My favorite streaming service, even though I don’t use it the most, or even enough, is Kanopy. Every year, I travel to another county to pay for a non-resident public library card just so I have access to the service, which is otherwise supposed to be free. Most of their catalog is made up of titles available on major streaming services, but they’re also a backup, offering tons of documentaries that you can’t find anywhere else. Among those are Frederick Wiseman’s extensive catalog of documentaries. Anyway, I saw that ITVS has made a presale deal with Kanopy, which will benefit both. ITVS used to get its funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. A lot of the films would wind up licensed to Kanopy anyway, so this just makes sense.
Without further ado, 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 a new film directed by Sean Ono Lennon). 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 reach us at nonficseditor (at) gmail and let us know about its release plans.
Nonfics Pick Of The Week: My Undesirable Friends Part II: Exile (2026)
This is a big week for big films, or should I say very long films. Down below you’ll find another highlight of a nearly four-hour documentary about Elon Musk. And here, our Pick of the Week, is a nearly six-hour documentary sequel to the slightly shorter (at only 324 minutes) feature My Undesirable Friends Part I: Last Air in Moscow. I was shocked to see that My Undesirable Friends Part II: Exile is longer since I couldn’t imagine what the follow-up would really entail (even with director Julia Loktev teasing the second film’s contents in our interview). But it does have to manage the two films’ several characters, as they are now scattered — physically and professionally — after fleeing Russia at the end of the first installment. The sequel also follows some new characters, which adds time. They include Natalka, the Ukrainian journalist wife of TV Rain host Peter Ruzavin.
My Undesirable Friends Part II: Exile does take a bit to get going, not unlike its predecessor, as Loktev makes us experience the initial tedium and limbo of not knowing what’s next for its women journalist characters. Where the first film’s narrative had an expected destination, this one offers unpredictable threads while on a chronological course that begins just after Russia invades Ukraine and concludes in the first half of this year. There’s a key comment (quoting an unseen friend) delivering a primary theme of this documentary: “It’s like 1941, and you’re simultaneously the German and the Jew.” I wasn’t expecting the characters to feel so much guilt, experience so much discrimination, or have so much love for their country that some of them dare return even while facing jail time. This isn’t your usual refugee tale. It’s a complex political portrait of a crossroads that has come after a missed turn.
My Undesirable Friends Part II: Exile will be released in theaters on Friday, October 9, 2026, via Mubi, ahead of its online premiere on that company’s streaming service.
Other Documentary Highlights
Clown Panic (2026) & The Pet Cemetery Murders: A Ghost Story (2026)
You know it’s Spooky Season when even documentary programming is getting into the Halloween spirit. I never would have thought that documentaries and Halloween go together so well, but given the popularity of true crime, it makes perfect sense. Hulu, which transforms into “Huluween” every October, presents the latest feature from Ed Perkins, director of such fascinating documentaries as Garnet’s Gold, Tell Me Who I Am, and the Oscar-nominated short Black Sheep. Clown Panic doesn’t look like the most interesting film. It’s about the hysteria that spread in 2016 after some alleged sightings of evil clowns. But whether it’s worth watching or a deserved paycheck for Perkins, I’m all for its existence.
The other notable documentary out this week that is clearly themed for the month celebrating horror and whatnot is The Pet Cemetery Murders: A Ghost Story. It looks like your typical true crime series except that there’s also a paranormal side to the case, as a witness claimed to have been haunted by the ghost of the murder victim. Also, the victim owned a supposedly haunted pet cemetery, which already lends a creepiness to the story. The fact that two of the executive producers are James Marsh and Simon Chinn, who haven’t done a lot together since Marsh’s documentaries Man on Wire and Project Nim, makes me more interested. And as it turns out, Simon Chinn and Jonathan Chinn are executive producers on both this and Clown Panic. I guess they’re a pair we can thank for docs getting more into the spirit of this season.
Clown Panic premieres and begins streaming exclusively on Hulu on Monday, October 12, 2026. The Pet Cemetery Murders: A Ghost Story premieres on HBO and begins streaming exclusively on HBO Max on Sunday, October 11, 2026.
