Chris Hansen, former “Dateline NBC” personality and current host of “Takedown with Chris Hansen,” will host CrimeCon’s 2026 Clue Awards. The annual event, held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 30, as part of the three-day CrimeCon convention, celebrates true crime content in television, film, podcasts and publishing.
Crimecon announced the nominees for this year’s Crew Award on Thursday, also revealing that Jeffrey Epstein survivors Jenna-Lisa Jones, Haley Robson and Courtney Wilde will receive this year’s Crimefighter of the Year honor. Jones, Robson and Wilde have also been recognized for their work with The Survivors, Inc., which focuses on supporting victims of sexual assault.
Crew Awards also announced the 2026 finalists for Law & Crime’s “America’s Greatest Detective” award. Tara Augustine and Alison Dupuis, Montgomery County, Maryland PD detectives who helped solve the Leslie Prior cold case; Retired Las Vegas Metro PD Sergeant Jen Benjamins founded Covert Blue LLC, a law enforcement training company. Sergeant with the Richland County Sheriff’s Office, South Carolina. Vicki Rains Pearson recently appeared in the Netflix documentary Missing: Dead or Alive.
Crew Award presenters include “On Patrol: Live” analyst Tom Rizzo, “CSI” creator Anthony Zuiker and crime scene investigator Sheryl McCallum.
Past Crime Fighter of the Year honorees include the Black and Missing Foundation, the Gabby Petite Foundation, “America’s Most Wanted” creator and NCMEC co-founder John Walsh, the families of Abigail Williams and Liberty German, and Lt. Gov. Jerry Holman and Prosecutor Nicholas McClelland.
here it is. 2026 Clue Award Nominees:
TV: great documentary series
‘Death Cap: The Mushroom Murders’ (Stan, CNN, Netflix UK) Dream Chaser, Mars Nest and Season 5 ‘Girl on the Run: America’s Most Wanted’ (Hulu) Plum Pictures and ABC News Studios ‘Death of the Showjumper’ (Sky) Walk on Air Films and Sky Studios ‘Amy Bradley Is Missing’ (Netflix) Ample Entertainment ‘Betrayal: Right Under His Eyes’ (Hulu) ABC News Studio and Glass Entertainment Group
TV: Great episodic series
“Feds” (Investigation Discovery) Orit Entertainment and October Films “Desert Law” (A&E Network) Twenty Twenty Productions “24-Hour Police Custody: Murder is No Game” (Channel 4) The Garden Productions “On the Case with Paula Zahn” (Investigation Discovery) Scott Sternberg Productions, Inc. and Weinberger Media “The Death Investigator with Barbara Butcher” (Oxygen True Crime) Wolf Entertainment, Alfred Street Industries and Universal Television Alternative Studios, a division of Universal Studios Group.
Television: Great Scripted Series
“Dark Winds” (AMC) AMC Studios “Paradise” (Hulu) 20th TV “Reasonable Doubt” (Hulu) 20th TV and Onyx Collective “RJ Decker” (ABC) 20th TV “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu) 20th TV
Podcasts: great documentary series
“Burden of Guilt” Glass Podcasts in partnership with iHeart Podcasts “Hunting the Bogeyman” Perfect Cadence “Blood is Thicker: The Farris Wheel” 48hours (CBS News) “Shipwreck” Audible and Sugar23 “Betrayal” Glass Podcasts in partnership with iHeart Podcasts
Podcasts: Great Episode Series
“48 Hours: Afterlife” 48 Hours (CBS News) “True Crime Recap” Jellis Mack and Trend’s “Lawless Planet” Audible “One Minute Left” Mashed Pumpkin Productions PTY LTD “Mind Over Murder” Another Dog Productions and Absolute Zero Productions
excellent documentary film
“My Father, BTK Killer” (Netflix) Campfire Studios “Night in West Texas” (Theatrical) Monster Myths, Naked Edge Films, Texas Monthly “Prince Andrew: On Trial” (Channel 5/True Royalty) Good TV “Unknown Number: High School Catfish” (Netflix) Campfire Studios in partnership with Terminal B TV ‘Ruby Red Handed: Stealing a Pair of America’s Most Famous Shoes’ (Hulu) Film Commission in Partnership with ABC News Studios
true crime book of the year
Something Big: The True Story of the Brown’s Chicken Massacre (Post Hill Press) Expert Witness by Patrick Wall (Grand Central Publishing) Out of the Woods by Dr. Ann Walbert Burgess (Thomas & Mercer, an imprint of Amazon Publishing) Injustice Town by Greg Olsen (Pegasus Books) Chasing Down by Rick Tarski The Zombie Hunter” (Pegasus Books) Written by Troy Hillman
People’s Choice: Creator of the Year
Annie Ellis (SERIALously, 10 to LIFE) Nancy Grace’s Crime Stories – Nancy Grace Crime Weekly – Stephanie Harlow, Derrick Levasseur Courtroom Secrecy – Joshua Ritter Prosecutor – Alice LaCour, Brett Talley
