Friday, June 6, 2025

'The Sixth' leads nominees for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards


As I promised twice, it's time for the next installment in my coverage of the News & Doc Emmy Awards by examining The Sixth and the rest of the nominees for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary. The Sixth on the sixth!*

Since it is the only nominee in this category with another nomination and that is for Best Documentary, I begin with THE SIXTH | Trailer from Change Content.

THE SIXTH (www.thesixthmovie.com) is a feature documentary produced in collaboration with A24. From Academy Award® winning filmmakers Andrea Nix Fine & Sean Fine, THE SIXTH takes you inside the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol through six personal accounts, including Rep. Jamie Raskin and MPD Chief Robert Contee. This harrowing yet hopeful film, is a powerful reminder that the fate of democracy is in all our hands.
This isn't the first time the News & Doc Emmy Awards recognized coverage of January 6th; for starters, CNN's 'Live from the Capitol: January 6th, One Year Later' won two News & Doc Emmy Awards in 2023. It is the first time I've covered a nominated documentary about the event, although it probably won't be the last. In the meantime, this is still my favorite to win this category, although it is facing worthy competition and isn't a guaranteed winner. After all, Good Night Oppy had six nominations and was my pick to win Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary two years ago, but lost to How to Survive a Pandemic. Something similar could happen here.

Follow over the jump to watch the trailers or the equivalent for the rest of the nominees in this category and another look at Best Documentary.

I couldn't find a trailer for Battleground Texas from Vice News. The best I could find on YouTube was an entire episode, Trans Kids Are Fighting for Their Rights in Texas | Shane Smith Has A Question | Vice News.

When Texas lawmakers introduce a record number of anti-trans bills, transgender kids and their families from across the state converge on the Capitol to fight back.
I hope I found the right nominee.

Next, The Body Politic | Official Trailer | POV | PBS, which is definitely the trailer for the correct nominee.

The Body Politic is a harbinger of hope in a country plagued by gun violence. In Baltimore, Brandon Scott, an idealistic young leader with an ambitious plan to stop chronic violence, is elected mayor. Throughout his first year in office, we follow him as he fights powerful political forces to save lives in Baltimore and reveal a pathway toward healing for the nation. A Co-Production with ITVS. A Co-Presentation with BPM (Black Public Media).
This looks both inspiring and informative as an example of how the principles I described in Vox explains what 'defund the police' really means and the history of police militarization could be put into action. It also looks well-produced.

Moving on to Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid | Official Trailer from Greenwich Entertainment.

From masterminding Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential win to his insurgent role in the 2024 race, Democratic strategist James Carville has been one of the most influential forces in modern political history. The “Ragin’ Cajun” looks back at his unlikely career and 30-year marriage to Republican consultant Mary Matalin. Featuring interviews with Bill Clinton, George Stephanopoulos and more.
This looks like the most entertaining of the nominees and Carville is probably the most familiar subject to the voters. Both should count for something, so this is my pick to upset The Sixth. Remember, electorates matter.

MSNBC has a nominee, From Russia with Lev | Official Trailer.

Friday, September 20th, MSNBC Films presents “From Russia with Lev,” executive produced by Rachel Maddow and directed by Billy Corben. Featuring former Trump insider Lev Parnas, the new documentary pulls back the curtain on the Ukraine scheme that got the former President impeached the first time. Watch “From Russia with Lev” Friday, September 20th at 9pm ET on MSNBC. “From Russia with Lev” is a production from MSNBC Films, rakontur, UTAS, and Surprise Inside.
I'm having flashbacks to Meyers, Colbert, and Noah take closer looks at impeachment moving to the Senate and Parnas evidence to begin season 4, episode 2 of 'The Worst Wing'. It also looks like it gives Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid a run for its money as an entertaining nominee. "All the President's putzes" and "Mission Impossible? Mission Stupid!" *Snork* Between this and The Sixth, this field has both of Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump's impeachments covered.

The next entry, THE RIOT REPORT | Trailer | AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | PBS, could just as easily been a nominee for Outstanding Historical Documentary or Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary, showing how fine and/or blurred the lines are between categories.

When Black neighborhoods in scores of cities erupted in violence during the summer of 1967, President Lyndon Johnson appointed the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders—informally known as the Kerner Commission—to answer three questions: What happened? Why did it happen? And what could be done to prevent it from happening again? The bi-partisan commission’s final report, issued in March of 1968, would offer a shockingly unvarnished assessment of American race relations—a verdict so politically explosive that Johnson not only refused to acknowledge it publicly, but even to thank the commissioners for their service.

THE RIOT REPORT explores this pivotal moment in the nation’s history and the fraught social dynamics that simultaneously spurred the commission’s investigation and doomed its findings to political oblivion.

Directed by Michelle Ferrari, co-written by Ferrari and New Yorker journalist Jelani Cobb, and executive produced by Cameo George, THE RIOT REPORT premieres on AMERICAN EXPERIENCE on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET.
I should have expected Detroit's riot would be among those examined. It had a nationwide effect, not just a local one.

Now for the final trailer, Who's Afraid of Nathan Law? | Official Trailer | POV | PBS.

At 21, he was a leader of Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution. By 23, he became Hong Kong's youngest elected lawmaker. At 26, he was Most Wanted under the National Security Law. Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law? offers a close look at the city's most famous dissident to uncover what happens to freedom when an authoritarian power goes unchecked.

Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law? will make its national broadcast premiere on POV Monday, September 23, 2024 at 10pm/9C (check local listings) and available to stream until November 22, 2024 at pbs.org, and the PBS App.
The answer is the Chinese Communist Party.

Now for what I wrote 'Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal' and 'The Truth vs. Alex Jones' lead nominees for Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary in
Time to recycle what I last wrote in 'The Grab' leads both Outstanding Investigative Documentary and Best Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards.
Now to re-examine the nominees for Best Documentary, which I first covered in 'King Coal' vs. 'Hollywood Black' and 'Madu' for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy Awards.
For the first time in this series, I'm examining the nominees for Best Documentary. I've been holding off because the category has nine nominees this year. The Grab leads with four nominations, followed by American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders and Mammals with three each, Hollywood Black, The Sixth, and The Truth vs. Alex Jones, all with two, and The Commandant's Shadow, Queendom, and The Sing Sing Chronicles with just this one. The Grab and American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders are facing off for Outstanding Investigative Documentary, The Sixth leads the nominees for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary, The Truth vs. Alex Jones is contending with Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal for Outstanding Crime and Justice Documentary, and Mammals leads the rest of the field without a subject area nomination. That's four more opportunities to examine the nominees, after which I'll make my call.
Right now, I have The Grab in first, but I'm not making a final call until I write about the rest of the nominees.
I still think The Grab is first, but I'll change or solidify my choice after I write about Mammals.
No change in my opinion, so Mammals and the rest of the nominees for Best Documentary should be next, although I don't think it will be tomorrow; the Trump-Musk feud is too shiny an object to pass up. Stay tuned.

*I skipped Revenge of the Sixth this year to post Randy Rainbow sings 'Incompetent!' Consider this post to be a different "revenge of the sixth" as it has nothing to do with Star Wars.

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