The Best Documentaries Streaming This Month Dive Deep Into Showbiz (May 2024)
While we absolutely love scripted movies and television here at /Film, we also have a deep appreciation for documentaries — series and films alike. With so many streaming services available, it feels like there are more documentaries out there than ever before, which can make finding the right one to watch a bit intimidating. Thankfully, I'm here to help recommend some of the best docs streaming this May, from remastered versions of music classics like "Stop Making Sense" and "Let it Be" to new docs with a fresh perspective, like the shocking "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" and "Stormy." There has honestly been a massive influx of showbiz docs lately, with a couple more great ones dropping fresh this month. The entertainment industry has always been rife with controversy and chaos, so there's sure to be no end of these docs anytime soon. Still, this latest crop is a real doozy.
Without further ado, here are 10 of the best documentaries and documentary series available to stream in May 2024.
Stop Making Sense
Streaming May 3 on Max.
Thanks to a streaming deal between A24 and HBO's streaming service, Max, the indie distribution darling will now have Max as the streaming home for its films. That includes the re-release and remaster of Jonathan Demme's seminal concert film, "Stop Making Sense," which hits the streamer on May 3. "Stop Making Sense" is basically the perfect concert film, with footage from four nights of performances by the rock band Talking Heads on tour to promote their 1983 album "Speaking in Tongues." The film has become famous for the band's frontman, David Byrne, performing in a giant square-shaped suit, but it's also just a truly fantastic piece of entertainment.
While many music documentaries seek to tell the story of a band or a performer, "Stop Making Sense" is decidedly more focused on the performance itself, eschewing any interviews with band members or even much in the way of footage of them backstage. Instead, it feels like getting to have front-row tickets to one of the best concerts of all time, right as the band was blowing up. If "Psycho Killer" doesn't make your foot tap, you might be dead inside.
Stream this if you like "The Last Waltz" and "The Velvet Underground."
The Greatest Night in Pop
Now streaming on Netflix.
On one January night in 1985, 46 of the most popular recording artists from across the United States teamed up to record a song for charity. Originally organized by musician Harry Belafonte, the musicians all gathered to perform "We Are the World" in an attempt to raise funds for a terrible famine in Ethiopia. The song was written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson and included musicians ranging from Willie Nelson to Ray Charles. When you consider the number of egos in play, it's honestly amazing it happened at all.
The story of that night is told in "The Greatest Night in Pop," now streaming on Netflix. Director Bao Nguyen's documentary gives incredible access to the behind-the-scenes moments of that incredible night, combining footage from the night with new interviews featuring some of the stars to help share what it was like to be a part of, well, the greatest night in pop. The documentary is a lot of fun whether you know every face or are relatively unaware of 1980s music. It was one of the better things we saw out of Sundance 2024, even if it leaves the most important question unanswered: seriously, why was Dan Aykroyd there?!
Stream this if you like "Summer Of Soul (...Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)" and "The Concert for Bangladesh."
Let it Be
Streaming May 8 on Disney+.
People can never get enough of The Beatles, and for the first time in 50 years, the 1970 documentary film "Let It Be" will be available for audiences to watch, now in the comfort of their own homes. The documentary was originally released in May 1970 during the drama of the band's breakup, and for many years director Michael Lindsay-Hogg's deep look into the Beatles during a tumultuous time was treated with derision. However, with the success of Peter Jackson's "Get Back," there is the potential for "Let It Be" to be seen in an entirely new light, and by whole new generations of Beatles fans.
While there is a bit of crossover footage between "Let It Be" and "Get Back," there is additional footage that gives audiences an even closer look at the studio recordings and even the band's famous final performance on a London rooftop. The film was restored and remastered using the same technology as "Get Back" by Peter Jackson's Park Road Post Production, giving even Beatles fans who saw "Let It Be" in 1970 something new to appreciate.
Stream this if you like "Get Back" or "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster."
M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television
Streaming on Hulu.
If there was a television series with the same cultural cache as The Beatles, it's probably "M*A*S*H," which ran from 1972 to 1983 and boasted the most-watched series finale of all time. The series followed the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (or MASH) as they tried to save lives during the Korean War, and it was regularly as heartbreaking as it was hilarious. Series lead Alan Alda as Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce brought a certain empathetic sensibility to the series that helped make it so much more than just a sitcom set in a surgical unit, though honestly the entire cast is great. "M*A*S*H" is absolutely incredible storytelling that took big risks, like an episode where the characters gave interviews with a journalist or an episode told entirely from the perspective of a MASH patient.
"M*A*S*H*: The Comedy that Changed Television" is a two-hour documentary that digs into the history, creation, and legacy of "M*A*S*H," including interviews with surviving cast and crew and behind-the-scenes footage, along with critical commentary. Even if you've never seen an episode of "M*A*S*H," this is a great place to start.
Stream this if you like "Too Funny to Fail" and "Won't You Be My Neighbor."
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV
Streaming on Max.
Fans of 90s shows like "All That" and "Zoey 101" might have a difficult time watching "Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" because their childhood memories might feel tarnished, but it's important to remember that for the young actors, their actual childhoods were damaged. The documentary reveals the alleged abuse child stars at Nickelodeon suffered at the hands of producers like Dan Schneider and Brian Peck, including the shocking information that the anonymous victim who finally pressed charges against Peck was none other than "The Amanda Show" star Drake Bell. The documentary series shows how Schneider and co. created content that seemed innocent enough at face value but was clearly made with a sexual intent, and it's a stark reminder of just how much we need to protect children in entertainment even now.
