The 2026 Humanitas Prize winners were announced on Wednesday at an awards show hosted by Ashley Nicole Black at Avalon Hollywood, recognising television and film writing that explores the human condition with nuance and depth. Winning episodes included "Shrinking's" Season 3 premiere "My Bad", which featured Michael J. Fox as it developed its Parkinson's storyline, and "Paradise's" Season 2 premiere "Graceland", a post-apocalyptic survival story featuring Shailene Woodley, alongside "Washington Black's" "The Flying Man and the Musician".

Other winners spanned children's programming, documentary, feature film and drama categories, including "Tab Time", "Rental Family", "Grow", "Vital" and "The Tale of Silyan", among others. Separately, "My So-Called Life" creator Winnie Holzman received the Kieser Award, presented by "Thirtysomething" producers Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick, who had previously worked with her on both shows. The event also honoured Humanitas' 2026-27 New Voices Fellows — Christina Ingraldi, Leon Lee, Alana Saab, Finn Wagstaff and Keith Walker — who will each receive a $7,500 stipend and mentorship as part of a six-month fellowship programme.