Nominations for the 2026 Humanitas Prize, which honors TV and film writers for work that explores the human condition, have been announced. KPop Demon Hunters, which spawned a Billboard 200-topping soundtrack album, is competing for family feature, alongside Elio, Grow and Hoppers.
Song Sung Blue, the drama about a Neil Diamond tribute performer and his wife, who experiences a life-altering accident, is nominated for drama feature. Craig Brewer wrote the screenplay for the film, for which Kate Hudson received an Oscar nomination for best actress. The other nominees in the category are All That’s Left of You, Preparation for the Next Life and Train Dreams.
Billy Joel: And So It Goes (“Part Two”), written by Susan Lacy and Jessica Levin, is nominated for documentary (docuseries, single episode). Part Two of the HBO documentary covers Billy Joel’s pivot to socially conscious music (1982’s The Nylon Curtain) and his struggles with depression and alcoholism. It features candid commentary from his wife, his ex-wives and his daughter. The other nominees in the category are Katrina: Come Hell and High Water, Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! and Rise of the 49ers.
Since 1974, the Humanitas Prizes have been awarded to film and TV writers “whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced, meaningful way,” according to the organization’s website. Past winners include All in the Family, ER, Hidden Figures, black-ish, Encanto, Good Will Hunting, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Hacks, The Bernie Mac Show and NYPD Blue.
This year’s awards will be held Sept. 9 at Avalon Hollywood and hosted by writer-comedian Ashley Nicole Black. My So-Called Life creator and Wicked co-writer Winnie Holzman will receive the Kieser Award, which recognizes writers who have devoted their work to stories that celebrate common humanity.
Here’s the complete list of 2026 Humanitas Prize nominees.
Drama Teleplay
Chicago Med (“The Book of Charles”): Allen MacDonald
Grey’s Anatomy (“Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child”): Jess Righthand
Paradise (“Graceland”): Dan Fogelman, Eric Wen
The Testaments (“Stadium”): Gianna Sobol
Comedy Teleplay
Abbott Elementary (“Goofgirl”): Justin Tan
Long Story Short (“Yoshi’s Bar Mitzvah”): Raphael Bob-Waksberg
Resident Alien (“The End is Here”): Chris Sheridan
Shrinking (“My Bad”): Brian Gallivan
Limited Series Teleplay
Beef (“Oh, The Comfort, The Inexpressible Comfort”): Lee Sung Jin, Madeleine Pron
DTF St. Louis (“No One’s Normal. It Just Looks That Way from Across the Street”): Steven Conrad
Hal & Harper (“Are You Watching?”): Cooper Raiff
Washington Black (“The Flying Man & the Musician”): Selwyn Hinds
Children’s Teleplay
E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web (“Part 3”): Levi Abrino
My Brother the Minotaur (“Lunacy and Lorcan”): Mark B. Hodkinson
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (“The Shade of It All”): Tiffany Thomas
Tab Time (“When We Lose Someone”): Sean Presant
Drama Feature
All That’s Left of You: Cherien Dabis
Preparation for the Next Life: Martyna Majok
Song Sung Blue: Craig Brewer
Train Dreams: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar
Comedy Feature
A Nice Indian Boy: Eric Randall
Rental Family: Hikari, Stephen Blahut
The Invite: Will McCormack, Rashida Jones
The Baltimorons: Jay Duplass, Michael Strassner
Family Feature
Elio: Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, Mike Jones, Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi
Grow: Nick Güthe, Christos N. Gage, Ruth Fletcher Gage
Hoppers: Jesse Andrews, Daniel Chong
KPop Demon Hunters: Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, Danya Jimenez, Hannah McMechan
Short Film
Beyond Unstoppable: Valerie Alexander
Double Happiness: Shari Albert, Laura LeeLun
The Birthday Gift: Stephanie Alison Walker, Paula Pizzi
Vital: Amir Zargara, Gabe Berry
Documentary (Feature)
Come See Me in the Good Light: Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen
The Tale of Silyan: Tamara Kotevska
Life After: Reid Davenport, Colleen Cassingham
Shuffle: Benjamin Flaherty
Documentary (Docuseries, Single Episode)
Billy Joel: And So It Goes (“Part Two”): Susan Lacy, Jessica Levin
Katrina: Come Hell and High Water (“Shelter of Last Resort”): Samantha Knowles
Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! (“Part Two”): Judd Apatow, Michael Bonfiglio, Joe Beshenkovsky
Rise of the 49ers (“We Built This City”): Ryan Kelly, Nick Mascolo