The doc is full of horrifying revelations about the lack of supervision on these Nickelodeon sets, though viewers should be aware that some of the interview subjects have spoken out since the release of the doc to say that they feel like they were exploited by the documentarians and the production company. It's an important watch, but one that needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
Stream this if you like "An Open Secret" or "Kid 90."
MoviePass, MovieCrash
Streaming May 29 on Max.
Remember MoviePass? It was basically the best thing to ever happen to people who love going to the cinema, but it was ultimately doomed to fail. The program allowed subscribers to see an unlimited number of movies for a flat fee each month, which sounds counterintuitive as a business model but could have actually maybe worked. In Muta'Ali's documentary "MoviePass, MovieCrash," the full details of MoviePass's demise are finally laid out, and it's deeply frustrating. The doc premiered at SXSW earlier this year, but now home audiences will be able to learn about this potentially profitable program and how it was driven straight into the ground by venture capitalists who didn't understand the vision of original founders Stacy Spikes and Hamet Watt. (It's kind of ironic that the doc is streaming on Max, which is similarly being run into the ground by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav!)
Whether you were a MoviePass devotee or haven't even heard of it, this doc is a great look into a story that happens again and again in entertainment, where money talks but clearly doesn't think.
Stream this if you like "FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened" and "Overnight."
Stormy
Streaming on Peacock.
Adult entertainer Stormy Daniels became world famous for reasons she never could have anticipated. Back in 2006, she had sex with reality television star Donald Trump, and in 2016 he allegedly paid Daniels hush money in order to keep her silent about their tryst during the election. He is now the subject of a criminal trial in New York, where he faces 34 felony counts tied to the allegation that he falsified state business records to hide damaging information. For her role in bringing these charges against the former president, Daniels has faced a world of hate. Her life has been turned upside-down, and that's what the documentary "Stormy" explores in detail.
The doc follows Daniels from 2018 through 2023 as she deals with the fallout of being in the public eye for such an uncomfortable reason. The doc gives an unflinchingly earnest look at Daniels and paints her as a more complex person than the mainstream media would have you believe — a person who has mostly only been hurt by this whole ordeal. Like "Quiet on Set," there are some questions about the ethics of "Stormy," as it was created out of an earlier documentary project that was stopped when Daniels started having a romantic relationship with the documentarian, so viewers should be advised.
Stream this if you like "Pamela: A Love Story" and "Britney vs. Spears."
The Antisocial Network: Memes to Mayhem
Streaming on Netflix.
Internet communities can really evolve over time, and in the case of the anonymous message board website 4chan, that evolution led to some major real-world consequences. The Netflix documentary "The Antisocial Network: From Memes to Mayhem" follows the website's journey from its somewhat innocuous origins as a hub for the young and ignored to a place where dangerous ideological movements formed. Directed by Arthur Jones and Giorgio Angelini, the documentary touches on every aspect of 4chan, from Habbo Hotel raids to QAnon and the January 6 attacks on the nation's capital, giving audiences a basic understanding of what exactly 4chan is and why people were drawn towards it.
"The Antisocial Network" features interviews with former 4chan users and it's refreshing in its portrayal of them as human beings and not punchlines. There are also some fun animated segments that help explain the website's history and various concepts too, making it a surprisingly fun watch. It doesn't go too deep into anything, but it's a great primer on a complicated topic that was clearly made with love.
Stream this if you like "Feels Good Man" and "Don't F**k with Cats."
The Synanon Fix
Streaming on Max.
Much like 4chan evolving over the years, the group Synanon originally started as a refuge for outcasts (namely drug addicts) and ended up becoming more like a cult. Rory Kennedy's documentary "The Synanon Fix" details the full history of Synanon, founded in 1958 by Chuck Dederich, Sr. in Santa Monica, California, from its initial heyday to its eventual downfall. The doc shows Synanon as a form of drug rehabilitation to counter Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous and its famous "12-Step Program," instead using tactics like attack therapy to change its members.
"The Synanon Fix" uses interviews with former members to show just how much Dederich coerced people and how compelling he could be, even convincing a number of members to undergo vasectomies. Things eventually get bizarre, as most cult stories do, culminating in a murder attempt via rattlesnake in a mailbox. It's wild stuff, and it's fascinating to follow the story as Dederich becomes more and more twisted and brings everyone in the cult along with him.
Stream this if you like "Wild Wild Country" and "Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God."
Conan O'Brien Must Go
Streaming on Max.
Most travel shows highlight the people and places the host is visiting, with the host serving as the audience's guide. "Conan O'Brien Must Go," however, is not most travel shows. The series is a hilarious, ridiculous journey around the world with ridiculously tall ginger podcaster and former late-night host Conan O'Brien, who makes himself the main character in every situation. Much like his recent (and now legendary) appearance on the YouTube show "Hot Ones," Conan takes every moment to its most absurd heights, whether he's learning how to act while speaking Irish on a soap opera or embarrassing tourists while playing with a fertility figurine on a Thai boat. You won't really learn much of anything while watching "Conan O'Brien Must Go" but you will laugh. A lot.
The only real problem with this series? There are only four episodes. C'mon, Max! Give us the Conan O'Brien Cinematic Universe! Your audience demands it.
Stream this if you like laughing.