Maclain Way

Last updated
Maclain Way
Born
Occupations
  • Director
  • producer
Years active2014 – present
Relatives Chapman Way (brother)
Brocker Way (brother)

Maclain Way is an American documentary film director and producer. [1] [2] He is best known for producing and directing the Netflix documentary series Wild Wild Country , The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga , and America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys , and co-creating Untold . [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Maclain received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series for Wild Wild Country in 2018. [7]

Early life and education

Maclain was born and raised in Ventura County, California. He attended UCLA, where he studied history and documentary film. [8] He is a grandson of actor Bing Russell and nephew of actor Kurt Russell. [9]

Career

The Battered Bastards of Baseball

In 2014, Maclain directed and produced the documentary, The Battered Bastards of Baseball , which told the story of the Portland Mavericks, along with his brother Chapman Way. [10] The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired and later released by Netflix as one of their first original documentary films. [11] The documentary received the Tribeca Film Institute/ESPN prize for a documentary that “changes the way people think about sports.” [12]

Wild Wild Country

In 2018, Maclain co-directed the six-part Netflix documentary series, Wild Wild Country . [13] The series told the story of Rajneeshpuram, a utopian city built in the Oregon desert by the followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. [14] The series premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, where the entire seven-hour series was screened for audiences. [15] The series was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Directing for a Documentary, winning the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. [16]

Untold (TV Series)

In 2021, Maclain co-created the Netflix sports series Untold , which has featured documentaries on Malice at the Palace, Danbury Trashers, Christy Martin, Johnny Manziel, Steve McNair, Mardy Fish, Manti Teʻo, And1, Hope Solo, and the 1983 America’s Cup. [17] As of 2025, subsequent seasons of Untold have grown into collection of sports documentaries to 17 feature films, and two multi-part series. The series has been nominated twice for Outstanding Documentary Series at the 45th and 46th Sports Emmys. [18]

The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga

In 2024, Maclain produced and co-directed the three-part Netflix series, The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga . [19] The documentary told the events of the 2013 Ricin Letters, when an Elvis impersonator was framed for sending toxic letters to President Barack Obama, Senator Roger Wicker, and a local judge. [20]

America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys

In May of 2024, it was reported that Maclain was co-directing an 8-part Netflix documentary series for Skydance Media and NFL Films, with his production company, Stardust Frames Productions. [21] The series reportedly sold to Netflix for over $50 million and would tell the story of Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, and the team’s rise in the 1990s. [22] America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys premiered in Los Angeles at the Egyptian Theater, and was later released on Netflix. [23] The series features interviews with Jerry Jones, along with President George W. Bush, Phil Knight, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Jimmy Johnson, Steve Young, Jerry Rice and Rupert Murdoch. [24]

Other Work

In 2024, Maclain was the executive producer on the 4-part Netflix series American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders , which was awarded the News and Documentary Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Documentary. [25] He produced the HBO documentary, The Lionheart, which was nominated at the 46th Sports Emmys for five categories including Outstanding Long Documentary. [26]

Filmography

YearTitleContributionNote
2025 America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys Director and Executive producerDocumentary series
2024 The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga Director and Executive producerDocumentary series
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
2021 Untold: Crimes & Penalties Director and producerDocumentary
2021 Untold: Caitlyn Jenner Executive ProducerDocumentary
2021 Untold: Deal with the Devil Executive ProducerDocumentary
2021 Untold: Breaking Point Director and producerDocumentary
2021 Untold: Malice at the Palace Executive ProducerDocumentary
2018 Wild Wild Country Director, sound mixer and producerDocumentary series
2016The New Yorker PresentsDirector and producer1 episode
2014 The Battered Bastards of Baseball Director and producerDocumentary

Awards and nominations

YearResultAwardCategoryWorkRef.
2018Won International Documentary Association Best Limited Series Wild Wild Country [27]
Won Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series [28]
Nominated Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program
2019Nominated Cinema Eye Honors Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Series for Broadcast [29]
2022Nominated International Documentary Association Best Episodic Series Untold [30]
Nominated PromaxBDA Awards Documentary: Program Campaign
2024Nominated Cinema Eye Honors Outstanding Achievement in Anthology Series [31]
2025Nominated Sports Emmy Awards Outstanding Long Sports DocumentaryThe Lionheart [32]
NominatedOutstanding Documentary

References

  1. "Maclain Way". tfiny.org. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  2. "Tell Your Truth: Chapman & Maclain Way on Wild Wild Country". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  3. "Untold creators reveal why they wanted to make a sports docu-series after Wild Wild Country". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  4. "Chapman and Maclain Way on Osho docu-series Wild Wild Country: We wanted to make this an immersive experience". indianexpress.com. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  5. "'The Kings of Tupelo' Directors on Weaving a Tale of Elvis Impersonators, Black Market Conspiracy Theories and War Crimes Into One Docuseries". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  6. "'America's Team' Directors on Filming the '90s Cowboys Doc and Comparisons to 'The Last Dance'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  7. "2018 Creative Arts Emmys: The Complete List of Night 2 Winners". thewrap.com. 9 September 2018. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  8. "THE WAY BROTHERS". rattlingstick.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  9. "Bing Russell's grandsons explore his 'Battered Bastards of Baseball'". Los Angeles Times . 8 July 2014. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  10. "Sundance Review: Baseball Maven (And Kurt Russell's Dad) Bing Russell Saluted By His Grandsons In 'The Battered Bastards of Baseball'". indiewire.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  11. "'The Battered Bastards of Baseball,' documentary about wild and crazy Portland Mavericks, releases first trailer". oregonlive.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  12. "'Battered Bastards of Baseball' Is Now Streaming On Netflix". tribecafilm.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  13. "How the Makers of Wild Wild Country Think About the Heroes and Villains of Their Story". time.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  14. "'Wild Wild Country': Is Subject of Netflix Doc Really a 'Sex Cult'?". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  15. "'Wild Wild Country': TV Review - Sundance 2018". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  16. "Wild Wild Country". televisionacademy.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  17. "Netflix's Untold Takes A Granular Look At Controversial Moments In Sports". forbes.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  18. "45th Sports Emmy Awards" (PDF). theemmys.tv. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  19. "An Elvis Impersonator, A Presidential Assassination Attempt & Lots Of Conspiracies: Chapman & Maclain Way Unpack Netflix Docuseries 'The Kings of Tupelo'". deadline.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  20. "The king of rock 'n' roll, a severed head and a small-town scandal". wpr.org. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  21. "Netflix Huddles Up With Dallas Cowboys Docuseries". deadline.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  22. "Netflix Acquires Rights to Jerry Jones Documentary Series, per Report". si.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  23. "Cowboys' flashy Netflix premiere was a taste of the 90s with a dash of Micah Parsons drama". dallasnews.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  24. "The Dallas Cowboys Always Win the Battle for Attention". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  25. "The 46th Annual Emmys Announce Documentary Winners". awardsdaily.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  26. "The 46th Annual Sports Emmy Nominees". theemmys.tv. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  27. "34th Annual IDA Documentary Awards Honorees". documentary.org. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  28. "Awards & Nominations". emmys.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  29. "Here are all the Nominees for the 12th Annual Cinema Eye Honors". cinemaeyehonors.com. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  30. "Nominees Revealed for the 37th Annual IDA Documentary Awards".
  31. "The Nominees for the 17th Annual Cinema Eye Honors". cinemaeyehonors.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.
  32. "Sports Emmys Nominations Revealed". deadline.com. Retrieved 2025-09-10.