This Week In Documentary
Theatrical & Streaming Releases - New & Recommended - June 26-July 2, 2026
Thank you all for your patience this week, as I’ve been working on some side hustles to keep this newsletter going with limited paid subscribers and, for the moment, very rarely any sponsored posts or email blasts. Also, the keyboard and trackpad on my computer stopped working, so I had to spend time trying to have it repaired, and then eventually just had to buy a new one! The good thing is that I enjoyed all of this week’s highlights (save for one that I haven’t yet seen but am looking forward to watching when I can). Considering there’s not a lot of new documentaries arriving in the next seven days, and even the first of the new month isn’t bringing too many nonfiction films to our favorite streamer, being able to stay positive makes me happy.
Below are this week’s documentary highlights, followed by daily listings for all known releases and broadcasts, along with a brief look at what’s coming soon for doc fans (including the latest from Jehane Noujaim, Vikram Gandhi, and Ross McElwee). Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive more in-depth highlights and reviews in the future, plus full access to special posts like our best-of lists, and to give me more time to watch more (if not everything) available. If you have a doc needing coverage or a mention, you can now reach us at nonficseditor (at) gmail.
Nonfics Pick Of The Week: Chris & Martina: The Final Set (2026)
I have no interest in nor understanding of tennis (despite taking lessons as a little kid and playing it in P.E. in middle school), so most documentaries about the sport and its players don’t appeal to me. They need a great story where the tennis clips are merely obligatory set dressing, like this year’s Billie Jean King biography, Give Me the Ball!, or they need exceptional cinematic form, a la John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection. This film is among the former, and it stands out because it’s about a friendship turned rivalry turned friendship again, where the relationship between its two subjects constitutes a sum greater than its individual biographical parts.
Directed by sports doc regular Rebecca Gitlitz (she has contributed to both 30 for 30 and Untold, among other works), Chris & Martina: The Final Set follows the contrasting lives of tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, both of whom rose in the ranks of women’s tennis players as teenagers in the early 1970s. They were part of the new generation that made women’s tennis more popular than ever, and the media spun easy narratives from their backgrounds, appearance, and matchups. Evert was the pretty blonde American from the Sunshine State, while Navratilova was the bisexual defector from the Communist Bloc. Hollywood couldn’t write them better.
But they were initially friendly and even won doubles events together. Where their story gets more interesting, without help from the media (though perhaps influenced by and feeding into it), is when they fell out, and things got ugly between them. There has already been a documentary released about their rivalry, though: the 2010 30 for 30 film Unmatched. What Chris & Martina: The Final Set adds to their paired-up story is the cancer diagnoses they’ve received since, and the support they’ve given each other throughout their treatment. It’s bittersweet how they jokingly view their similar circumstances as another part of their rivalry.
It’s also beautiful to see them going through it together, and the documentary gives them some joint interviews in addition to their individual setups to emphasize the evolution of their relationship. For me, they could be tennis players, or they could be icons from any other sport, or music, science, politics, whatever. While there is some time given to their dissimilar respective styles and talents, with footage of their matches where they faced each other for major titles, you don’t have to understand tennis scoring to appreciate these sequences or the film as a whole. Both women are still surviving, but otherwise, their story here feels more Beaches than Challengers.
Chris & Martina: The Final Set premieres and begins streaming exclusively on Netflix on Friday, June 26, 2026.
Other Documentary Highlights
A Band Called Death (2012)
This long-unavailable film about the long-unknown punk band Death had some of the biggest buzz of 2013 (it received a mention in our best music docs list that year), and it deserved much of it. Here’s what I wrote about A Band Called Death at the time:
“Compared to the very similar Searching for Sugar Man, it feels a lot more heartfelt and genuine. It did take a really long time for it to pull me in, though, as it’s almost like two different films in one. The first part is a story about the band of three brothers in Detroit in the ‘70s, and the second part is about the recent rediscovery and re-issue of their music while also focusing on an original member’s three sons carrying on the tradition with their own punk band. It’s the young guys who really ultimately made the movie worthwhile for me, especially their telling of their reactions to finding out about their awesome family secret.”
