2026 Nominees

POV: The Body Politic

Production Company: RowHouse, LC | RowHouse Collective

Produced for: POV on PBS

Executive Producer (Production Company): Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough, Dawne Langford, John Benam; Sally Jo Fifer, Erika Dilday, Chris White, Marilyn Ness, Katy Chevigny, Mark Grieco, Brock Williams, Jeffrey Pechter, Anurima Bhargava, Rudy Valdez

Executive Producer (network/platform): N/A

Country or Territory where first released: USA

Synopsis:

Like many areas in the United States, the City of Baltimore has been plagued by gun violence. Amid the George Floyd uprising, Brandon Scott, a young reform-minded leader, is elected mayor. His hope is to lower violence in the city with a new community-based, public health-focused approach rather than relying solely on policing, as he feels others have done. Pundits claim Brandon's political health and the city's health are tied to the number 348—the total murders Baltimore had the previous year, more homicides than NYC, a city 15 times its size. After entering office and barely getting a chance to enact his first safety reforms, violence surges to new highs. As the media and political foes attack his holistic approach, his commitment to his plan and principles puts his political future in jeopardy. With unfettered access, cameras follow him throughout his first year in City Hall to see if his plan can lead to healing in the city and serve as a blueprint for the rest of the nation.