The Results Are In! A Different Breed Season 1 Earns Three Wins at the 2026 Daytime Emmy’s.

Purina Farms and Purina Film have plenty to celebrate! The popular first season of the docuseries took home three Emmy’s at the 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy’s.

The show’s premise highlights the unique bond between an owner and their pet.

The series took home wins for “Outstanding Lifestyle Program,” “Outstanding Editing for a Daytime Non- Studio Program,” and “Outstanding Directing for a Daytime Non- Studio Non-Fiction Series.”

Brought to life by a Missouri production company, A Different Breed is a new Purina docuseries celebrating human/animal companionship through the unique lens of a highly regarded dog sports competition, “The Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge.”  

Streaming on Prime Video, the show follows 18 domestic and international teams and their journey to the Incredible Dog Challenge National Finals, an event that has drawn the world’s best canine athletes to Purina Farms in Gray Summit, Missouri for more than 30 years.

To build that story, a Missouri crew captured regional competition events in Florida and California, and then the lucky few who managed to qualify for the National Finals in Missouri.

Along the way, the crew met contestants in their homes, visiting 20 different cities to showcase the training and passion that goes into dog sports at the highest level.

 This isn’t just a hobby —competitors own up to 18 dogs and build their entire lives around earning ribbons and trophies.  

The success of the first season has earned the series three Daytime Emmy Award nominations, being recognized for Outstanding Lifestyle Program, Outstanding Editing and Outstanding Directing.

The Missouri Film Office had the pleasure of speaking with some of the Missouri crew that were involved with the project.

InkBlot Narratives is a St. Louis-based company that specializes in producing documentary films and brand narratives, with headquarters located in Maplewood, MO.

Erik Becker served as Co-Director, Editor, and Executive Producer of A Different Breed. Becker co-founded InkBlot alongside Aaron Bowden, a Co-Director, Story Editor, and Executive Producer on the project.

Becker and Bowden became involved with the project through their production company in the summer of 2023, when the idea of developing the docuseries first began to take shape.

“We learned that our friend and former production colleague Michelle Senay had gotten a job with Purina’s Partnership Marketing team,” Bowden explained.

“Over lunch, Michelle told us that Purina was kicking around the idea of doing a documentary series set within the world of The Incredible Dog Challenge.”

Joining the project was a no brainer for Bowden, who highlights that collaboration is his favorite part of every unscripted series he’s worked on.

“Coming from a writing background, there’s nothing that makes you feel more miserable and alone than staring at a blank page. In filmmaking, you get to share the telling of a story with a group of people who have varied skillsets and what can feel miserable to do alone becomes inspiring.”

Capturing these stories at their source was a major aspect of the series’ authenticity. “I got to spend the better part of a year traveling all over the country (and Canada!) with some of my best colleague/friends and getting to meet some [of] the most impressive people and animals we’ve ever captured on camera.”

Bowden continues, “Co-directing this series was an opportunity to flex 30 years of experience as an interviewer and almost 25 as a TV storyteller.”

The dedication to bringing such a project to life was also left to the execution of Kaylee Kuhlman, who served as the project’s coordinating producer.

“Stepping into a production manager role for the first time and proving to myself and the rest of the team that I could do the job. It was a bit of a trial-by-fire learning experience at times, but getting through it and realizing I was capable of doing something that had been outside my comfort zone was incredibly rewarding.”

Thousands of hours of footage shot over 38 days in 20 cities went into A Different Breed’s nine episodes.

“The footage we shot over just the first four days was so compelling that what was initially intended to be a one-hour long pilot turned into three episodes. It was clear this was an idea that could easily sustain a docuseries full of stories about the special bond between people and their pets,” says Becker.

With support from Purina’s leadership team, the series began to take shape. “The first time I knew in my bones that we were making something great was when Erik showed me a sequence he’d edited for the first episode of a dog launching itself off a dock 30 feet into the Illinois River. It was literally awe-inspiring,” says Bowden

“The way people discover and engage with content continues to evolve, and we’re evolving with them,” said Andrea Faccio, president and chief growth officer at Purina.

“At Purina, we’ve always believed the bond between people and pets is full of inspiring stories. A Different Breed gave us the opportunity to share those stories in a way people actively choose to experience, and we’re incredibly proud to see them recognized alongside some of the industry’s most celebrated programs.”

Viewers agreed.

When the series was released on Prime Video, it quickly became the most-watched brand funded project on the platform. But no one expected that a new show with no big stars or marketing campaign would be nominated for multiple Daytime Emmys.

“We were stunned! Not because we didn’t believe in the quality of our work but just because being in this business for almost 25 years, we know exactly how rare it is for any project to be honored in this way,” expresses Becker.

With additional fiscal support provided by the Motion Media Production Tax Credit Incentive, projects like A Different Breed are made possible through centering unique stories with Missouri as its backdrop.

“I truly can’t talk enough about how beneficial the tax incentive is. The Missouri Film Tax Incentive has done so much for the state already, and for us to reap the rewards of those benefits, we are truly grateful.”

So, what’s next for A Different Breed? A second season is currently in post-production, and the crew is hopeful that, with this critical recognition, Purina will not only greenlight more seasons of the show but continue to expand its investment into authentic branded entertainment.

The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards took place Friday, October 30, 2026. To learn more about this project and other Missouri connected projects, visit mofilm.org.

Written by Alexandria Stith. Interviews conducted by Alexandria Stith and Missouri Film Office intern Justine Favazza.