# Maclain Way

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

Maclain received the [Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series](/source/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](/source/Ventura_County,_California). He attended [UCLA](/source/UCLA), where he studied history and documentary film.[8] He is a grandson of actor [Bing Russell](/source/Bing_Russell) and nephew of actor [Kurt Russell](/source/Kurt_Russell).[9]

## Career

### *The Battered Bastards of Baseball*

In 2014, Maclain directed and produced the documentary, *[The Battered Bastards of Baseball](/source/The_Battered_Bastards_of_Baseball)*, which told the story of the Portland Mavericks, along with his brother [Chapman Way](/source/Chapman_Way).[10] The film premiered at the [2014 Sundance Film Festival](/source/2014_Sundance_Film_Festival), where it was acquired and later released by [Netflix](/source/Netflix) as one of their first original documentary films.[11] The documentary received the [Tribeca Film Institute](/source/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](/source/Netflix) documentary series, *[Wild Wild Country](/source/Wild_Wild_Country)*.[13] The series told the story of [Rajneeshpuram](/source/Rajneeshpuram), a utopian city built in the [Oregon](/source/Oregon) desert by the followers of [Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh](/source/Rajneesh).[14] The series premiered at the [2018 Sundance Film Festival](/source/2018_Sundance_Film_Festival), where the entire seven-hour series was screened for audiences.[15] The series was nominated for five [Primetime Emmy Awards](/source/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](/source/Netflix) sports series *[Untold](/source/Untold_(Netflix))*, which has featured documentaries on [Malice at the Palace](/source/Malice_at_the_Palace), [Danbury Trashers](/source/Danbury_Trashers), [Christy Martin](/source/Christy_Martin), [Johnny Manziel](/source/Johnny_Manziel), [Steve McNair](/source/Steve_McNair), [Mardy Fish](/source/Mardy_Fish), [Manti Teʻo](/source/Manti_Te%CA%BBo), [And1](/source/AND1), [Hope Solo](/source/Hope_Solo), and the [1983 America’s Cup](/source/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](/source/45th_Sports_Emmy_Awards) and [46th Sports Emmys](/source/46th_Sports_Emmy_Awards).[18]

### *The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga*

In 2024, Maclain produced and co-directed the three-part [Netflix](/source/Netflix) series, *[The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga](/source/The_Kings_of_Tupelo:_A_Southern_Crime_Saga)*.[19] The documentary told the events of the [2013 Ricin Letters](/source/April_2013_ricin_letters), when an [Elvis impersonator](/source/Elvis_impersonator) was framed for sending toxic letters to President [Barack Obama](/source/Barack_Obama), Senator [Roger Wicker](/source/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](/source/Netflix) documentary series for [Skydance Media](/source/Skydance_Media) and [NFL Films](/source/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](/source/Jerry_Jones), the owner of the [Dallas Cowboys](/source/Dallas_Cowboys), and the team’s rise in the 1990s.[22] *[America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys](/source/America's_Team:_The_Gambler_and_His_Cowboys)* premiered in [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles) at the [Egyptian Theater](/source/Grauman's_Egyptian_Theatre), and was later released on Netflix.[23] The series features interviews with [Jerry Jones](/source/Jerry_Jones), along with President [George W. Bush](/source/George_W._Bush), [Phil Knight](/source/Phil_Knight), [Troy Aikman](/source/Troy_Aikman), [Emmitt Smith](/source/Emmitt_Smith), [Michael Irvin](/source/Michael_Irvin), [Deion Sanders](/source/Deion_Sanders), [Jimmy Johnson](/source/Jimmy_Johnson_(American_football_coach)), [Steve Young](/source/Steve_Young), [Jerry Rice](/source/Jerry_Rice) and [Rupert Murdoch](/source/Rupert_Murdoch).[24]