Free Leonard Peltier (2026)
I’m sorry to say that I still haven’t seen Free Leonard Peltier, especially since it was one of our most anticipated documentaries of 2025. I’m also surprised it took almost two years since its Sundance premiere for the film to be released (apparently it hit theaters quietly on October 2, but none of the press releases I received mentioned it, so it wasn’t in our listings then). One of its directors is David France, who earned an Oscar nomination for How to Survive a Plague (almost 15 years ago; I can’t believe it’s been that long). This time, his collaborator is Jesse Short Bull, one of the directors of the underrated 2023 documentary Lakota Nation vs. United States.
Their subject is the titular Native American activist who spent 50 years for allegedly killing two FBI agents during the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation shootout in 1975. Leonard Peltier was also previously the focus of Michael Apted’s 1992 documentary Incident at Oglala, which was then fictionalized for Apted’s Thunderheart, released the same year. One huge thing that may have undone much of the interest in Free Leonard Peltier was that he was freed by President Biden just a week before the film’s debut in January 2025. His prison sentence was commuted, and he was put under indefinite house arrest. That shouldn’t undo the story told, though, if it was done well enough.
Free Leonard Peltier will begin streaming on Netflix on Monday, October 12, 2026, through a licensing deal (it’s not distributed by Netflix, despite what IMDb says).
Harlan County, USA (1976)
How many times can I highlight Harlan County, USA this year? Barbara Kopple’s Oscar-winning feature is one of the best documentaries ever made (as I wrote: “a film that is totally invested, immersed, embedded into the story”), so I’d be happy to recommend it every week. This time, though, it’s for a very good reason: a major anniversary. The film premiered at the New York Film Festival 50 years ago this week, on October 15, 1976. This remains a great year to celebrate Kopple’s original labor-focused documentary. Not only was her second Oscar-winning documentary about a strike, American Dream, finally given a proper home video and streaming release recently, but her third labor documentary, Union Town, just premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is expected to be released before the end of 2026.
Harlan County, USA is available to stream on HBO Max and was recently released on Blu-ray and 4K UHD via Criterion.
Musk (2026)
In my NAZA review, I reference Alex Gibney’s Zero Days as the last time I was so terrified about technology being used in warfare. Now Gibney’s latest, Musk, goes further in making me even more hopeless about the advanced technological tools governments now use to combat not just the rest of the world but their own citizens. Yes, Gibney got me with the doom and gloom with a nearly four-hour feature (including intermission) that overwhelms. It’s like watching a Bond villain origin story and biography where James Bond never exists to thwart the guy’s nefarious plot. Or maybe he exists, but it doesn’t matter because corruption is so commonplace right now that nobody knows of any way to save the day anyway.
It’s a tough watch. I almost didn’t finish it. And I had already had enough before the intermission, when the first half of the documentary follows just Elon Musk’s rise as a tech icon, albeit one who is extremely sketchy. The second half is where it gets even darker, covering his probable election interference, his DOGE role that was probably just for his self-benefit, and his satellites that are involved in probable global political interference. Sure, you might know or assume all of the things Musk presents, but included altogether, it makes it even scarier. My main issues with the film are Gibney’s usual overuse of narration and his latest gimmick to make up for lack of an easy interview. For the latter, he employs a cartoonish AI version of Elon Musk, and it’s annoying, distracting, unnecessary, and maybe even counterproductive.
Musk will be released in New York City and Los Angeles on Friday, October 9, 2026, and will expand nationwide on Friday, October 16, 2026.
Tyson (2026)
How many documentaries do we need about Mike Tyson? Sure, it’s been almost 20 years since James Toback’s film, but how much has happened in his life in the last few decades to warrant this new four-part docuseries, also simply titled Tyson? Looking at Wikipedia, I’m reminded that his daughter’s death, latest marriage, multiple arrests, more acting roles, exhibition bouts, and another attempted comeback have all happened since then, but there have also been other documentaries as well. The director on this is Floyd Russ, who has more experience with sports subjects, including an episode of Netflix’s Untold, a Netflix series on O.J. Simpson, albeit one focused on his murder case, not his football career, and a Netflix series involving the Boston Marathon, albeit one focused on the terrorist bombing. I recommend his 2018 short Zion (also available on Netflix), about a wrestler who was born without legs.
