Easterseals DARCYS Nominees Announced

Easterseals Disability Services and Film Independent announced Tina Friml as host of the inaugural Easterseals Disability Arts & Culture Awards (The DARCYS) and revealed Geri Jewell as the first Legacy Award honoree. The awards will recognize 2026 nominees in nine competitive categories and celebrate authentic disability representation in film, television and social media.

Host and Legacy Honoree

Tina Friml, a stand-up comedian born with cerebral palsy, will bring her sharp comedic perspective to the ceremony. She has performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Comedy Central’s Stand-Up Featuring, and Don’t Tell Comedy. Friml was a 2019 New Face at the Just for Laughs Festival and has sold-out audiences nationwide.

Geri Jewell will receive the inaugural DARCYS Legacy Award. Jewell began her career as a stand-up comedian at The Comedy Store in 1978 and later became the first person with a disability to have a regular role on a primetime television series when Norman Lear cast her as Cousin Geri on The Facts of Life. She has appeared in Deadwood, Sesame Street, 21 Jump Street, The Young and the Restless, Strong Medicine and Alcatraz. Jewell authored I’m Walking as Straight as I Can, which earned the 2012 Gold Award from Independent Publishers, and in 2026 released Geri’s Jewels & Gems, a collection of her columns for Ability Magazine.

Nominees Across Nine Categories

The DARCYS nominations cover nine competitive categories. The nominees are:

**Best Feature**

• Color Book - Director/Writer/Producer: David Fortune; Producers: Autumn Bailey-Ford, Kiah Clingman, Kristen Uno; Featured Talent: Jeremiah Daniels
• Espina - Director/Writer/Producer: Daniel Poler; Producers: Jorge Abarca, Paulina Mondragón, Gloria Ortega, Ari Tan, Frida Torresblanco; Featured Talent: Jonathan Benaim
• Horsegirls - Director/Writer: Lauren Meyering; Writer/Producer: Mackenzie Breeden; Producers: Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Michael Sherman; Featured Talent: Lillian Carrier, Matthew Schwab

**Best Performance in a Feature**

• Autumn Best - BRB
• Aidan Delbis - Bugonia
• Anna Sargent - Take Me Home

**Best Documentary**

• The Haunting of Pennhurst - Directors/Producers: Mike Attie, Katarina Poljak, Nathan R. Stenberg; Producer: Daniel J. Chalfen
• The Ride Ahead - Director/Producer: Dan Habib; Director: Samuel Habib
• You Look Fine - Director/Producer: J. Snow

**Best Scripted Series**

• All Her Fault - Creator/Executive Producer: Megan Gallagher; Executive Producers: Jennifer Gabler Rawlings, Nigel Marchant, Gareth Neame, Christine Sacani, Sarah Snook, Minkie Spiro, Joanna Strevens; Featured Talent: Daniel Monks
• The Pitt - Creator/Executive Producer: R. Scott Gemmill; Executive Producers: Simran Baidwan, Michael Hissrich, Erin Jontow, Joe Sachs, John Wells, Noah Wyle; Featured Talent: Tal Anderson, Jessica “Limer” Flores, Victoria Mack, Christopher Thornton
• Pulse - Creator/Executive Producer: Zoe Robyn; Executive Producers: Carlton Cuse, Emma Forman, Bradley Gardner, Michael Klick; Co-Executive Producers: Shepard Boucher, Ann Cherkis, Helen Childress, Johanna Lee, Joshua Troke; Featured Talent: Jessy Yates

**Best Performance in a Scripted Series**

• Liz Carr - Good Omens
• Daniel Monks - All Her Fault
• Jessy Yates - Pulse

**Best Unscripted Series**

• Jay & Pamela - Executive Producers: Julie Insogna-Jarrett, Seth Jarrett, Chaney Moon, David St. John; Co-Executive Producers: Rahel Tennione, Carrie Vandiver Skor
• Love on the Spectrum - Creator/Executive Producer: Karina Holden, Cian O’Clery
• Renegades - Creator: Day Al-Mohamed; Series Producer: Amanda Upson; Executive Producers: Michael Kantor, Carrie Lozano, Charlotte Mangin

**Best Achievement in Casting Ensemble**

• The Pitt - Creator/Executive Producer: R. Scott Gemmill; Casting Directors: Erica Berger, Cathy Sandrich Gelfond; Featured Ensemble Cast: Tal Anderson, Jessica “Limer” Flores, Diana Elizabeth Jordan, Victoria Mack, Christopher Thornton

**Christopher Reeve Emerging Talent Award**

• Vincent Rutley - Actor, Disability Influencer, Author (includes a $5,000 cash grant from the Christopher Reeve Foundation)

**Best Social Creator**

• Molly Burke - @MollyBurkeOfficial
• Cassidy Huff - @CassHuff
• The Squeaky Wheel - @thesqkywheel

For a full list of nominees, see our stats page.

Ceremony Details and Production

The inaugural DARCYS awards ceremony will take place on Saturday, Oct. 10, at The Historic Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. It will be broadcast on PBS SoCal, with rebroadcasts on PBS stations nationwide (date TBD). The event is co-produced by Film Independent Spirit Awards’ Executive Producers Shawn Davis and Andrew Schaff, in collaboration with Live Digital Entertainment Executive Producer Eddie Delbridge.

Mark Whitley, President & CEO of Easterseals Southern California, said the launch of The DARCYS celebrates talent reshaping disability representation. Davis echoed enthusiasm for the nominees’ impact on the industry and praised Friml’s fresh, fearless humor. The ceremony will feature a Disability Advisory Committee led by co-chairs Emily Ladau and Nicole Lynn Evans, with members including Jamie Brewer.

Check our fixtures page for the event schedule.