If you've already binged your way through Paramount+'s fantastic new docuseries that we included in last week's roundup, then now is the perfect time to take a dive into the streamer's vault as we unearth some juicy and controversial shows from not too long ago that still make for compelling weekend viewing.This weekend's picks, in order from most to least sensational, include a page-turning look into tabloid history from those who made it what it is, helicopter cops chasing bad guys through Florida swamps, and a devastating cultural reckoning with a fallen icon.1 Gossip Tabloid history from the queen of dish herself As a still-recovering celebrity journalist for Hello! Magazine (a thousand years ago), I have firsthand experience with the gross and grimy world of gossip rags, so a lot of this four-part Showtime docuseries was a bit triggering, but still fascinating.
Before TMZ and Deuxmoi, there was the New York Post’s legendary celebrity gossip column Page Six., from director Jenny Carchman () and executive produced by none other than Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, charts just how digging up celebrity dirt became such big business.Through its hand-wringing, hour-long episodes, examines the rise of tabloid media, hinged on Rupert Murdoch's purchase of the New York Post in the mid-'70s.
It addresses America's (and the world’s) insatiable appetite for "love, lust, money, crime, scandal, and death,” anchored by the Post's legendary columnist Cindy Adams.The unapologetic firebrand—still gossiping at 91 when the series aired—gets the lion's share of screen time through archival clips dating back to the 1960s and new interviews from her home office, alongside a who's-who of fellow columnists and media insiders.The celeb-stacked four episodes—featuring long-stale, but still iconic scandals involving everyone from Paris Hilton and Britney Spears to Donald Trump—trace the industry’s arc from Murdoch's Post takeover through the tabloid TV era to the internet age, when bloggers like Perez Hilton rewrote the rules entirely.
Guilty-pleasure gossip hounds will find this insatiable.Gossip TV-MA Documentary Release Date 2021 - 2021-00-00 Network Showtime Directors Jenny Carchman Producers Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Sara Bernstein Seasons 1 Powered by Expand Collapse 2 Chopper Cops Real airborne pursuits over Central Florida, no reenactments needed Your true crime pick this weekend trades shootouts and interrogation rooms for high-altitude awe-inspiring aerial footage, courtesy of the Marion County, Florida, Sheriff's Department's elite helicopter unit.follows that unit, known as Air One, as they respond to high-action, real-life emergencies across Central Florida, in helicopters equipped with all kinds of kit—from infrared cameras to augmented-reality mapping tech that let officers on the ground see in the dark.
Led by Sheriff Billy Woods, the flight crews serve as the eyes in the sky for SWAT teams and ground units below.The action in each episode is captured and packaged using in-chopper cameras, radio comms, and first-person interviews with the officers and support personnel involved—no reenactments, just amazing raw pursuit footage. Quiz 8 Questions · Test Your Knowledge Summer 2026's hottest new documentariesTrivia challenge From Wall Street scandals to pop legends — how much do you know about this summer's must-watch docs? True CrimeMusicSportsHollywoodFinance Begin 01 / 8 True Crime Paramount+'s The Real Wolf of Wall Street focuses on which convicted fraudster at the center of the Stratton Oakmont scandal? ABernie MadoffBJordan BelfortCIvan BoeskyDFrank DiPascali Correct! Jordan Belfort, the self-styled 'Wolf of Wall Street,' ran Stratton Oakmont and was convicted of fraud and money laundering.
The Paramount+ documentary revisits his story beyond what was depicted in Martin Scorsese's famous 2013 film. Not quite.The documentary centers on Jordan Belfort, the notorious stockbroker whose Stratton Oakmont firm bilked investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars.Bernie Madoff and Ivan Boesky were separate high-profile Wall Street criminals. Continue 02 / 8 Finance In The Real Wolf of Wall Street, Stratton Oakmont was notorious for using which illegal sales practice to inflate stock prices? AInsider tradingBPonzi schemingCPump and dumpDFront running Correct! Stratton Oakmont used a classic pump-and-dump scheme, artificially inflating the price of penny stocks through aggressive sales tactics before selling their own shares at the peak, leaving investors with near-worthless holdings. Not quite.
The firm's signature crime was the pump-and-dump scheme, in which brokers hyped up cheap penny stocks to unsuspecting investors, drove the price up, then sold their own shares for enormous profit.Ponzi schemes and insider trading are distinct types of securities fraud. Continue 03 / 8 True Crime The Real Wolf of Wall Street documentary on Paramount+ includes testimony from which type of key sources to help reexamine the Stratton Oakmont story? AFictional dramatizations and actorsBSurviving victims, former brokers, and investigatorsCOnly journalists and academicsDExclusively Jordan Belfort himself Correct! The documentary draws on accounts from surviving victims of the fraud, former Stratton Oakmont brokers, and law enforcement investigators, giving a fuller and more grounded picture of the scheme than Belfort's own self-promotional memoir. Not quite.The film incorporates perspectives from victims who lost money, former brokers who worked at the firm, and the investigators who brought it down — offering a counterpoint to the glamorized version of events that Belfort himself has often promoted. Continue 04 / 8 Hollywood HBO Max's Marc by Sofia is a documentary about fashion designer Marc Jacobs directed by which filmmaker? ASofia CoppolaBSofia VergaraCSofia AlaouiDSofia Bohdanowicz Correct! Sofia Coppola, the acclaimed director behind films like Lost in Translation and The Virgin Suicides, directed Marc by Sofia, offering an intimate portrait of her longtime friend and fashion icon Marc Jacobs. Not quite.
