Sunday, May 24, 2026

Vietnam War and Hurricane Katrina subjects of leading nominees for Outstanding Historical Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards


I'm returning to the News & Doc Emmy Awards for this week's Sunday entertainment feature with the category I was originally planning on covering the day I posted 'Katrina: Come Hell and High Water' leads social issue documentaries at the News & Doc Emmy Awards for Flashback Friday, Outstanding Historical Documentary. Turning Point: The Vietnam War leads this category with five nominations, including Best Documentary. It's followed by Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time with four, also including Best Documentary, Vietnam: The War That Changed America with three, then Becoming Katharine Graham, Becoming Thurgood: America's Social Architect, The Disappearance of Miss Scott, and Simon Schama: The Holocaust, 80 Years On, all tied at one with just this nomination. I'm sharing their trailers in that order, beginning with Turning Point: The Vietnam War | Official Trailer | Netflix.

From Luminant Media and director Brian Knappenberger, Turning Point: The Vietnam War offers an unfiltered look at one of the most defining and divisive conflicts in modern history and the profound, lasting impact it has had on America’s global identity and on the lives of countless people. Following in the footsteps of Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War and Turning Point: 9/11 and the War On Terror, this five episode docuseries showcases a war that was more than just a military failure; it was a political and cultural reckoning that reshaped America, exposed deep divisions at home and shattered trust in the government. With unprecedented access to CBS News archives, rare Vietnamese footage, declassified government records and previously unearthed White House recordings, the series spans nearly two decades and three different presidential administrations, amplifying often overlooked perspectives. As both America and Vietnam mark the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, Turning Point: The Vietnam War offers a timely exploration of how the war’s unresolved wounds, unlearned lessons, and enduring consequences continue to shape the world today.
I'm having flashbacks to my childhood seeing reports from Vietnam on the evening news as I watch this trailer. I'm sure anyone else old enough is, too. Since this is the most nominated entry in this category, it's the one most likely to win, although it's not the one I'm rooting for. That distinction goes to Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time | Official Trailer | National Geographic, which I recommend to my students. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

Told in unflinching, moment-by-moment detail, HURRICANE KATRINA: RACE AGAINST TIME transports viewers into the chaos that engulfed New Orleans as one of the deadliest catastrophes in U.S. history unfolded—capturing the fear, heroism and resilience of those who fought to survive the storm and its aftermath. With the clear-eyed perspective of two decades of hindsight, this gripping historical record corrects persistent false narratives and exposes how a natural disaster became a national tragedy. Grounded in gut-wrenching eyewitness testimony from survivors, first responders and officials, and brought to life with immersive archival footage, the series is an unparalleled, emotionally raw examination of the storm’s personal, political and societal fallout. From the Oscar®- and Emmy®-winning producers at Lightbox and acclaimed filmmaker Ryan Coogler and his production company, Proximity Media, and directed by Oscar-nominated Traci A. Curry, this landmark documentary series arrives in time to mark the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
I can see why this trailer earned a nomination for Outstanding Promotional Announcement: Documentary. It looks like it was created by the same team that produced the Emmy-winning trailer for 9/11: One Day in America, so I have it penciled in as my co-favorite for Outstanding Promotional Announcement: Documentary along with Love + War. As for it winning Outstanding Historical Documentary, its best hope is that Turning Point: The Vietnam War splits its votes with VIETNAM: THE WAR THAT CHANGED AMERICA | Official Trailer | Apple TV+.

With never-before-seen archival footage, Vietnam: The War that Changed America tells the story of the war through the eyes and memories of the people who lived it — 50 years later.

Narrated by Ethan Hawke, this six-part docu-series premieres January 31 on Apple TV+.

The reunion of old friends, first-person accounts, and rarely seen footage paint an extraordinary and deeply profound picture of what it was like to live through one of history’s longest wars. Narrated by Ethan Hawke.

Some of the featured voices include: Bill Broyles, a celebrated Hollywood screenwriter and Lieutenant in the war who reunites with a member of his platoon after 50 years; Hilary Brown, ABC News’ first female foreign correspondent who covered the fall of Saigon firsthand; Melvin Pender, the Olympic gold-medal winning runner who competed in 1968 between tours in Vietnam; soldiers from the Viet Cong who fought in the Tet Offensive, including the first Viet Cong woman in her district to shoot down an enemy aircraft; a veteran who thought his life was over, forced to parachute into the Ho Chi Minh trail, who reunites with the man who rescued him; and Vietnamese civilians who witnessed and fled from the war.

"Vietnam: The War That Changed America” is produced for Apple TV+ by the BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning team at 72 Films, directed by Rob Coldstream (“John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial”) and produced by Caroline Marsden (“9/11: One Day in America”), with executive producers David Glover ("9/11: One Day in America”) and Mark Raphael (“Crime and Punishment”). This series marks the second collaboration for Apple TV+ and 72 Films, following the launch of “John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial” last year.
This looks like a more personal examination of the Vietnam War than Turning Point: The Vietnam War, which took more of a big picture look at the conflict.

