Maclain Way

Maclain was born and raised in Ventura County, California. He attended UCLA, where he studied history and documentary film.^[8] He is a grandson of actor Bing Russell and nephew of actor Kurt Russell.^[9]

In 2014, Maclain directed and produced the documentary, The Battered Bastards of Baseball, which told the story of the Portland Mavericks, along with his brother Chapman Way.^[10] The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, where it was acquired and later released by Netflix as one of their first original documentary films.^[11] The documentary received the Tribeca Film Institute/ESPN prize for a documentary that “changes the way people think about sports.”^[12]

In 2018, Maclain co-directed the six-part Netflix documentary series, Wild Wild Country.^[13] The series told the story of Rajneeshpuram, a utopian city built in the Oregon desert by the followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.^[14] The series premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, where the entire seven-hour series was screened for audiences.^[15] The series was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Directing for a Documentary, winning the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.^[16]

In 2021, Maclain co-created the Netflix sports series Untold, which has featured documentaries on Malice at the Palace, Danbury Trashers, Christy Martin, Johnny Manziel, Steve McNair, Mardy Fish, Manti Teʻo, And1, Hope Solo, and the 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 and 46th Sports Emmys.^[18]

In 2024, Maclain produced and co-directed the three-part Netflix series, The Kings of Tupelo: A Southern Crime Saga.^[19] The documentary told the events of the 2013 Ricin Letters, when an Elvis impersonator was framed for sending toxic letters to President Barack Obama, Senator Roger Wicker, and a local judge.^[20]

In May of 2024, it was reported that Maclain was co-directing an 8-part Netflix documentary series for Skydance Media and 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, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, and the team’s rise in the 1990s.^[22] America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys premiered in Los Angeles at the Egyptian Theater, and was later released on Netflix.^[23] The series features interviews with Jerry Jones, along with President George W. Bush, Phil Knight, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Jimmy Johnson, Steve Young, Jerry Rice and Rupert Murdoch.^[24]

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