Tyson will premiere in full and begin streaming exclusively on Netflix on Tuesday, October 13, 2026.
Documentary Release Calendar 10/9/26 - 10/15/26
Friday, October 9, 2026
All Rivers Spill Their Stories to the Sea (2026) - A documentary feature that follows a fisherman in England. (In Theaters)
Brother Joseph Again (2026) - A documentary feature that tries to answer what Mormonism founder Joseph Smith looked like. (In Theaters)
Great Musicians of Our Time Episode 1: “Itzhak Perlman: Virtuoso Violinist” - The first episode of a docuseries about the most influential classical music artists. (PBS)
Musk (2026) - A nearly four-hour documentary feature by Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney about Elon Musk. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)
My Undesirable Friends: Part II - Exile (2026) - A documentary sequel directed by Julia Loktev that follows the characters from My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow after they leave Russia. See our highlights section for more info and a brief review. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)
Portrait of an Artist: Stephen Curry (2026) - A documentary about NBA star Stephen Curry and his 4,000th career three-pointer. (In theaters)
The Response (2026) - A documentary feature about Americans who advocated for the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip. (In Theaters)
The Rock (1967) - A short documentary about the making of the film Point Blank. (TCM)
Rocky Mountain Wreckers Season 1, Episode 1: “Dangerous Spot to Be” - The first installment of a nonfiction series that follows heavy towing crews in intense weather in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. (Discovery Channel)
The Sixty-Year Mission: How Star Trek Changed Television and the World (2026) - A documentary feature about the popularity of Star Trek. (In Theaters)
The Unbelievable with Dan Aykroyd Season 4, Episode 2: “Peculiar Places” - The latest installment of a docuseries about mysterious and bizarre people and things. (History)
Unmasking the Tylenol Killer (2026) - A documentary feature spun off from the series Unsolved Mysteries about a 44-year-old cold case from 1982 that might be tied to a serial killer, but not in the way you’d expect. (The Roku Channel)
World Without Cows (2025) - A documentary feature about the complex role cows play in the food system and the environment. (In Theaters)
Saturday, October 10, 2026
48 Hours Season 40, Episode 1 - The latest installment of an investigative documentary series. (CBS)
Austin City Limits Season 52, Episode 6: “Olivia Rodrigo” - The latest installment of a long-running music series. (PBS)
Earth Odyssey with Dylan Dreyer Season 9, Episode 2: “Room to Move” - The latest installment of an adventure series that takes viewers to exotic locations. This episode is set in Romania. (NBC)
Microscopic Mysteries (1932) - A short documentary about insect life. (TCM)
Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild Season 4, Episode 2: “Guardians of Tapir Valley” - The latest installment of a nature series focused on wildlife conservation. This episode involves tapirs in Costa Rica. (NBC)
Playing with Fire: An Ecosexual Emergency (2025) - A documentary feature by Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens about their evacuation from their home during a wildfire. (NYC Theatrical Event)
Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler Season 3, Episode 2: “Deadly Deception” - The latest episode of a true-crime docuseries involving murder trials in Texas. (Oxygen)
Super Animals Season 4, Episode 8 - The latest episode of a nature docuseries for kids about animals with special traits. (National Geographic)
Sunday, October 11, 2026
Grandmasters (2026) A three-part docuseries directed by Liza Mandelup (Caterpillar) about a new chess league involving Magnus Carlsen. (AMC Theaterical Event)
Late Night Law Season 2, Episode 3 & 4: “Double Trouble” & “Asleep at the Wheel” - The latest installments of a docuseries that follows law enforcement during the night shift. (A&E)
Okay for Sound (1946) - A short documentary celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Vitagraph sound-on-film process. (TCM)
The Pet Cemetery Murders: A Ghost Story (2026) - A three-part true-crime docuseries centered around the death of a pet cemetery owner. See our highlights section for more info. (HBO and HBO Max)
Playing with Fire: An Ecosexual Emergency (2025) - A documentary feature by Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens about their evacuation from their home during a wildfire. (NYC Theatrical Event)