The Washington Post played a crucial role in covering both the Vietnam War and Watergate, and its publisher during that time is the subject of Becoming Katharine Graham - Official Trailer | Prime Video.

The story of a woman’s evolution from a self-proclaimed “doormat-wife” into one of the most powerful newspaper publishers of the 20th century. Becoming Katharine Graham is now streaming on Prime Video.
This is a documentary about journalism and many of the voters are journalists. However, they are television journalists while this is a story about print. Turning Point: The Vietnam War features the power of television reporting and that alone is enough to make the difference. As I'm fond of writing about awards shows, electorates matter.

Becoming Thurgood: America's Social Architect - PREVIEW from Basin PBS goes back even farther in time.

Explore the life and legacy of the nation’s first African American Supreme Court justice. The film follows Justice Marshall, known as “Mr. Civil Rights,” from his legal career with the NAACP to his 1967 appointment to the nation’s highest court.
Given the backsliding on civil rights under Donald "Pervert Hoover" Trump, this film serves as a reminder of what it took to gain what we are now losing. So does The Disappearance of Miss Scott | Official Preview | Hazel Scott | American Masters | PBS.

The Disappearance of Miss Scott chronicles Hazel Scott’s meteoric rise as a jazz talent and major Hollywood star before being blacklisted during the Red Scare. Hazel Scott was one of the most revered stars of the early 20th century. Not only was Scott a beloved musical sensation, but she also channeled her talents into Hollywood stardom, becoming the first Black American to host their own television show.

Discover her storied life, from her childhood as a musical prodigy in Trinidad to her prolific career on stage and the silver screen in the new documentary American Masters – The Disappearance of Miss Scott, premiering nationwide Friday, February 21 at 9 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/americanmasters and the PBS App in honor of Black History Month. Watch the first three minutes of the film in this official preview.
This is another documentary that could have been nominated for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary, showing why I cover entertainment like I do. It's important.

Simon Schama: The Holocaust, 80 Years On - PREVIEW, also from Basin PBS, is the final trailer I'm embedding today.

Renowned historian Simon Schama, a lifelong documenter of Jewish history, examines the Holocaust as a worldwide crime and its lasting impact today, 80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, in this deeply personal film.
As James Faulkner wrote, "The past is never dead. It's not even past." That's why history is important.

I return to 'Prime Minister' leads nominees for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards for the nominees in Best Documentary.

2000 Meters to Andriivka leads with six nominations, Turning Point: The Vietnam War follows with five nominations, Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time, Life After, and Love + War tie at four nominations, and Black Snow and Union tie at this one nomination. I had 2000 Meters to Andriivka penciled in to win this category because of its awards history, especially its wins at the DGA and WGA Awards, but seeing it lead this category, if not all nominees, in nominations inks that prediction in.
This nomination will help 2000 Meters to Andriivka win best Current Affairs Documentary, unless it boosts Life After, and either Turning Point: The Vietnam War or Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time win Outstanding Historical Documentary. It might help Love + War win one of its other categories, but it's a dead end for Black Snow and Union; both are extreme long shots at winning this category and have no other nominations.

Both Turning Point: The Vietnam War and Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time are competing in the next category, which I covered in 'The Stringer' leads nominees for Outstanding Investigative Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards for Flashback Friday.

Outstanding Research: Documentary
The American Revolution
Florentine Films | PBS [WETA-TV]
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time
Lightbox [Proximity Media | National Geographic]
Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America
72 Films [National Geographic]
The Strike
UPHSF LLC
The Stringer
Netflix [LinLay Productions | Netflix | VII Foundation | XRM Media]
Syria’s Detainee Files
FRONTLINE | PBS [BBC]
Turning Point: The Vietnam War
Netflix [Luminant Media | Netflix]
The White House Effect
Actual Films | Netflix [Netflix | The Department of Motion Pictures]
Turning Point: The Vietnam War leads this category with five nominations, followed by Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time and The Stringer tied at four, then The Strike with three, Syria's Detainee Files and The White House Effect tied with two, then The American Revolution tied with Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America at just this one. That there are so many nominees indicates that this is a very competitive category, so I won't designate a favorite right now. Just the same, I'm noting that The American Revolution earning just this one nomination here suggests to me that it's eligible for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, so I expect it to be nominated there, too. That happened for The U.S. and the Holocaust, so I've seen it happen before.
After today, I'm penciling in Turning Point: The Vietnam War as the favorite.

I also covered one of Vietnam: The War That Changed America's categories, Outstanding Direction: Documentary, in 'The Stringer' leads nominees for Outstanding Investigative Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards for Flashback Friday, itself recycled from 'Katrina: Come Hell and High Water' leads social issue documentaries at the News & Doc Emmy Awards for Flashback Friday and 'Sally' leads Science and Technology Documentaries at the News & Doc Emmy Awards.

