Chapman Way

Last updated
Chapman Way
Born
Ventura County, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Director
  • producer
Years active2014 – present
Relatives Maclain Way (brother)
Brocker Way (brother)

Chapman Way is an American documentary filmmaker. [1] [2] He is best known for co-creating the Netflix series Untold and for producing and directing the series Wild Wild Country , The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga , and America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys . [3] [4] [5] [6] In 2018, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series for Wild Wild Country. [7]

Contents

Early life

Chapman was born in Ventura County, California. [8] He is a grandson of actor Bing Russell and nephew of actor Kurt Russell. [9]

Career

The Battered Bastards of Baseball

Chapman began his filmmaking career with The Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014), co-directed with his brother Maclain Way. The documentary explores the history of the independent Portland Mavericks baseball team and premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. [10] It was later acquired by Netflix. [11]

Wild Wild Country

In 2018, Chapman co-directed Wild Wild Country , a six-part Netflix series about the Rajneeshpuram community in Oregon, led by the spiritual leader Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho). [12] The series received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. [7]

The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga

In 2024, Chapman directed and produced The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga , which examines the criminal underworld of Tupelo, Mississippi, centered around a notorious local figure. [13]

America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys

Chapman directed and produced America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys , an eight-episode Netflix series chronicling Jerry Jones’ acquisition of the Dallas Cowboys and their 1990s dynasty. [14]

Other Work

Chapman co-created and worked on the Netflix series Untold , directing episodes such as Untold: Crimes and Penalties (2021), Untold: Breaking Point (2021), and Untold: The Race of the Century (2022). [15] He also served as an executive producer for other episodes, including Untold: Caitlyn Jenner , Untold: Malice at the Palace , Untold: Deal with the Devil , Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist , Untold: The Rise and Fall of AND1 , and Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul . [16]

In 2016, Chapman directed a segment for Amazon’s docuseries The New Yorker Presents. [17] In 2023, he produced the HBO documentary The Lionheart, a documentary about the life and legacy of IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon, focusing on his career and tragic death in 2011. [18] In 2024, he served as an executive producer for American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders and Untold: The Murder of Air McNair. [19]

Filmography

YearTitleContributionNote
2014 The Battered Bastards of Baseball Director, editor, cinematographer and producerDocumentary
2016The New Yorker PresentsDirector and producer1 episode
2018 Wild Wild Country Director, sound mixer and producerDocumentary series
2021 Untold: Crimes & Penalties Director and producerDocumentary
2021 Untold: Breaking Point Director and producerDocumentary
2021 Untold: Caitlyn Jenner Executive ProducerDocumentary
2021 Untold: Malice at the Palace Executive ProducerDocumentary
2021 Untold: Deal with the Devil Executive ProducerDocumentary
2022 Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist Executive ProducerDocumentary
2022 Untold: The Rise and Fall of AND1 Executive ProducerDocumentary
2022 Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul Executive ProducerDocumentary
2022 Untold: The Race of the Century Director and producerDocumentary
2024 The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga Director and Executive producerDocumentary series
2025 America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys Director and Executive producerDocumentary series

Awards and nominations

YearResultAwardCategoryWorkRef.
2018Won International Documentary Association Best Limited Series Wild Wild Country [20]
Won Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series [7]
Nominated Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program
Nominated Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program
2019Nominated Cinema Eye Honors Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Series for Broadcast [21]
2022Nominated International Documentary Association Best Episodic Series Untold [22]
Nominated PromaxBDA Awards Documentary: Program Campaign
2024Nominated Cinema Eye Honors Outstanding Achievement in Anthology Series [23]
2025Nominated Sports Emmy Awards Outstanding Long Sports DocumentaryThe Lionheart [24]
NominatedOutstanding Documentary

References

  1. ↑ "Chapman and Maclain Way talk Netflix "Untold" series, including "Malice at the Palace," "Crime and Penalties," "Breaking Point"". awfulannouncing.com. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  2. ↑ "Chapman Way". tfiny.org. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  3. ↑ "VIDEO: Netflix Releases Trailer for UNTOLD: BREAKING POINT". broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  4. ↑ "'Wild Wild Country' Directors Chapman & Maclain Way on Their Crazy 6-Part Netflix Documentary". collider.com. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  5. ↑ "Netflix releases trailer for crime documentary 'The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga'". wtva.com. 19 November 2024. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  6. ↑ "The '90s Cowboys Are Back in America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys". netflix.com. 22 August 2025. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  7. 1 2 3 "Awards & Nominations". emmys.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  8. ↑ "WILD WILD COUNTRY Interview: Chapman & Maclain Way, Directors". filminquiry.com. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  9. ↑ "Bing Russell's grandsons explore his 'Battered Bastards of Baseball'". Los Angeles Times . 8 July 2014. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  10. ↑ "Interview: Chapman and Maclain Way Hit for the Fences With "Battered Bastards of Baseball"". moveablefest.com. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  11. ↑ "Sundance 2014: Documentary Premieres". indiewire.com. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  12. ↑ "Directors of the Netflix Rajneeshees docuseries talk about 'the craziest story' in Oregon history". oregonlive.com. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  13. ↑ "The Way Brothers on Their Latest Stranger Than Fiction Docuseries 'The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga'". variety.com. December 2024. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  14. ↑ "Netflix series on Jerry Jones premieres Aug. 19". dallascowboys.com. June 2025. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  15. ↑ "'Untold: Breaking Point' Trailer Reveals the Last Episode of Netflix's Sports Docuseries". collider.com. September 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  16. ↑ "New Netflix docuseries 'UNTOLD' to dive deep into 'Malice at the Palace'". wxyz.com. July 2021. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  17. ↑ "'The New Yorker Presents': How Alex Gibney and Kahane Cooperman Curated the Amazon Series". indiewire.com. June 2016. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  18. ↑ "The Lionheart". tribecafilm.com. June 2023. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  19. ↑ "The Octopus Murders Docuseries Set At Netflix From Zachary Treitz, Duplass Brothers & Stardust Frames". deadline.com. January 2024. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  20. ↑ "34th Annual IDA Documentary Awards Honorees". documentary.org. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  21. ↑ "Here are all the Nominees for the 12th Annual Cinema Eye Honors". cinemaeyehonors.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  22. ↑ "Nominees Revealed for the 37th Annual IDA Documentary Awards".
  23. ↑ "The Nominees for the 17th Annual Cinema Eye Honors". cinemaeyehonors.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  24. ↑ "Sports Emmys Nominations Revealed". deadline.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
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