A Band Called Death begins streaming exclusively on The Criterion Channel on Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story (2026)
If you ever had cable in New York City, you’re familiar with Robin Byrd. If you don’t know about her, now’s your chance to become acquainted. Either way, Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story is worth watching, not just for a historical story involving sex-positivity, body positivity, LGBTQ+ representation, the fight against censorship and obscenity laws, and a pioneering and entrepreneurial woman, but also to really get close and personal with the former TV host today.
Much of the documentary follows Byrd’s current life, divided between Manhattan and Fire Island, as she looks back on her career in adult film and broadcasting, and considers preserving and archiving her huge library of tapes from The Robin Byrd Show. She’s one of the most enjoyable and lovable documentary participants of the year, and her husband is pretty adorable, too.
Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story premieres on HBO and begins streaming exclusively on HBO Max on Tuesday, June 30.
Evolution Of A Criminal (2014)
While this documentary is, unlike A Band Called Death, already easily accessible online, its addition to the Criterion Channel’s library next month gives us an excuse to share it for the first time in ages. Here’s what I wrote about Evolution of a Criminal, a first-person film made by a reformed bank robber, back in 2015:
“I fell in love with this at the New Orleans Film Festival…and the fondness is surprising and partly unexplainable for me because it commits so many crimes of documentary (the laws broken are those in my head, of course). Director Darius Clark Monroe is a talking head in his own film, he employs fairly unnecessary reenactments, and about two-thirds through, he reveals that, in a big way, the doc is actually about the making of the doc. Added up, all these elements become one of the freshest takes on the personal doc genre.”
Evolution of a Criminal begins streaming on The Criterion Channel on Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
Jackass: Best And Last (2026)
It took me a long time to embrace Jackass. I never watched the TV show, and I only gave one of the movies a shot during its theatrical release because I was working at a movie theater and was curious. I think it was the second one. The franchise can be classified as nonfiction, grouped with documentaries similarly to how Allen Funt’s theatrical features were in the 1970s. While I wasn’t granted access to the latest installment, Jackass: Best and Last, I’m highlighting it because I think they’re worth recognizing in general, and also, I hear this one is more documentary-like than the others. It’s partly a nostalgic clip show, with less new material than usual, but as I shared in a breakdown for Rotten Tomatoes, it’s been garnering the Jackass series some of its best reviews ever. I’m down to cringe my way through it when I can.
Jackass: Best and Last will be released in theaters on Friday, June 26, 2026, via Paramount Pictures.
Nick Doob Documentaries
Earlier this month, we lost another substantial member of the documentary filmmaking community. Nick Doob, who died on June 12, 2026, was best known for his association with D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus. His directorial collaborations with the couple include the concert film Down from the Mountain (currently unavailable), Elaine Stritch at Liberty (available on Broadway HD), and the under-appreciated but very funny Al Franken: God Spoke (also currently unavailable), which I named the best political documentary of the 2000s.
Before joining them at the helm, he shot many of their earlier films, including Town Bloody Hall (The Criterion Channel), The War Room (The Criterion Channel and HBO Max), Only the Strong Survive (PVOD), Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (YouTube TV), and Monterey Pop (The Criterion Channel, HBO Max, Tubi, TCM, and Shout! TV). He also shot some of Janis (PVOD), the Oscar-winning feature From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China (Prime Video, Kanopy, OVID, Tubi, and FlixHouse), and the Oscar-winning shorts Smile Pinki (currently unavailable) and The Only Girl in the Orchestra (Netflix), and was DP for A Perfect Candidate (OVID and Kanopy) and Norman Mailer’s Maidstone (The Criterion Channel).
Doob often worked with Rory Kennedy, shooting her films The Fence (HBO Max) and Epidemic Africa (currently unavailable) and co-directing A Boy’s Life (also currently unavailable). His more recent directorial collaborations included two HBO documentaries with Shari Cookson: the 2014 feature Paycheck to Paycheck: The Life and Times of Katrina Gilbert and the 2025 short Country Doctor, both of which are now streaming on HBO Max. I really wish that more of these titles could be easily viewed.