The documentary is directed by Sofia Coppola, the Oscar-winning filmmaker known for her visually lyrical style.Her personal friendship with Marc Jacobs gave the film an unusually candid, behind-the-scenes quality. Continue 05 / 8 Hollywood Marc by Sofia on HBO Max primarily explores Marc Jacobs through which lens? AA courtroom drama about his legal battlesBAn intimate portrait of his creative process and personal evolutionCA financial history of his fashion empireDA retrospective narrated entirely by celebrity clients Correct! The documentary offers an intimate look at Marc Jacobs' creative process and personal journey, including his struggles with addiction and recovery, his identity, and what drives his singular artistic vision in fashion. Not quite.Rather than focusing on business or legal matters, Marc by Sofia takes a deeply personal approach, exploring Jacobs' inner world, his sobriety journey, and the emotional fuel behind his influential career in fashion. Continue 06 / 8 Sports Netflix's Chris & Martina: The Final Set documents the legendary rivalry between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova.
How many times did the two face each other in their careers? A37 timesB60 timesC80 timesD53 times Correct! Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova faced each other an extraordinary 80 times over their careers, making it one of the greatest rivalries in tennis history. The Netflix documentary revisits their competitive and personal relationship as both faced serious health challenges. Not quite.The two icons met a remarkable 80 times in their careers, with Navratilova holding the edge in their head-to-head record.The Netflix doc frames their rivalry through the lens of friendship and mutual support as both women confronted cancer diagnoses. Continue 07 / 8 Music Netflix's Michael Jackson: The Verdict examines public and legal reactions to the allegations against Jackson.
What major legal moment does the documentary reference as a turning point in his legacy? AHis 1993 civil settlementBHis 2005 criminal trial acquittalCThe posthumous 2019 release of Leaving NeverlandDA 2001 congressional inquiry into his finances Correct! Jackson's 2005 criminal trial, in which he was acquitted on all counts of child molestation, is a central legal moment the documentary examines.The film explores how that verdict shaped public perception and the ongoing debate about his legacy. Not quite.The documentary focuses heavily on the 2005 criminal trial acquittal as a defining legal moment, while also weighing it against the renewed allegations brought by the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland and the court of public opinion. Continue 08 / 8 Hollywood Peacock's documentary Lorne is a profile of which legendary television producer? ALorne GreeneBLorne MichaelsCLorne BalfeDLorne Cardinal Correct! Lorne Michaels, the Canadian producer who created Saturday Night Live in 1975 and has shepherded it for nearly five decades, is the subject of Peacock's documentary simply titled Lorne.
The film digs into the enigmatic figure behind one of TV's most enduring institutions. Not quite.The Peacock documentary profiles Lorne Michaels, the famously private and influential creator of Saturday Night Live.Despite shaping American comedy for generations, Michaels has rarely spoken openly about himself — making this documentary a rare glimpse behind the curtain. See My Score Challenge Complete Your Score / 8 Thanks for playing! Try Again I’m stunned it took me this long to find , but it’s made for some highly entertaining evenings watching fleeing criminals lit up by night vision and on camera as they try to hide under boats, scramble through swamps, and even escape through wildfires.
has two seasons and 20 episodes total, each around 30 minutes Chopper Cops Crime Reality Release Date June 18, 2024 Network Paramount+ Producers Brad Bernstein, Rick Cikowski, David Karabinas Seasons 2 Powered by Expand Collapse 3 We Need to Talk About Cosby A filmmaker's unflinching reckoning with a fallen icon If Netflix's recent wave of celebrity-reckoning docs like and hooked you, this one from 2022 still belongs at the top of the pile.With a Rotten Tomatoes score sitting at 99%, director W.Kamau Bell’s has been widely praised for letting the conversation get uncomfortable, resulting in a deep examination of the disgraced legendary entertainer and the culture that enabled him.
Broken up into four parts, Bell, a comedian and TV host, weighs Bill Cosby's groundbreaking accomplishments against the more than 60 women who accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting them.But Bell doesn’t take the typical chronological route through true-crime territory—this isn’t a tracing of a career from rise-up to fall-down, like so many other bio-docs.We all know who Cosby is and what he did, and the series lets us start from there.
Building the story through interviews and his own voice-over, Bell uses archival footage that reveals a man at odds with his "America’s dad," Cliff Huxtable persona.Most compelling are the firsthand accounts from several of Cosby's accusers—including survivor Victoria Valentino, whose harrowing and emotional account closes episode one.Comedians, cultural commentators, and journalists round out the interviews.
The series was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards.It’s heavy, but essential viewing.We Need To Talk About Cosby TV-MA Documentary Release Date 2022 - 2022-00-00 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming BUY Network Showtime Cast Bill Cosby, Doug E.
Doug, Todd Boyd, W.Kamau Bell, Lili Bernard Producers Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Jordan Wynn, W.Kamau Bell Seasons 1 Powered by Expand Collapse Real stories for the weekend Whether you're in the mood for old-school tabloid gossip and its origins, a tough but necessary conversation, or sirens at 500 feet, you’ve got a few solid picks for your weekend documentary viewing.
For more picks across every service, check out the How-To Geek streaming section.Paramount Plus Subscription with ads Yes, $8/month Simultaneous streams 3 Live TV Select live sports (NFL on CBS & UEFA Champions League) Price Starting at $8/month or $60/year Stream on Paramount+ Expand Collapse
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