### Other Work

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

## Filmography

Year Title Contribution Note 2025 America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys Director and Executive producer Documentary series 2024 The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga Director and Executive producer Documentary series 2022 Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist Executive Producer Documentary 2022 Untold: The Rise and Fall of And1 Executive Producer Documentary 2022 Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul Executive Producer Documentary 2022 Untold: The Race of the Century Director and producer Documentary 2021 Untold: Crimes & Penalties Director and producer Documentary 2021 Untold: Caitlyn Jenner Executive Producer Documentary 2021 Untold: Deal with the Devil Executive Producer Documentary 2021 Untold: Breaking Point Director and producer Documentary 2021 Untold: Malice at the Palace Executive Producer Documentary 2018 Wild Wild Country Director, sound mixer and producer Documentary series 2016 The New Yorker Presents Director and producer 1 episode 2014 The Battered Bastards of Baseball Director and producer Documentary

## Awards and nominations

Year Result Award Category Work Ref. 2018 Won 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 2019 Nominated Cinema Eye Honors Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Series for Broadcast [29] 2022 Nominated International Documentary Association Best Episodic Series Untold [30] Nominated PromaxBDA Awards Documentary: Program Campaign 2024 Nominated Cinema Eye Honors Outstanding Achievement in Anthology Series [31] 2025 Nominated Sports Emmy Awards Outstanding Long Sports Documentary The Lionheart [32] Nominated Outstanding Documentary

## References

1. ["Maclain Way"](https://www.tfiny.org/filmmakers/detail/maclain_way). *tfiny.org*. Retrieved 2021-09-01.

1. ["Tell Your Truth: Chapman & Maclain Way on Wild Wild Country"](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/tell-your-truth-chapman-and-maclain-way-on-wild-wild-country). *rogerebert.com*. Retrieved 2021-09-01.

1. ["Untold creators reveal why they wanted to make a sports docu-series after Wild Wild Country"](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/documentaries/untold-creator-sports-documentary-wild-wild-country-exclusive/). *radiotimes.com*. Retrieved 2021-09-01.

1. ["Chapman and Maclain Way on Osho docu-series Wild Wild Country: We wanted to make this an immersive experience"](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/wild-wild-country-rajneeshpuram-netflix-director-interview-5116438/). *indianexpress.com*. 30 March 2018. Retrieved 2021-09-01.

1. ["‘The Kings of Tupelo’ Directors on Weaving a Tale of Elvis Impersonators, Black Market Conspiracy Theories and War Crimes Into One Docuseries"](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/the-kings-of-tupelo-thr-frontrunner-1236079097/). *hollywoodreporter.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["‘America’s Team’ Directors on Filming the ’90s Cowboys Doc and Comparisons to ‘The Last Dance’"](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/americas-team-directors-90s-cowboys-the-last-dance-1236342558/). *hollywoodreporter.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["2018 Creative Arts Emmys: The Complete List of Night 2 Winners"](https://www.thewrap.com/2018-creative-arts-emmys-the-complete-list-of-night-2-winners-updating-live/). *thewrap.com*. 9 September 2018. Retrieved 2021-09-01.

1. ["THE WAY BROTHERS"](https://www.rattlingstick.com/directors/the-way-brothers/). *rattlingstick.com*. Retrieved 2021-09-01.

1. ["Bing Russell's grandsons explore his 'Battered Bastards of Baseball'"](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-battered-bastards-baseball-directors-20140708-story.html). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. 8 July 2014. Retrieved 2021-09-01.

