MIAMI, FL — South Florida PBS (WPBT & WXEL) is honored to announce twenty-four 2026 National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Suncoast Chapter Regional EMMY® Award nominations for programs produced by South Florida PBS staff and partners. Winners will be announced at the Annual Suncoast Regional EMMY® 50th Anniversary Awards Gala on Saturday, December 5, 2026, at The Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, FL.
“Every nomination represents a story that connects us more deeply to the communities we serve,” said South Florida PBS President & CEO Dolores Fernandez Alonso. “We celebrate our staff and production partners for the care, creativity, and commitment they bring to their work, and we thank our viewers and supporters for making these stories possible.”
The Suncoast Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is the standard-bearer for excellence in the television industry and the gatekeeper of the prestigious regional EMMY® Awards in the Suncoast Region. The Suncoast Chapter represents the best and brightest television and media professionals from all disciplines of the industry and from all the Suncoast region’s television markets.
Nominations for South Florida PBS Original Productions:
MAGAZINE PROGRAM – SINGLE PROGRAM
On The Town in The Palm Beaches “Soundtrack of The Palm Beaches”
Sally Lewis Heims, Nicole Malanga, Frank Licari, Luis Marrou, Yoandy Vidal, James Jefferys
ART/ENTERTAINMENT – SHORT FORM CONTENT
Art Loft’s “Kandy G. Lopez Painting with Fiber”
Melissa Harmon
Art Loft’s “Francois Piacente: Miniature Artist”
Melissa Harmon
CHILDREN (12 AND UNDER) – SHORT FORM CONTENT
KidVision Space Adventures “Living in Space”
Penny Bernath, Jill Nadler, Vanessa Gonzalez, Jose Del Rio, Matthew Grand
CHILDREN (12 AND UNDER) – LONG FORM CONTENT
KidVision Mission “Senses and Food in Space”
Penny Bernath, Jill Nadler, Vanessa Gonzalez
ENVIRONMENT/SCIENCE – LONG FORM CONTENT
Changing Seas “Getting Sharked: Search for Solutions”
Alexa Elliott, Sean Hickey, Luis Marrou, Javier Castro
Changing Seas “The Seals of Sable Island”
Alexa Elliott, Hope Smith, Luis Marrou, Yoandy Vidal
The Everglades: A Symphony of Life
Joyce Belloise, Christopher Slater
Changing Seas “Puerto Rico: Resilience and Action”
Liz Smith
LIFESTYLE – LONG FORM CONTENT
Rooted in Florida “Your Vegetable Garden Guide”
Jacquelyn Hurtado, Jeannie Schmidle
Rooted in Florida “Identifying Invasive Plants”
Jacquelyn Hurtado, Jeannie Schmidle, Yoandy Vidal, Osmani Tellez, Richard Berea
MILITARY – LONG FORM CONTENT
Breaking Ice
Dennis Scholl, Mary Ellen Scherl
CONTENT SHORTS
Star Gazers “What If”
Emily Swift, Jacquelyn Hurtado, Trace Dominguez
WRITER – LONG FORM CONTENT
Changing Seas “The Seals of Sable Island”
Alexa Elliott
Changing Seas “Engineering the Power of Waves”
Liz Smith
EDITOR – LONG FORM CONTENT
Changing Seas “Engineering the Power of Waves”
Sean Hickey
Changing Seas “The Seals of Sable Island”
Sean Hickey
MUSICAL COMPOSITION/ARRANGEMENT
Four Seasons for the Five Senses
Samuel Hyken
Nominations for South Florida PBS Partner Productions:
ENVIRONMENT/SCIENCE – LONG FORM CONTENT
Guardians of the Blue with Maddy Molina
Coral of Life Foundation
Maddison Molina, Enelia Gonzalez
DIRECTOR – LONG FORM CONTENT
Guardians of the Blue with Maddy Molina
Coral of Life Foundation
Maddison Molina
PHOTOGRAPHER – LONG FORM CONTENT
Walking My Sister Home
Kaplan Multimedia, Inc.
Joel Kaplan
WRITER-SHORT FORM CONTENT
Ana y La Distancia
Coneme
Robert Colom-Vargas
Hansel Porras Garcia
DIRECTOR-SHORT FORM CONTENT
Ana y La Distancia
Coneme
Hansel Porras Garcia
PHOTOGRAPHER – LONG FORM CONTENT
Under the Mango Tree
Midnight Monochrome Pictures
Symone Titania Major
ABOUT SUNCOAST CHAPTER OF NATAS:
The Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is a nonprofit Florida corporation dedicated to excellence in television. We offer annual Regional EMMY® Awards called The Suncoast Regional EMMY® Awards to television markets in the entire State of Florida, Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles and New Orleans, Louisiana, Mobile, Alabama, Thomasville, Georgia and Puerto Rico.
ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA PBS:
South Florida PBS is Florida’s largest public media company, including Public Broadcasting stations WXEL-TV, serving the Palm Beaches and the Treasure Coast and WPBT2, serving Miami-Dade and Broward counties, and the Health Channel, the only 24/7 channel dedicated to health in the nation. South Florida PBS connects organizations and institutions across our region and preserves South Florida's history. Leading the way in this global society, South Florida PBS is committed to creating and presenting award-winning programs focused on kids, education, arts and culture, health, environment, science, and civic engagement.
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