Sally should just be happy to be nominated in this category. 2000 Meters to Andriivka has six nominations, including Best Documentary. Life After has four, also including Best Documentary, as does The Stringer. Katrina: Come Hell and High Water and Vietnam: The War That Changed America both tied Sally with three. Apocalypse in the Tropics and Music Box: It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley have just this one. Out of this field, 2000 Meters to Andriivka is my provisional favorite.
I still think so.
Seeing Music Box: It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley reminds me that it was nominated for Best Music Documentary at the 2025 Critics Choice Documentary Awards. I was disappointed that it failed to earn either an Oscar or GRAMMY nomination, so I'm glad it earned an Emmy nomination, even if I'm very sure it won't win.
Now for a category I originally covered in 'Underdogs' earns four News & Doc Emmy Award nominations, then recycled in 'Songs from the Hole' leads arts and culture documentaries at the News & Doc Emmy Awards.

Secrets of the Penguins deserved this nomination, but I doubt it will win. Instead, I think it's between Turning Point: The Vietnam War with five total nominations and Love + War with four nominations. Both are also nominated for Best Documentary. The sounds of combat would probably impress the journalists and documentarians, possibly even more than the sounds of nature or music. If the entertainment professionals in the Creative Arts Emmys were voting, they might give WE WANT THE FUNK! the advantage. Not here; electorates matter.
I think the same of Underdogs' chances for Outstanding Sound: Documentary. Given the competition in its categories, it has an apt title.
I haven't changed my mind, but let's see how I feel after watching the war documentaries.
Now I have to watch Love + War before the ceremony on May 28th.

While I'm quoting 'Songs from the Hole' leads arts and culture documentaries at the News & Doc Emmy Awards, I wrote about another of Vietnam: The War That Changed America's categories, Outstanding Music Composition: Documentary, there.

This is the second nominated category for both The Last Rhinos: A New Hope and Pangolin: Kulu's Journey. Without listening to the score, I can't make an accurate assessment of the music. That written, my gut feels that it's between Vietnam: The War That Changed America and Chasing Time. The former has three nominations and the latter is the first short documentary I recall having a second nomination at these awards. Also, Exposure Labs has a strong track record with music, with Chasing Ice earning an Oscar nomination for its song and Chasing Coral earning a nomination for Music & Sound.
I've changed my mind. I now think that Songs from the Hole is the favorite. The journalists and documentarians might just vote for JJ’88. The composers might not, but I suspect there aren't a lot of them in this Televison Academy, especially voting for the News & Doc Emmy Awards.
The composers might want to vote for one of their own, which JJ'88 almost certainly isn't.

I close the nominations for Turning Point: The Vietnam War and Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time with two categories I haven't blogged about.

Outstanding Lighting Direction: Documentary
American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden
Netflix [The Cut | Tillerman Films | Ventureland | Netflix]
Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders
Netflix [Third Eye Motion Picture Company | Netflix | Radical Media | MA Productions | Silvio Films]
Hollywood Hustler: Glitz, Glam, Scam
Library Films [Amazon MGM Studios | Library FIlms | Vice Studios | Article 19 Films]
Lockerbie: The Bombing of Pan Am 103
Mindhouse Production [Sky Studios | CNN Original Series]
Turning Point: The Vietnam War
Netflix [Luminant Media | Netflix]
It's Turning Point: The Vietnam War versus a bunch of documentaries with just this one nomination. Somehow, I don't think that will help it, especially if 2000 Meters to Andriivka sweeps, which I expect. The News & Doc electorate isn't into consolation prizes, but they have surprised me by going against the most nominated entry before.

Outstanding Promotional Announcement: Documentary
Chris Hemsworth: A Road Trip to Remember
National Geographic [Mattock]
LOVE+WAR Trailer
Love + War
National Geographic [Mark Woollen & Associates]
NATURE Season 44 Trailer
Nature
PBS [The WNET Group]
Race Against Time Trailer
Hurricane Katrina: Race Against Time National Geographic [Buddha Jones]
Trailer
In Waves and War
Actual Films | NETFLIX [Netflix | Participant | Chicago Media Project]
I need to watch Love + War before the 28th to call this category, too.

Follow over the jump for the most active shares about the News & Doc Emmy Awards on social media during the 15th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.


'Tsunami: Race Against Time' leads nominees for Outstanding Historical Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards for Throwback Thursday earned 5 reactions (most for month of May 2025 and tied for most during year on MeWe) and 2 shares. It also earned 2 likes, 1 repost, and 8 replies in 1 thread (tied for most during year on Bluesky).


'We Will Dance Again' leads Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary nominees at the News & Doc Emmy Awards had 3 likes and a fourth on July 1st (4 likes total — tied for third most on Instagram during the blogging year) to be the most liked during June 2025.


'You’re Being Lied To About Voter Fraud. Here’s the Truth,' a double News & Doc Emmy winner earned 3 replies in 1 thread on 17 views, most during month and tied for second most during year on Twitter/X.

I close this section with a documentary nominee from the Creative Arts Emmy Awards with a lot of comments as an honorable mention.


Entertainment and true crime the themes of Emmy nominees for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series earned 14 comments, third most for the year, all spam allowed to remain visible and my responses, during October 2025 through January 2026.

That's a wrap. Stay tuned for Memorial Day.

Previous posts in this series Previous posts about the 57th News & Doc Emmy Awards Previous retrospectives about entertainment Previous retrospectives about comments and likes.
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