TellyCast Digital Video Awards 2026 has named Ed Gein: Original Psycho, from Spirit Studios and Crime + Investigation, as winner of the AI INNOVATION IN PRODUCTION category.
The award recognises outstanding and responsible use of artificial intelligence across production workflows, with judges highlighting projects that use AI in creative, purposeful and audience-focused ways to enhance storytelling rather than replace it.
Ed Gein: Original Psycho is a two-part documentary for Crime + Investigation that uses AI to help reconstruct the world surrounding the 1950s case of Ed Gein, based on original three-day police interrogation transcripts.
Set in rural Wisconsin, the series uses AI-generated environments to recreate locations and atmospheric detail that no longer exist on camera, allowing audiences to experience the world of the story with greater cinematic depth and immersion. These reconstructions sit alongside expert interviews, archival material and scripted dramatisations performed by human actors using verbatim transcripts.
The series delivered 150% of the slot average, became one of Crime + Investigation’s top three new series of the year, and ranked as its highest-performing on-demand title for October, with strong international sales following.
Across production, AI was used as an enabling tool rather than a replacement for craft. Judges said the show was: “A thoughtful and well-controlled use of AI that enhances ambition without undermining factual integrity. A strong example of how technology can be used to deepen storytelling and deliver real audience impact when guided by clear editorial intent.”