Documentary Release Calendar 6/26/26 - 7/2/26
Friday, June 26, 2026
Chris & Martina: The Final Set (2026) - A documentary feature about tennis icons Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. *NONFICS PICK* (Netflix)
Deadliest Catch Season 22, Episode 8: “Anything That Can Go Wrong” - The latest installment of a series that follows Alaskan crab fishermen. (Discovery Channel)
Jackass: Best and Last (2026) - The fifth feature-length installment of the Jackass franchise. This one looks back at classic stunts and presents new gags as well. See our highlights section for more info. (In Theaters)
Saturday, June 27, 2026
Craig Ferguson: American on Purpose Episode 5: “Patriotism” - The fifth installment of a five-part docuseries on what it means to be American. (CNN)
The Kimberley (2025) - A docuseries about Australia’s remote landscapes. (PBS)
Possibilities (2024) - A documentary about the legacy of Helen Keller. (VOD)
Room Tone: The Sound of The Room (2026) - A short documentary about Tommy Wiseau’s cult film The Room from the perspectives of its sound mixer and boom operator. (PVOD and Blu-ray)
Sunday, June 28, 2026
The Food That Built America Season 7, Episode 10: “Icons of Ice Cream” - The latest installment of a docuseries about popular American foods. This episode involves ice cream items, including Dairy Queen’s Blizzard. (History)
Hazardous History with Henry Winkler Season 2, Episode 10: “Anything for a Buck” - The latest installment of a docuseries about dangerous toys and household items that used to be common. This episode involves death-defying stunts for money. (History)
In the Eye of the Storm Season 3, Episode 1: “Nightmare in May” - The return of a docuseries about natural disasters. This installment looks at severe supercell thunderstorms across 11 states in mid-May 2025. (Discovery Channel)
The Killer Among Us Episode 7: “Vanishing in the Lab” - The latest installment of a docuseries hosted by Alan Cumming about murders in close-knit communities. (Oxygen True Crime)
MGM Parade Show #7 (1955) - The sixth installment of a documentary series devoted to promoting MGM’s films. This short spotlights The Great Ziegfeld and The Tender Trap. (TCM)
Monday, June 29, 2026
History’s Greatest Machines with Dolph Lundgren Episode 5: “Breakthrough Boats” - The latest installment of a docuseries about the machines that shaped our world. (History)
The Wormwood Star (1956) - A short documentary about the actress and artist known only by the name Cameron. (TCM)
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story (2026) - A documentary feature about the titular adult film star and cable TV host. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. *NONFICS PICK* (HBO and HBO Max)
Callas (1978) - A biographical documentary feature about opera icon Maria Callas. (DVD)
Children of the Wicker Man (2024) - A documentary feature about the sons of Wicker Man director Robin Hardy. (DVD)
Daylight Express (1992) - A documentary feature about the Southern Pacific Daylight Express passenger train. (DVD)
Echoes of Valor: WWII Veterans of Washington City, Utah (2025) - A documentary about World War II veterans from Utah. (DVD)
Expedition Unknown Season 17, Episode 2: “Finding World War II’s Lost Prisoners” - The latest installment of a docuseries that follows an archaeologist looking for lost artifacts. (Discovery)
He Calls Me Daughter (2026) - A documentary feature celebrating God as the perfect father figure for women. (DVD)
The Proof is Out There: Unexplained Edition Season 2, Episode 5: “Superhumans” - The latest installment of a docuseries about strange phenomena captured on camera. (History)
The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch Season 7, Episode 7: “High Voltage” - The latest installment of a docuseries about UFO phenomena at the Skinwalker Ranch. (History)
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Are We Good? (2025) - A documentary feature about Marc Maron as he mourns his partner, filmmaker Lynn Shelton. (The Criterion Channel)
A Band Called Death (2012) - A documentary feature about the titular 1970s punk band. See our highlights section for more info. *NONFICS PICK* (The Criterion Channel)
The Energy War (1979) - A five-hour documentary by D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, and Pat Powell about the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978. (The Criterion Channel)
Evolution of a Criminal (2014) - A first-person documentary feature by Darius Clark Monroe about how and why he robbed a bank 10 years earlier. See our highlights section for more info. *NONFICS PICK* (The Criterion Channel)