1. ["Sundance Review: Baseball Maven (And Kurt Russell’s Dad) Bing Russell Saluted By His Grandsons In ‘The Battered Bastards of Baseball’"](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/sundance-review-baseball-maven-and-kurt-russells-dad-bing-russell-saluted-by-his-grandsons-in-the-battered-bastards-of-baseball-30924/). *indiewire.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["'The Battered Bastards of Baseball,' documentary about wild and crazy Portland Mavericks, releases first trailer"](https://www.oregonlive.com/books/2014/06/the_battered_bastards_of_baseb.html). *oregonlive.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["'Battered Bastards of Baseball' Is Now Streaming On Netflix"](https://tribecafilm.com/news/battered-bastards-of-baseball-netflix). *tribecafilm.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["How the Makers of Wild Wild Country Think About the Heroes and Villains of Their Story"](https://time.com/5238200/wild-wild-country-netflix-way-brothers/). *time.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["‘Wild Wild Country’: Is Subject of Netflix Doc Really a ‘Sex Cult’?"](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/wild-wild-country-is-subject-of-netflix-doc-really-a-sex-cult-629072/). *rollingstone.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["‘Wild Wild Country’: TV Review - Sundance 2018"](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/wild-wild-country-review-1078240/). *hollywoodreporter.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["Wild Wild Country"](https://www.televisionacademy.com/shows/wild-wild-country). *televisionacademy.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["Netflix’s Untold Takes A Granular Look At Controversial Moments In Sports"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/nashasmith/2021/08/10/netflixs-untold-takes-a-granular-look-at-controversial-moments-in-sports/). *forbes.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["45th Sports Emmy Awards"](https://theemmys.tv/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/sports-45th-nominations.pdf). *theemmys.tv*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["An Elvis Impersonator, A Presidential Assassination Attempt & Lots Of Conspiracies: Chapman & Maclain Way Unpack Netflix Docuseries ‘The Kings of Tupelo’"](https://deadline.com/2024/12/netflix-the-kings-of-tupelo-chapman-maclain-way-interview-1236199135/). *deadline.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["The king of rock ‘n’ roll, a severed head and a small-town scandal"](https://www.wpr.org/culture/maclain-chapman-way-kings-tupelo-elvis-netflix-beta). *wpr.org*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["Netflix Huddles Up With Dallas Cowboys Docuseries"](https://deadline.com/2024/05/netflix-dallas-cowboys-docuseries-1235917875/). *deadline.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["Netflix Acquires Rights to Jerry Jones Documentary Series, per Report"](https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/07/03/netflix-jerry-jones-documentary-series-report). *si.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["Cowboys’ flashy Netflix premiere was a taste of the 90s with a dash of Micah Parsons drama"](https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/cowboys/2025/08/11/dallas-cowboys-netflix-docuseries-premiere-jerry-jones-michael-irvin-emmitt-smith-micah-parsons/). *dallasnews.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["The Dallas Cowboys Always Win the Battle for Attention"](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/arts/television/dallas-cowboys-americas-team-netflix.html). *nytimes.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["The 46th Annual Emmys Announce Documentary Winners"](https://www.awardsdaily.com/2025/06/27/the-46th-annual-emmys-announce-documentary-winners/). *awardsdaily.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["The 46th Annual Sports Emmy Nominees"](https://theemmys.tv/sports-46th-nominations-gallery/). *theemmys.tv*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["34th Annual IDA Documentary Awards Honorees"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190103004815/https://www.documentary.org/awards2018). *documentary.org*. Archived from [the original](https://www.documentary.org/awards2018) on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2021-09-01.

1. ["Awards & Nominations"](https://www.emmys.com/bios/Maclain-way). *emmys.com*. Retrieved 2021-09-01.

1. ["Here are all the Nominees for the 12th Annual Cinema Eye Honors"](https://cinemaeyehonors.com/press/here-are-all-the-nominees-for-the-12th-annual-cinema-eye-honors/). *cinemaeyehonors.com*. Retrieved 2021-09-01.

1. ["Nominees Revealed for the 37th Annual IDA Documentary Awards"](https://www.documentary.org/press-release/nominees-revealed-37th-annual-ida-documentary-awards)

1. ["The Nominees for the 17th Annual Cinema Eye Honors"](https://cinemaeyehonors.com/news/the-nominees-for-the-17th-annual-cinema-eye-honors/). *cinemaeyehonors.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

1. ["Sports Emmys Nominations Revealed"](https://deadline.com/2025/04/2025-sports-emmys-nominations-list-1236363129/). *deadline.com*. Retrieved 2025-09-10.

## External links

- [Maclain Way](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6195256/) at IMDb

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Maclain Way](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclain_Way) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclain_Way?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.