon Schama: The Holocaust, 80 Years On won the award for Outstanding Historical Documentary. Tiler Peck received the Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary award for Tiler Peck: Suspending Time, while National Geographic’s Secrets of the Penguins took home the Outstanding Nature Documentary award.

The awards ceremony was hosted by comedian Michael Ian Black, who guided the audience through the evening’s events. Sam Pollard, an Emmy-winning documentarian and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker, was honored with a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to the field.

Presenters and Discussions

The event featured a diverse group of presenters, including Serena Davies from National Geographic and NASA, producer Stephanie Jenkins, and Cynthia Lopez, CEO of New York Women in Film & Television. Tiler Peck and Simon Schama also participated, with Christina Ruffini moderating discussions about the challenges faced in documentary filmmaking.

The previous night, winners in the news categories were announced, highlighting ABC News and National Geographic as major recipients. ABC World News Tonight with David Muir was awarded Outstanding Live News Program. ABC led the night with a total of eight awards, followed closely by Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller from National Geographic/Muck Media, which secured seven awards, and CNN, which garnered four.

Complete List of Documentary Emmy Winners

The following is a list of the winners in various documentary categories:

• Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary
  Lost in the Jungle
  Little Monster Films [Lightbox | Pacha Films | Señal Colombia | Demolition Films | National Geographic Documentary Films]
• Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary
  Prime Minister
  Madison Wells [HBO Documentary Films | CNN Films | Dark Doris | Divergent Pictures]
• Outstanding Social Issue Documentary
  The Ride Ahead
  American Documentary | POV | PBS [LikeRightNow Films]
• Outstanding Investigative Documentary
  Critical Incident: A Death at the Border
  HBO Documentary Films [Midnight Films | crazyrose | Film 45]
• Outstanding Historical Documentary
  Simon Schama: The Holocaust, 80 Years On
  Oxford Film and Television | PBS [BBC | The WNET Group]
• Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary
  Tiler Peck: Suspending Time
  Great Performances
  Late Autumn Productions, LLC. | PBS [THIRTEEN Productions LLC]
• Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary
  The Memory of Darkness, Light, and Ice
  Metamorph Films, LLC
• Outstanding Nature Documentary
  Secrets of the Penguins
  Talesmith [National Geographic]
• Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary
  Can’t Look Away: The Case Against Social Media
  Bloomberg Originals [DCTV]
• Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary
  The Strike
  Independent Lens
  Latino Public Broadcasting | PBS
• Outstanding Short Documentary
  Projecting Protest
  Scripps News [Clement Cinema]
• Best Documentary
  Prime Minister
  Madison Wells [HBO Documentary Films | CNN Films | Dark Doris | Divergent Pictures]
• Outstanding Writing – Documentary
  Underdogs
  Wildstar Films [Maximum Effort | National Geographic]
• Outstanding Research – Documentary
  Turning Point: The Vietnam War
  Netflix [Luminant Media | Netflix]
• Outstanding Direction – Documentary
  2000 Meters to Andriivka
  FRONTLINE FEATURES | PBS [Associated Press]
• Outstanding Cinematography – Documentary
  Heart of the Emperors
  Secrets of the Penguins
  Talesmith [National Geographic]
• Outstanding Editing – Documentary
  Cover-Up
  Netflix [Plan B | Netflix | Praxis Films]
• Outstanding Graphic Design – Documentary
  In Waves and War
  Studio AKA | Netflix [Netflix | Actual Films]
• Outstanding Music Composition – Documentary
  Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey
  Netflix [Dog Star Films | Water Creature Film | Netflix | Anonymous Content]
• Outstanding Sound – Documentary
  Underdogs
  Wildstar Films [Maximum Effort | National Geographic]
• Outstanding Lighting Direction – Documentary
  Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders
  Netflix [Third Eye Motion Picture Company | Netflix | Radical Media | MA Productions | Silvio Films]
• Outstanding Art Direction / Set Decoration / Scenic Design – Documentary
  Songs From the Hole
  Netflix [Cocomotion Pictures | Question Culture | Impact Partners | Artemis Rising Foundation | Netflix]
• Outstanding Promotional Announcement – Documentary
  Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember
  National Geographic [Mattock]
• Outstanding Regional Documentary
  Blue – The Life and Art of George Rodrigue
  WLAE-TV

As reported by www.hollywoodreporter.com.

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Published on 2026-05-29 06:28:00 • By FAME Delivered News Desk