(Boston, Mass. - June 30, 2025) – GBH productions were honored with three Emmys at the 46th annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards. FRONTLINE received a News Emmy for Maui’s Deadly Firestorm and a Documentary Emmy for Two American Families: 1991-2024. NOVA received a Documentary Emmy for Hunt for the Oldest DNA. Presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the News & Documentary Emmy Awards seek to honor outstanding achievements in news and documentary programming. The winners were announced during a two-night ceremony in New York City on June 25 and 26.

In addition, veteran FRONTLINE producer Michael Kirk was inducted into the NATAS Gold Circle Honor Society. The Gold Circle acknowledges industry leaders who have made lasting contributions to the television industry with 50 years of distinguished service.

“GBH productions have led the industry in documentary filmmaking for decades and we’re incredibly proud to receive this recognition from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences,” said GBH President and CEO Susan Goldberg. “FRONTLINE and NOVA are shining examples of the trusted educational programs that public media provides across the country. I’d also like to congratulate Michael Kirk on his induction into the NATAS Gold Circle for his invaluable contributions to FRONTLINE and documentary filmmaking.”

  • FRONTLINE: Two American Families: 1991-2024 won the Emmy for “Outstanding Social Issue Documentary.” This two-hour documentary from correspondent Bill Moyers and filmmakers Tom Casciato and Kathleen Hughes chronicled two families in Milwaukee, Wisconsin — one Black, the Stanleys, and one white, the Neumanns — from 1991 through 2024 as they navigated a changing U.S. economy in pursuit of the American dream. Filmed across more than 30 years, the documentary was the fifth in a series of PBS films documenting both families’ perseverance in the face of economic hardship. The film raised unsettling questions about the economy’s shift towards part-time, low-wage work and the impact on people struggling to make a living.
  • FRONTLINE: Maui’s Deadly Firestorm won the “Outstanding Climate, Environment and Weather Coverage” News Emmy. As the documentary examined, the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century reduced much of the Hawaiian town of Lahaina on the island of Maui to ashes in August 2023, killing more than 100 people and displacing thousands. From a team led by writer, producer and director Xinyan Yu and producer Christina Avalos, Maui’s Deadly Firestorm investigated the chaotic response, how the tragedy was decades in the making, and how changes to the climate and landscape have made Maui increasingly vulnerable to fires.
  • NOVA: Hunt for the Oldest DNA won the “Outstanding Science and Technology” Documentary Emmy. For decades, scientists have tried to unlock the secrets of ancient DNA. But life’s genetic blueprint is incredibly fragile, and researchers have struggled to find DNA in fossils that could survive millions of years. But then, maverick scientist Eske Willerslev had the controversial idea to look for DNA not in fossils or frozen ancient tissue – but in dirt. Writer-Director Niobe Thompson masterfully follows Willerslev and his team as they decipher 2-million-year-old DNA – a feat once thought unimaginable – and reveal for the first time the genes of long-extinct creatures that once thrived in a warm, lush Arctic.

About GBH
GBH is the leading multiplatform creator for public media in America. As the largest producer of content for PBS and partner to NPR and PRX, GBH delivers compelling experiences, stories and information to audiences wherever they are. GBH produces digital and broadcast programming that engages, illuminates and inspires, through drama and science, history, arts, culture and journalism. It is the creator of such signature programs as MASTERPIECE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, FRONTLINE, NOVA, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, Arthur and Molly of Denali and a catalog of streaming series, podcasts and on-demand video. GBH’s television channels include GBH 2, GBH 44, GBH Kids and national services WORLD and Create. With studios and a newsroom headquartered in Boston, GBH reaches across New England with GBH 89.7, Boston’s Local NPR; CRB Classical 99.5; and CAI, the Cape and Islands NPR station. Dedicated to making media accessible to and inclusive of our diverse culture, GBH is a pioneer in delivering media to those who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired. GBH creates curriculum-based digital content for educators nationwide with PBS LearningMedia and has been recognized with hundreds of the nation’s premier broadcast, digital and journalism awards. Find more information at gbh.org.

Media Contact
Emily Balk
GBH External Relations
emily_balk@wgbh.org