Adam Hawkins Appointed Advisory Chair Of Edinburgh TV Festival 2026

The Edinburgh TV Festival has announced Adam Hawkins as its Advisory Chair for 2026.

Hawkins, Director of Documentary Series at Netflix, will work closely with the Festival team to shape the programme and oversee the creative direction of this year's event.

He succeeds a line of previous Advisory Chairs including Patrick Holland, Georgia Brown, Afua Hirsch, Kiran Natajara, Harjeet Chhokar and 2025 chair Jane Tranter.
The appointment comes at a time of significant change across the global television industry. Building on the Festival’s 2025 themes, Hawkins will help develop a programme focused on renewal and opportunity, while showcasing standout work from the past year and examining how television continues to reflect and influence society.
Tickets for the 2026 Festival go on sale today, 4 February, with 100 super early bird passes available on a first come, first served basis. The Festival will again offer Impact bursaries and discounted rates for freelancers, alongside new special rates for some passes for companies signed up to the Impact Unit’s Class Confident Actions, supporting the Festival’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion.

Hawkins joined Netflix in January 2022 to lead Documentary Series in the UK. His commissions at the streamer include American Nightmare, Victoria Beckham, Amy Bradley Is Missing, Robbie Williams, MH370, Attack On London: Hunting the 7/7 Bombers, WWII: From The Frontlines, Fred & Rose West: A British Horror Story, and forthcoming titles including Kylie Minogue, Being Gordon Ramsay and The Rest Is Football.

Before Netflix, Hawkins was Creative Director at Raw, where he developed and sold factual programming including The Tinder Swindler for Netflix and The Kennedys for CNN. During his time at Raw, he also executive produced the feature documentary Three Identical Strangers and multiple Netflix series, including Don’t F**k With Cats and Fear City. His work on Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy earned him two Emmys, a Critics Choice Award and a PGA Award.

Hawkins has previously held roles at Endemol, RDF, Talkback and Zig Zag, and has developed programmes for broadcasters and platforms including the BBC, Channel 4, ITV, Channel 5, TNT, ESPN, A&E, Discovery, TLC, History, National Geographic, Showtime and Disney+.

Hawkins said: "Edinburgh TV Festival has always been the best place for the TV industry to celebrate successes and take stock of challenges. This year’s Festival comes at a moment of real and fundamental change in the landscape and is at precisely at this point when the most exciting opportunities present themselves.

"Viewers still love television (in all its ever-increasing forms) and the UK industry is still world-beating. I hope this year's Festival will provoke debate, inspire renewal and provide some guiding lights through this time of change."