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The “Shrinking” Season 3 premiere “My Bad,” which expanded its Parkinson’s storyline by featuring guest star Michael J. Fox, and the “Paradise” Season 2 premiere “Graceland,” which told a story of post-apocalyptic survival
via guest star Shailene Woodley, were among the 2026 Humanitas Prize winners revealed Wednesday.
The honorees, which also included the episode “The Flying Man and the Musician” from limited series “Washington Black,” were announced during the Humanitas Prize Awards Show & Toast, hosted by actor/writer/comedian Ashley Nicole Black at Avalon Hollywood.
Also at the event, “My So-Called Life” creator and “Wicked” writer Winnie Holzman received this year’s Kieser Award from “Thirtysomething” exec producers Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick — who hired Holzman to be a writer on their show and later were EPs on “My So-Called Life.”
The Humanitas Prize honors “film and television writers whose work explores the human condition in a nuanced, meaningful way. Prizes are presented at an annual event where winners receive a trophy and a cash prize.” Here are this year’s winners (in bold):
Drama Teleplay
“Chicago Med” (“The Book of Charles”): Allen MacDonald
“Grey’s Anatomy” (“Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child”): Jess Righthand
WINNER: “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
WINNER: “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
WINNER: “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
WINNER: “Tab Time” (“When We Lose Someone”): Sean Presant
Drama Feature
WINNER: “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
WINNER: “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
WINNER: “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
WINNER: “Vital”: Amir Zargara, Gabe Berry
Documentary (Feature)
“Come See Me in the Good Light”: Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen
WINNER: “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
WINNER: “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
In the case of Holzman, the Kieser Award “honors those who have dedicated their substantial talent, work, and resources to creating transformative stories that celebrate our common humanity.” Past winners include Greg Berlanti, Marta Kauffman, John Sacret Young, John Ridley, Jason Katims, Fay Kanin and Bill Moyers.
Also honored at the event, Humanitas’s 2026-27 New Voices Fellows: Christina Ingraldi, Leon Lee, Alana Saab, Finn Wagstaff and Keith Walker. As part of the fellowship, they’ll participate in a six-month mentorship program for early-career television and screenwriters, be paired with writers for one-on-one mentorship and receive a $7,500 stipend in addition to other benefits.
And Humanitas’ College Screenwriting Awards winners were recognized: Omid Iranikhah (David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Award) and Lauryn Bedford (Carol Mendelsohn College Drama Award). Bedford and Iranikhah will each receive a $20,000 cash prize and a script notes session with a professional writer. Humanitas program alums Lauren Goodman (“Snowfall”) and Hayley Tibbenham (“Dutton Ranch”) presented the artist development awards.
Additionally, the Starz #TakeTheLead award was presented to Rae Benjamin, by screenwriter/producer Russell T Davies (“Doctor Who,” “Queer As Folk,” “Years and Years”), who’s behind the upcoming Starz series “Tip Toe.” The recipient is chosen among “mid-career writers” who exemplify the promise to “amplify narratives by, about and for women and underrepresented audiences.” As part of the prize, Benjamin will receive a $10,000 cash prize and mentorship from Starz executives.
