Variety has published its annual "10 Assistants to Watch" list for 2026, spotlighting rising support staff across major Hollywood studios, agencies and production companies who go beyond typical administrative duties. The feature highlights how assistants, often underpaid and overlooked, play a crucial role in the entertainment industry by contributing creative insight, brokering deals and helping shape projects, with many using the role as a springboard to become producers, dealmakers or talent representatives.

Among those profiled are Sara Kate Baudhuin at Focus Features, praised by chairman Peter Kujawski for her strategic input; Sydney Brumfield at Searchlight Pictures, who champions acquisitions such as the horror film "Monitor"; Ashley Cavecche at MRC, who built an AI scheduling tool saving assistants roughly 20 hours a week and earned a promotion to project manager; Harry Church at Range Media Partners, who helped secure deals involving filmmaker Michael Bay and actor Michael Fassbender before becoming a coordinator at just 23; and Ari Codespoti at WME, who developed an AI-powered tool to help the agency spot promising new talent.