Updated for March 2020
you’re able to see a complete list of HBO new releases here.
HBOs most consistently excellent quality might be its deep roster of documentaries.
At any given moment HBO has dozens of high-quality documentaries available for streaming.
How could anything thats presenting further context on an important or interesting real life story be anything but fascinating?
Still, here are the absolute must-watches for when you need a dose of truth and discomfort.
One of them was supporting American military veterans.
The first is a stiff television presence who couldnt make weekly sports showAny Given Wednesdaywork.
Arthur Miller: Writer
Playwright Arthur Miller is one of the most important Americans ever.
And as one would respect from a talent so large and singular the man was pretty fascinating too.
InArthur Miller: Writer, director Rebecca Miller gets unprecedented access to the writer who died in 2005.
This is rather unsurprising as Rebecca Miller is Millers daughter.
The documentary is no less compromising or fascinating.
Atomic Homefront
Nuclear energy could very well be the future.
Before it is, however, were going to want to clean up the nuclear past.
Atomic Homefrontexamines the consequences of St. Louis nuclear legacy and what can be done to fix it.
Beware the Slenderman
Beware the Slendermanis among the most recent and buzzworthy documentaries on our list.
Its also quite great.
Hopefully this footage and those documentaries will all be as simultaneously uncompromising and respectful asCries from Syria.
Cries from Syriatraces the beginning, middle and….unfortunately there is no end of the Syrian Civil War.
That sounds like a tough watch and it is but its still absolutely worth your time.
David Bowie: The Last Five Years
David Bowie was the consummate showman until the end.
Last Five Yearscovers the huge projects at the end of Bowies life including the musicalLazarusand the albumsThe Next DayandBlackstar.
Fittingly,The Last Five Yearsis releases on what would be Bowies 71st birthday.
Thankfully for all of us, U.S.
Ambassador Richard Holbrooke said yes when his son David did just that.
Holbrooke the younger does an excellent job of capturing his dads wildly fascinating life story.
Holbrooke was a masterful ambassador, military officer and all-around diplomatic master.
Getting to see his story from the perspective of his son is fascinating and poignant.
Everything is Copy
HBO Documentaries cover a huge, diverse array of topics.
Still, we must acknowledge some bias here both on the part of documentarians and ourselves.
Both documentarians and the stewards of this site just happen to gravitate to stories about journalists and other artists.
Artists and journalists are both dogged pursuers of truth a topic documentaries should know a bit about.
In this instance the artist in question is the irreplaceable Nora Ephron.
Everything is Copycomes from Ephrons son, journalist Jacob Bernstein and its a lovingly-crafted tribute to his mother.
The Fence
Heres another interesting thing about documentaries.
You write about them for long enough and you eventually discover that most of them are almost always relevant.
The reason for that sadly seems to be: todays problems are always the same as yesterdays.
Case in point:The Fence.
Spoiler alert: it was a really fucking stupid idea.
Its a fascinating look at a religion/cult with dwindling members but that still has more money than ever.
It isnt preachy or saccharine.
Its just uncompromising in its honest depiction of the horrors of opioid addiction.
the suicide by text case.
But is there more to the story of one teen being cruel to another?
The Inventor
Its a golden age for the grifter and conman.
Alex Gibneys documentary,The Inventor, tells the story of one of modern ages most prominent.
Theranos was to revolutionize the blood analysis industry.
With only a single drop of blood, consumers could receive a full diagnostic rundown of their health.
Only problem was the technology never worked.
One, its about a journalist.
Two, its directed by someone close to the subject in this case, the subjects childhood friend.
In this case, however, the subject matter at hand couldnt be more tragic.
Hes one of our few truly legendary American icons.
But he was also a human being.
And he lived not too long ago.
Its an American tragedy thats a must-watch.
Leaving Neverland
Leaving Neverlandis a tough watch.
Directed by British filmmaker Dan Reed,Leaving Neverlandtells the stories of Wade Robson and James Safechuck.
Both men and their respective families had relationships with legendary entertainer Michael Jackson in their youth.
Now they are prepared to admit that those relationships included sexual abuse from Jackson.
Life According to Sam
Meet 16-year-old Sam.
Rarely do we get docs that celebrate the lives of normal people.
And despite his incredibly rare condition, Sam is a normal, sweet kid.
Hes enjoyable to spend an hour and change with.
At the same time youll learn about a terrible and unfortunate disease.
Yes, this one is brutal.
That alone is the makings of a fascinating crime documentary.
Whats revealed next, however, takes HBO newMommy Dead and Dearestto the next level.
Paradise Lostis likeThe Godfathertrilogy of documentaries only if the third one didnt suck.
Three days later she was found dead in her jail cell of an apparent suicide.
Many of Blands friends and family dont believe she ever would have killed herself.
Not only that but the movie gains access to over 30 Sandy Speaks blogs that Bland recorded herself.
With that in mind,Thought Crimesis incredibly interesting.
Is this a premeditated plot to kill women or was this just a fantasy?
We saw everything in real time.
So do we really need a documentary?
Yes, as it turns out becauseThree Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacksis very, very good.
This HBO original captures the chaos of the day in question while contextualizing it in useful, healing ways.
