Steven Leckart

I'm a writer & director of documentary films.

Challenger: The Final Flight

a four-part documentary co-directed & produced for Netflix

*

"insightful, deeply moving" — Chicago Sun-Times

"one of the Best Documentaries on Netflix" — New York Times

"powerful, comprehensive and revealing" — The Hollywood Reporter

"painstaking, heartbreaking, and often infuriating" — Vanity Fair

I developed, produced, and co-directed this four-part documentary, which was executive produced by Bad Robot for Netflix. The series was nominated for two News & Documentary Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Historical Documentary, and won the Realscreen Award for Best Science & Technology Program.


What's My Name: Muhammad Ali

a two-part documentary written for HBO Films

*

"masterful" — Boston Globe

”a stirring work of nonfiction assembly” — Variety

"a must-see television event" — Chicago Sun-Times

I wrote this two-part documentary, which was directed by Antoine Fuqua and executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter. What's My Name: Muhammad Ali premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and won the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Long Sports Documentary.


Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers

a ten-part documentary written & executive produced for Hulu

*

"riveting ... as much for fans of Succession as those of the NBA" — The Atlantic

"fascinating ... you won't want to miss" — Complex

“a refreshing feminist subtext”  — LA Weekly

"starts strong and only gets stronger" — Under the Radar

I wrote & executive produced this ten-part documentary series, which is my third collaboration with director Antoine Fuqua. The series, which premiered on Hulu, won the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Documentary Series, and received nominations for the Critics Choice Award for Best Sports Show and the PGA Award for Outstanding Sports Program.


The Day Sports Stood Still

a feature documentary written & co-executive produced for HBO

*

"a testimony about our shared humanity" — The Root

"full of powerful and even funny moments" — The Hollywood Reporter

I wrote and co-executive produced this feature documentary, which explores the unprecedented intersection between pro sports and politics during Covid. Directed by Antoine Fuqua and executive produced by Imagine Docs x Ohh Dip!!!, the film received a Sports Emmy nomination for Best Long Form Writing, and a Critics Choice nomination for Best Sports Documentary.


Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates

a three-part series co-executive produced for Netflix

*

"a surprisingly human portrait” — Hollywood Reporter

I wrote and co-executive produced this three-part documentary, which examines the mind, life, and fanaticism of the iconic tech billionaire as he works to solve the world's most complex problems. Directed by Academy Award-winner Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth), the series premiered at the 2019 Telluride Film Festival.


All Things Must Pass

a feature written by yours truly

*

"freshly compelling" — Variety

"disarmingly intimate" — Newsweek

"unexpectedly touching" — Los Angeles Times

Everyone thinks they know what killed Tower Records: The Internet. But that's not the whole story. All Things Must Pass, which was directed by Colin Hanks and written by me, premiered at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival.


"In Deep Water"

a short directed for ESPN Films & FiveThirtyEight

*

I directed a short documentary about two friends who set out to recover the greatest lost treasure in U.S. history: tons of gold shipwrecked in 1857 off the Carolina coast. Spoiler: They find the gold, but sacrifice their friendship.


"Needybot"

a short directed for Wieden + Kennedy

*

I directed a short documentary about The Lodge, a group at Wieden+Kennedy focused on exploring the intersection of technology and people. Shot inside W+K's Portland office, the film showcases the team's first project: Needybot, an autonomous robot whose sole purpose is to connect with humans.


Moon Shot

a series story produced for Epic Digital & Bad Robot

*

"character-driven and absolutely awe-inspiring" — Indiewire

"the subjects are fascinating" — Popular Science

Directed by Academy Award-winner Orlando von Einsiedel (Virunga, The White Helmets), Moon Shot and executive produced by J.J. Abrams, this nine-part short docuseries captures the Google Lunar XPRIZE, a $30 million contest to land a rover on the moon. I spent months traveling the world solo to find these characters, and then returned with our director and crew.


"The Queen of Code"

a short co-executive produced for ESPN Films & FiveThirtyEight

*

Directed by Gillian Jacobs, "The Queen of Code" profiles Grace Hopper, a math professor who programmed the first computer during WWII and helped pioneer software.



I've also appeared on camera.

Maxim, "Thin the Army Now"