FROM music to Nazis to art to serial killers, from big pharma and the sanctioned opiod crisis to sharks, Showmax has a diverse array of documentaries to expand your mind. All are now available to stream and binge.
THE SPARKS BROTHERS
FINAL ACCOUNT
I’LL BE GONE IN THE DARK
The series is executive produced by – and features – actor Patton Oswalt, McNamara’s husband, who, along with her researcher Paul Haynes, and journalist and true crime writer Billy Jensen, completed her book – I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer – and went on to witness its impact.
THE CRIME OF THE CENTURY
With the help of whistleblowers, newly leaked documents, exclusive interviews, sobering testimony from victims of opioid addiction, and access to behind-the-scenes investigations, Gibney’s exposé posits that drug companies are in fact largely responsible for manufacturing the very crisis they profit from, to the tune of billions of dollars – and thousands of lives.
THE LAST CRUISE
As the uncontained outbreak on the luxury vessel at the start of the pandemic in January 2020 became a global spectacle and a faraway symbol of the new virus and its potential to upend any sense of normalcy, passengers aboard the ill-fated cruise ship were quarantined in their staterooms for weeks as the crew tended to the sick, delivered room service and slept and dined in cramped, shared quarters. Through never-before-seen footage from passengers and crew, we watch class divisions erupt as humanity misses its chance to contain Covid-19.
JOHN WAYNE GACY: DEVIL IN DISGUISE
John Wayne Gacy: Devil In Disguise follows the chilling story of one of the world’s most notorious serial killers, as told through the words of Gacy himself, those who were forever changed by his unspeakable deeds, and those who believe that the full truth remains concealed to this day.
This comprehensive six-part documentary series details the case that shook the world, drawing on a multi-hour death-row interview with Gacy himself, most of which has never been seen before, along with exclusive audio and video interviews. Almost 50 years since the crimes took place, new questions are emerging about what really happened, and who else may have played a part in the deaths of Gacy’s 33 victims.
BLACK ART: IN THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT
Opening with the landmark exhibition “Two Centuries of Black American Art” curated by the late David Driskell at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the documentary looks at the major Black art movements of the past half-century, and speaks to contemporary luminaries like Jordan Casteel, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems and Kehinde Wiley, among others.
ADRIENNE
Directed and produced by Shelly’s husband Andy Ostroy, Adrienne is an intensely personal look at Shelly’s life, death and career, featuring the likes of Russell, Fillion, Bareilles, actor Paul Rudd, and director Hal Hartley, who gave Shelly her acting break in The Unbelievable Truth and the Sundance winner Trust.
GIRLS CAN’T SURF
Featuring surfing greats Jodie Cooper, Frieda Zamba, Pauline Menczer, Lisa Andersen, Pam Burridge, Wendy Botha, Layne Beachley and more, Girls Can’t Surf is a wild ride of clashing personalities, sexism, adventure and heartbreak, with each woman fighting against the odds to make their dreams of competing a reality.
A CHOICE OF WEAPONS: INSPIRED BY GORDON PARKS
BY WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY: THE TIMES OF GODFATHER OF HARLEM
The series earned director Keith McQuirter (Brick City) the 2021 Image Award for Outstanding Directing in a Documentary, and features conversations with the likes of Emmy-nominated actor Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), music legends Herbie Hancock, Gladys Knight, Harry Belafonte and Nile Rodgers, activists Jamal Joseph, Al Sharpton and Denise Oliver-Velez, historians and residents of Harlem itself.
SHARK WITH STEVE BACKSHALL
British explorer, naturalist, and presenter Steve Backshall has dedicated his life to revealing the wonder of sharks. Shark With Steve Backshall is a three-part docuseries tracking Steve’s journey to the remotest parts of our planet, from the sun-drenched tropics to the mysterious depths of our oceans, to meet the incredible variety of sharks upon which the health of our oceans depends, and the passionate people fighting to change attitudes and save these feared and misunderstood predators.
Teaming up with leading scientists, Steve reveals stunning discoveries – glow-in-the-dark sharks, sharks that walk on land, and ancient sharks over 400 years old, with antifreeze in their blood…
He also takes viewers night-swimming with an 18-metre whale shark in the Maldives, chases the sardine run off South Africa’s coast, and finds out what’s behind the mysterious disappearance of Cape Town’s great whites.