Is a promising film and television pivot in process?
By Carol Badaracco Padgett
First, the pandemic. Then the strikes—both actors’ and writers’. Add in industry fluctuations and overall economic change, and all of these factors have left their mark on film and television production domestically and internationally. But throughout, it seems we’ve all been streaming a full load of documentaries and docuseries, which unfold in multiple episodes.
We’ll be seeing more of them too, according to current reports from film’s above-the-line greats and multinational entertainment executives alike.
Here’s director Ron Howard’s take on the subject of documentaries in an interview with Lizzie Hyman for People that appeared online on March 29, 2025, in “Ron Howard Reveals The One Thing That Would Compel Him to Return to Acting.”
“In the last decade, I’ve begun working on documentaries as well as scripted films, and I really love both,” Howard said. “I think both disciplines are kind of informing each other in interesting ways, and it’s stimulating some growth for me creatively, which is exciting at this point in my life. There are so many stories and ideas, a taste shift, a sensibility shift, that puts different kinds of focus on storylines and styles of storytelling in cinema.”
Disney’s global team leader of studio productions, Jay Heiskell, who is based in Midtown Atlanta, says he is noticing a cross-pollination of documentary and scripted film as well.
In a March 2025 interview with Heiskell, we learned that documentaries are most definitely prominent in Disney’s picture.
“Disney owns ESPN, and they’ve realized that documentaries and [the]docuseries are very interesting to people. They want to see stories behind the velvet rope of these athletes,” Heiskell says in the case of ESPN. “Knowing people’s backgrounds came into focus during the pandemic, and people wanted to know the backend. At ESPN, we’ll see more of these productions coming into play.”
He adds, “This is a sports-driven city.”
Nat Geo is another Disney network that’s embracing the combination of docuseries and scripted film that Howard noted to People. “Nat Geo is heavily producing and cross-pollinating,” Heiskell said. “If you’re watching Nat Geo—and all platforms–you’ll see this intertwining of Disney content.”
Of special importance to Georgia, Heiskell adds, “There’s an opportunity to see an increase in those types of docuseries filming in Atlanta and other areas. There are a lot of projects coming through that are greenlit.”
When did this movement—that’s apparently now upon us—come into focus?
“I think we’re going back to the grassroots of it, during a time when studios were trying to figure out content and push it out,” Heiskell says. “Sometimes the focus is less is more, and Disney has realized that. Hone in on what your fanbase and viewership wants to see. Those are the franchises and or series that really hit home to the viewership. Sometimes, when you fork off the road too many times, it gets lost in translation.”
With streaming and all the options now, it can be overwhelming for viewers, Heiskell finds.
“Before, you could go to a coffee shop or lunch with friends and talk about the same topic of a show. But now with streaming and algorithms—yours may be different than mine,” he says. “There are pages and pages of menus to see and what to watch. It’s exhausting.”
This is why Disney’s choices in content production and format are intentional and closely based on the proven content preferences of its viewership, Heiskell notes. And these days, it includes a mix of documentaries and docuseries with scripted content.
“You want to be a part of the change,” he says. “Disney does.”
Good news for Atlanta and Georgia overall: locally based executives like Heiskell are hyper-tuned to what’s happening in the city, meaning Disney is as well.
“It makes my job easier to stay in tune and know what’s going on, boots on the ground. When things are going well in the city, it’s a lot easier to put a production here,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Heiskell hints that Disney has three active studio productions filming in Georgia through August, and Howard executive produced a three-part documentary—filmed in various cities–alongside Derek Jeter. That docuseries, Fight for Glory: 2024 World Series, is currently out on Apple TV+.
Image by Juan Manuel on Unsplash.