Romantic Nevada (1943) - A short documentary installment of James A. FitzPatrick’s TravelTalks travelogue franchise. This one primarily focuses on Reno’s association with weddings and divorces. (TCM)
Monday, October 12, 2026
Always Lalisa (2026) - A documentary feature by Sue Kim (The Last of the Sea Women) that follows Blackpink rapper/singer Lalisa Manoban, a.k.a. Lisa, as she embarks on a solo career. (In IMAX Theaters)
Clown Panic (2026) - A documentary feature by Oscar-nominated director Ed Perkins (Black Sheep) about the 2016 hysteria over clown sightings. See our highlights section for more info. (Hulu)
Contraband: Seized at the Border Season 9, Episode 1: “Tramadol to Hell” - The latest installment of a nonfiction series focused on smuggling cases handled by Customs and Border Protection officers. (Discovery Channel)
Free Leonard Peltier (2026) - A documentary feature directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker David France (How to Survive a Plague) and Jesse Short Bull (Lakota Nation vs. United States) about the titular member of the American Indian Movement as he hopes to be released from prison after 50 years and experience freedom again before he dies. See our highlights section for more info. (Netflix)
Harlan Coben’s Final Twist Season 2, Episode 2: “A Mother’s Crusade” - The latest installment of a true-crime docuseries exposing shocking murders and scandals. This episode involves a young woman whose death was initially ruled a hiking accident. (CBS and Paramount+)
Harnessed Rhythm (1936) - A short documentary by Jacques Tourneur following the life of a racehorse. (TCM)
Three on a Rope (1938) - A short documentary about rock climbing. (TCM)
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Abu Haraz (2013) - A documentary feature about a village in Sudan that is set to be flooded by a new dam project. (OVID)
Animal Instinct Season 2 - The second season of an Australian nature series. (DVD)
Castro’s Gold (1998) - A medium-length documentary about a search for sunken treasure off the coast of Cuba that involved a deal with Fidel Castro. (DVD)
Drag Heals Season 2 - The second season of a docuseries about drag performers. (DVD)
Famous Movie Dogs (1940) - A short documentary starring canine performers in Hollywood. (TCM)
Following Harry (2024) - A documentary feature that follows Harry Belafonte during his final 12 years of life. (VOD)
Frontline Season 45, Episode 5: “American Voices 2026” - The latest installment of a PBS documentary anthology series. This episode looks at how Americans’ views and experiences have changed since the 2020 election. (PBS)
Get Wild at the San Diego Zoo (2016) - A nature docuseries about wild animals and their habitats. (DVD)
Hitler’s Gold (2020) - A docuseries about the people who financed Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. (DVD)
I Lived with a Killer Season 2 - The second season of a true-crime docuseries about serial killers’ family members. (DVD)
Kim Novak’s Vertigo (2025) - A documentary feature by Alexandre O. Philippe (78/52) about the titular actress and her work in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. (DVD)
Korea: The Unfinished War (2003) - A documentary about the history of the Korean War. (DVD)
Maleika (2017) - A nature film about a cheetah and her six cubs. (DVD)
MGM Parade Show #13 (1955) - This installment of the Hollywood-focused docuseries showcases the MGM films The Great Waltz and I’ll Cry Tomorrow. (TCM)
Nova: Decoding the Universe (2024) - Two installments of the PBS science docuseries Nova presented in the Decoding the Universe sub-series, “Cosmos” and “Quantum.” (DVD)
Nova: Universe Revealed (2021) - Five installments of the PBS science docuseries Nova presented as the sub-series Decoding the Universe, including the episodes “Age of Stars,” “Milky Way,” “Alien Worlds,” “Black Holes,” and “Big Bang.” (DVD)
Robin Hood: The First Outlaw Hero (2004) - A medium-length documentary about the titular legendary figure. (DVD)
Sacred Planet with Gulnaz Khan (2025) - A PBS docuseries about climate change starring the titular environmental journalist. (DVD)
Secrets of the Saucer People (2026) - A medium-length documentary inspired by the Saucer People trading cards about UFO and alien encounters. (DVD)
Trains of Fame - Steaming Up the New River Gorge (2026) - A documentary feature that takes viewers on a virtual ride through the Appalachian Mountains on a 2765 steam locomotive. (DVD)
Tyson (2026) - A four-part docuseries about Mike Tyson. See our highlights section for more info. (Netflix)
