The WORST episodes of HBO Documentary Film Series

#1 - Mavis

Season 2016 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/29/2016

Mavis! chronicles the ascension of gospel and soul music legend and civil rights icon Mavis Staples and her family group, The Staple Singers. An intimate look at a tight-knit family, the film reveals their struggles and successes, featuring dynamic live performances and rarely-seen archival footage, as well as modern-day interviews with Bob Dylan, Prince, Bonnie Raitt, Jeff Tweedy and Chuck D

#2 - Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills

Season 1996 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/10/1996

Berlinger and Sinofsky's documentary of a gruesome triple murder in West Memphis, Arkansas and the subsequent trials of three suspects, takes a hard look at both the occult and the American justice system in 'small-town' America. Three teenagers are accused of this horrific crime of killing three children, supposedly as a result of involvement in Satanism. As in their previous documentary, things turn out to be more complex than initial appearances and this film presents the real-life courtroom drama to the viewer, as it unfolds.

#3 - Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind

Season 2018 - Episode 18 - Aired 7/16/2018

A funny, intimate and heartbreaking portrait of one of the world’s most beloved and inventive comedians, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind is told largely through Williams’ own words, and celebrates what he brought to comedy and to the culture at large, from the wild days of late-1970s L.A. to his death in 2014. The film explores his extraordinary life and career, revealing what drove him to give voice to the characters in his mind. With previously unheard and unseen glimpses into his creative process through interviews with Williams, as well as home movies and onstage footage, this insightful tribute features in-depth interviews with those who knew and loved him, including Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Pam Dawber and his son, Zak Williams.

#4 - It Will Be Chaos

Season 2018 - Episode 16 - Aired 6/18/2018

An epic, yet intimate portrait of lives in transit and the human consequences of the refugee crisis spanning the Mediterranean. It Will Be Chaos unfolds between Italy and the Balkan corridor, focusing on two unforgettable refugee stories of human strength and resilience in search of a better and safer future. The film is directed by Lorena Luciano and Filippo Piscopo and debuts in conjunction with World Refugee Day, June 20.

#5 - Believer

Season 2018 - Episode 17 - Aired 6/25/2018

Directed by Don Argott, Believer follows Mormon Dan Reynolds, frontman for the Grammy Award-winning band Imagine Dragons, as he takes on a new mission to explore how the Mormon Church treats its LGBTQ members. With the rising suicide rate amongst teens in the state of Utah, his concern with the Church's policies sends him on an unexpected path for acceptance and change.

#6 - John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls

Season 2018 - Episode 15 - Aired 5/28/2018

Produced and directed by six-time Emmy winner Peter Kunhardt, along with Emmy winners George Kunhardt and Teddy Kunhardt, this documentary about Senator John McCain is an illuminating, exclusive profile of one of the most influential forces in modern American politics.

#7 - A Dangerous Son

Season 2018 - Episode 14 - Aired 5/7/2018

One in 10 American children suffers from serious emotional disturbance and more than 17 million have experienced a psychiatric disorder. A Dangerous Son focuses primarily on three families in crisis, each struggling with a child’s severe mental illness, desperately seeking treatment in the face of limited resources and support.

#8 - Andre the Giant

Season 2018 - Episode 10 - Aired 4/10/2018

A documentary examining the life and career of one of the most beloved legends in WWE history, from Andre’s upbringing in France to his celebrated WWE career and forays into the entertainment world.

#9 - David Bowie The Last Five Years

Season 2018 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/8/2018

In the last years of his life, David Bowie ended nearly a decade of silence to engage in an extraordinary burst of activity, producing two groundbreaking albums and a musical. David Bowie: The Last Five Years explores this unexpected end to a remarkable career.

#10 - Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper

Season 2016 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/9/2016

#11 - Mapplethrope: Look At The Pictures

Season 2016 - Episode 11 - Aired 4/4/2016

#12 - Three Days of Terror: The Charlie Hebdo Attacks

Season 2016 - Episode 15 - Aired 9/26/2016

#13 - Paradise Lost 2: Revelations

Season 2000 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/13/2000

Horrific, disturbing and absolutely fascinating, Paradise Lost 2: Revelations revisits the chilling mystery at the heart of HBO's award-winning hit, Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky bring new insight to the controversial case of a trio of Arkansas teenagers convicted of murdering three 8-year-old boys.

