Feinberg Prediction: The documents are making waves

Wave of 100 feet (HBO/Max)

Chris Smith’s big wave surfing show is back in contention for its second season, just a year after the first was nominated in this category and won for cinematography. Surfer extraordinaire Garrett McNamara returns with other surfers and their stories too.

Dear mum (FX/Hulu)

Allen Hughes, a nominee in this category in 2018 for The insurgents, profiles Tupac Shakur and his activist mother. (jeen-yuhswhich explored Kanye West’s relationship with his mother was nominated for this award last year.) It drew the most viewers ever for an unscripted FX show.

Prehistoric planet (Apple TV+)

Season one of this David Attenborough-narrated study of dinosaurs was rejected (the VFX is advanced, but some doc purists object to re-creations). However, voters have a track record of embracing nature/animal related documents in this category.

The 1619 Project (Hulu)

Adapted from the Magazine New York Times project of the same name and hosted by its author, Nikole Hannah-Jones, this Oprah Winfrey-EP’d project lays out the argument that the American story really began with the arrival of the first slave ship in 1619. It is 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Harry and Megan (Netflix)

Liz Garbus, a 2018 nominee in this category for The fourth estateturn her lens to the Sussexes – who are participating thanks to their Netflix mega deal – with this poorly reviewed show (42 per cent on RT) that seemingly everyone was watching.

The US and the Holocaust (PBS)

Ken Burns and PBS, a team that practically owns this category, return to the fray with a deep dive — featuring interviews with survivors and historians and stories from the likes of Meryl Streep — into America’s largely shameful behavior decades ago.

This story first appeared in a standalone June issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.