The Uncommon History of Very Common Things (2021) - A docuseries about the often shocking origins of everyday objects. (DVD)
Voice of Hope (2002) - A medium-length documentary by Maciej Drygas (Trains) about the importance of Radio Free Europe to Polish listeners during the communist regime. (OVID)
Walking Wild at the San Diego Zoo (2016) - A nature docuseries about wild animals and their habitats. (DVD)
Yves Saint Laurent - Firestarter (2017) - A medium-length documentary about the titular fashion designer. (DVD)
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Daylight (2026) - A short documentary about a man serving a life sentence for murder who gets through his situation thanks to Taylor Swift’s music. (The New Yorker)
Ghost Adventures Season 31, Episode 3: “Mansion of Unholiness” - The latest installment of a docuseries following paranormal investigators. (Discovery Channel)
Grandmasters (2026) A three-part docuseries directed by Liza Mandelup (Caterpillar) about a new chess league involving Magnus Carlsen. (AMC Theaterical Event)
Nature Season 45, Episode 1: “Sesame Street and the Great Elephant Adventure” - The latest installment of a nature series. This episode crosses over with Sesame Street. (PBS)
Nova Season 53, Episode 13: “Evolution: Brain Power - The first installment of a five-part series within Nova about evolution on Earth over billions of years. This episode focuses on the evolution of the brain. (PBS) (PBS)
The Serial Killer Connection Season 1, Episode 2 - The second installment of a three-part true-crime docuseries that teams up a serial killer’s ex-wife and a survivor as they investigate murders. (Investigation Discovery)
Untold Stories of the ER Season 14, Episode 7: “Fire in the Hole” - The latest installment of a docuseries about difficult emergency room cases. (TLC)
Thursday, October 15, 2026
Archive X: Unexplained Phenomena Season 1, Episode 3: “Dark Visions” - A docuseries that explores prophetic dreams, ESP, near-death experiences, alien encounters, and messages from beyond. (Sundance Channel)
The Cowboy (2025) - A documentary feature that follows a young cowboy in Colorado. (In Theaters)
Fools’ Paradise (lost?) (2024) - A documentary feature about the healing power of the natural world. (OVID)
Sneak Peek At What’s Coming Soon
10/16 - A Place of Absence - A documentary about Central American women traveling with the Caravan of Mothers of Missing Migrants. (In Theaters)
10/17 - Super Scam Me - A medium-length documentary starring Mariana van Zeller in which she goes undercover as a romance scam target. (National Geographic)
10/20 - Capturing Bigfoot - A documentary feature about the famous footage allegedly of Bigfoot. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (Prime Video)
10/21 - One in a Million - A Sundance-winning documentary feature that captures 10 years in the life of a Syrian refugee and her family. Read our review of One in a Million. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)
10/22 - Swipe Right on the Devil - A true-crime docuseries about a woman who went missing while on a Tinder date, a case that involved witchcraft and mind control. Watch the new trailer for the series below. (Hulu)
10/28 - Closure - A documentary feature by Michal Marczak (All These Sleepless Nights) that follows a man as he searches for his missing son. (In Theaters)
10/28 - Manhood - A documentary feature about an entrepreneur who attempted to popularize a penis enlargement procedure. Watch the first trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
10/30 - Who Killed Alex Odeh? - A documentary feature about the 1985 assassination of the titular Palestinian-American civil rights activist. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)
11/6 - Soul Patrol - A documentary feature about the men who were in the first Black special ops team in the Vietnam War. Read our review of Soul Patrol. Watch the new teaser trailer for the film below. *NONFICS PICK* (In Theaters)
11/7 - Stray Kids World Tour <RUN IT> LIVE VIEWING - A concert film starring the titular K-pop boy band. (In Theaters)
11/13 - threeASFOUR: FOUR CIRCLE - A documentary feature by Sean Ono Lennon about the avant-garde NYC designers Gabi Asfour, Angela Donhauser, and Adi Gil. Watch the new trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
11/20 - Cameron Winter at Carnegie Hall - A concert film by Paul Thomas Anderson starring the titular musician. (In Theaters)
12/11 - George Michael: The Faith Tour - A concert film compiled from footage of George Michael’s 1988 Faith Tour. (In Theaters)