#14 - Living With Lincoln

Season 2015 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/13/2015

In the years following the Civil War, ancestors of documentary filmmaker Peter Kunhardt collected a treasure trove of photographs, rare books and other artifacts relating to Abraham Lincoln. Over the decades, their descendants carried on the work, helping to preserve an essential part of America’s past

#15 - Baltimore Rising

Season 2017 - Episode 15 - Aired 11/20/2017

n the wake of the 2015 death of Freddie Gray in police custody, Baltimore was a city on the edge. Peaceful protests and destructive riots erupted in the immediate aftermath of Gray’s death, while the city waited to hear the fate of the six police officers involved in the incident, reflecting the deep divisions between authorities and the community -- and underscoring the urgent need for reconciliation.

#16 - Abortion: Stories Women Tell

Season 2017 - Episode 9 - Aired 4/3/2017

Since 2011, over half the states in the nation have significantly restricted access to abortions. In 2016, abortion remains one of the most divisive issues in America, especially in Missouri, where only one abortion clinic remains open, patients and their doctors must navigate a 72-hour waiting period, and each year seTracy Droz Tragoses more restrictions.

#17 - Cries From Syria

Season 2017 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/13/2017

A searing account of the Syrian civil war from the inside out, the film draws on hundreds of hours of war footage from Syrian activists and citizen journalists, as well as testimony from child protesters, revolution leaders, human rights defenders, ordinary citizens and high-ranking army generals who have defected from the government.

#18 - The Tickle King

Season 2017 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/27/2017

The Tickle King features new, previously unseen footage documenting the bizarre and unsettling things that happened to filmmakers David Farrier and Dylan Reeve as Tickled premiered at film festivals and theaters in 2016. Lawsuits, private investigators, disrupted screenings and surprise appearances are just part of what they encounter along the way. Amidst new threats, the duo begins to answer questions that remained once the credits rolled on Tickled, including whether the disturbing behavior they uncovered will ever come to an end.

#19 - Solitary: Inside Red Onion State Prison

Season 2017 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/6/2017

An unflinching exploration of the lives of inmates and corrections officers in one of America’s most notorious “supermax” prisons, built to hold inmates in 8’x10’ cells 23 hours a day, for months, years and sometimes decades. With unprecedented access, the film paints a complex, unexpected and deeply moving portrait of life inside a world rarely seen

#20 - Unlocking The Cage

Season 2017 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/20/2017

Unloclking The Cage explores animal rights lawyer Steven Wise’s unprecedented challenge to break down the legal wall that separates animals from humans. After 30 years of struggling with ineffective animal welfare laws, Wise and his legal team, the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP), are making history by filing the first lawsuits that seek to transform an animal from a “thing” with no rights to a “person” with legal protections.

#21 - Elvis Presley: The Searcher, Part 2

Season 2018 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/15/2018

Elvis Presley: The Searcher includes stunning atmospheric shots taken inside Graceland, Elvis’ iconic home, and features more than 20 new, primary source interviews with session players, producers, engineers, directors and other artists who knew him or who were profoundly influenced by him Part 2 begins with his return home after his Army discharge and facing a rapidly changing pop-music scene.

#22 - Elvis Presley: The Searcher, Part 1

Season 2018 - Episode 11 - Aired 4/14/2018

He was a boy from Tupelo who grew up to become the biggest star in music. Along the way, he absorbed a staggering range of influences, creating a revolutionary sound in his lifelong search for self-expression. Part 1 details Elvis’ early life in Tupelo, Mississippi and his unprecendented rise to fame over a single year.

#23 - Arthur Miller: Writer

Season 2018 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/19/2018

An intimate portrait of one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century, told from the unique perspective of his daughter, who filmed interviews with her father over decades. The doc features a host of personal archival material and provides new insights into Miller’s life as an artist and explores his character in all its complexity.

#24 - The Bronx, USA

Season 2019 - Episode 17 - Aired 11/1/2019

From the team behind HBO’s If You’re Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast, The Bronx, USA follows producer George Shapiro as he returns to his hometown of the Bronx. Revisiting the streets, stores and memories of his childhood, Shapiro reflects on the singularity of the borough he grew up in and the close friendships he made there that have stood the test of time.

#25 - Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America's Elections

Season 2020 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/26/2020

Finnish hacker and election expert Harri Hursti investigates election-related hacks, uncovering just how unprotected voting systems really are.