BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2026: Outstanding Directing of a Limited/Anthology Series

Today's award is Outstanding Directing of a Limited/Anthology Series!

Past Awards in This Category: 2025   2024   2023   2022   2021   2020

This year's nominees are...














ALEXANDRA BRODSKI, Half Man "Episode 2" (HBO)
ANTHONY HEMINGWAY, Love Story "Search and Recovery" (FX)
GILLIAN ROBESPIERRE, Love Story "The Wedding" (FX)
MATT ROSS, Death By Lightning
JAKE SZYMANSKI, Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat (Prime Video)
LEE SUNG JIN, Beef "Oh the Comfort, the Inexpressable Comfort" (Netflix)

And the Winner Is...
JAKE SZYMANSKI
Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat (Prime Video)
There might not be a show I've been more impressed with in recent memory than Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat. First of all, it's impressive enough that they made it all work again with an equally or more compelling "hero." But to do it in a less-controlled environment where a lot more could go wrong really was something to behold. I credit the director for the entire season, Jake Szymanski, for all the coordinating that was required to make this huge undertaking work but then also framing the episodes in appropriate ways to make it optimal for the viewer. And now I'm so excited to see them do it again.

Thoughts on the Rest of the Nominees:
Overall, I don't think this was one of the stronger categories. The closest competitor to Jury Duty was the hospital episode of Beef that was really thrilling and uniquely filmed. The pacing of Half Man was all over the place but I thought the second episode, with a big reveal at the end, was the best in terms of pacing. The two episodes of Love Story - the wedding and the finale both effectively evoked major moments for the show effectively. And finally, Death by Lightning did a great job with both pacing and setting us in their 1880s world, which is a testament to the director among others.

Tomorrow: Outstanding Directing of a Drama Series!

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