The Face Doctors Season 2, Episode 8: “Do I Look Like Me?” - The latest installment of a nonfiction series about facial reconstruction specialists and their patients. (TLC)
Fire Through Dry Grass (2023) - A documentary feature about a group of Black and brown disabled artists known as the Reality Poets and their lives during the COVID-19 lockdown. (The Criterion Channel)
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (2012) - A documentary feature about the titular actor. (The Criterion Channel)
Landfall (2020) - A documentary feature about the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. (The Criterion Channel)
The Miracle on George Green (2022) - A short essay film by Onyeka Igwe about the UK tradition of the commons. (The Criterion Channel)
The Names Have Changed, Including My Own and Truths Have Been Altered (2019) - A short essay film by Onyeka Igwe about her grandfather. (The Criterion Channel)
Nightclubbing: The Birth of Punk Rock in NYC (2022) - A documentary feature about the iconic music venue Max’s Kansas City and New York City’s rock scene in the 1970s. (The Criterion Channel)
Penkelemes (2025) - A short essay film by Onyeka Igwe about Nigeria’s University of Ibadan. (The Criterion Channel)
S the Wolf (2025) - A short animated documentary by Sameh Alaa about his teenage years. (The Criterion Channel)
The Second Game (2014) - A documentary feature by Corneliu Porumboiu about a snowy soccer match in 1988 that his father refereed. (The Criterion Channel)
A So-Called Archive (2020) - A short essay film by Onyeka Igwe about two archives housing British Colonial propaganda. (The Criterion Channel)
Specialised Technique (2018) - A short essay film by Onyeka Igwe about Black dance as depicted in colonial cinema. (The Criterion Channel)
We Need New Names (2015) - A short essay film by Onyeka Igwe about contemporary Nigerian diasporic female identity. (The Criterion Channel)
Worst Neighbor Ever (2026) - A docuseries about terrible neighbors. (Netflix)
Thursday, July 2, 2026
Alumination (2021) - A documentary feature narrated by Kate Pierson about Airstream founder Wally Byam. (OVID)
The Americas: A Wild 250th (2026) - A documentary special within the nature series The Americas tied to the 250th birthday of the United States. (NBC)
Surviving Earth Episode 4: “When the Seas Died” - The fourth installment of an eight-part docuseries about extinct creatures. This episode involves a giant marine reptile. (NBC)
This World is Not My Own (2023) - A documentary feature about the artist Nellie Mae Rowe. (Black Public Media)
Sneak Peek At What’s Coming Soon
7/3 - Sherman’s March - A 4K re-release of a classic first-person documentary feature by Ross McElwee about his romantic pursuits amidst his Civil War history project. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)
7/6 - True North: Canadian Myths and Black Power - A documentary about the Black liberation movement in Montreal in the late 1960s. Presented as an episode of Independent Lens. (PBS)
7/9 - The Man Will Burn - A four-part docuseries by Jehane Noujaim (The Square) and Vikram Gandhi (Kumare) about Burning Man. Watch the new trailer for the series below. (HBO and HBO Max)
7/10 - Baby Doe - A true-crime documentary about a woman accused of murdering her newborn baby. (In Theaters)
7/10 - Remake - A first-person documentary by Ross McElwee about the attempt to remake his classic film Sherman’s March as a narrative feature. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
7/12 - The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door - A documentary feature about the 2018 poisoning of Russian/British double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter. (CNN)
7/14 - The Real Wolf of Wall Street - A three-part docuseries about Jordan Belfort, whose story was dramatized in the movie The Wolf of Wall Street. Watch the new trailer for the series below. (Paramount+)
8/7 - Cookie Queens - A documentary feature about Girl Scouts selling cookies. Read our review of Cookie Queens. (In Theaters)
8/21 - The Big Cheese - A documentary feature that follows an American team competing in France's Mondial du Fromage. (In Theaters)
10/16 - Once Upon a Time in Harlem - A documentary feature co-directed by the late William Greaves (Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One), resurrecting footage he shot in 1972 of a get-together of Harlem Renaissance legends. (In Theaters)