By the end of the week, I totally get the appeal of just turning your brain off and watching a mindless episode of Too Hot to Handle. But sometimes the most restorative weekends come by adding a bit of real-life perspective to your gray matter, with a good documentary. Luckily, HBO Max has some of the best quality ones around, and I’ve got a few suggestions below.
This weekend, we’re looking at three distinct portraits of the human spirit—an Oscar-nominated, harrowing look inside Alabama’s broken prison system, a swing of the pendulum to the colorful melodies of children’s music, and a tear-jerking tribute to a real super man.
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The Alabama Solution (2025)
A 100% fresh exposé from inside the U.S. prison system
In 2019, when director Andrew Jarecki, the guy behind the crazy-ride Robert Durst documentary The Jinx, and filmmaker Charlotte Kaufman visited Alabama’s Easterling Correctional Facility to film a religious meeting, they were approached off-camera by several inmates who told them that dark things were going on inside the prison. The Alabama Solution is the damning culmination of the six-year investigation inside one of the deadliest prison systems in the U.S. that stemmed from that day, and it’s an eye-opener.
The Oscar-nominated, 100% fresh documentary feature is utterly compelling, largely because of the remarkable access and footage the film uses to document the abuse, corruption, and appalling conditions inside—much of it captured by the inmates themselves using contraband cellphones smuggled in. Much of the narrative centers on the suspicious death of inmate Steven Davis, who was beaten to death by guards in 2019. His mother, Sondra Ray, spends much of the film searching for answers and contending with tight-lipped state officials.
Quiz
HBO Max movies and shows
Trivia challenge
From Westeros to the ER — how well do you know HBO Max’s biggest hits and most talked-about originals?
DramaComedyFantasyMoviesCharacters
In The Pitt, what type of medical facility serves as the primary setting for the series?
Correct! The Pitt is set in a Pittsburgh hospital emergency room and follows the staff through a single grueling 15-hour shift. The show stars Noah Wyle and was created as a spiritual successor to the classic ER.
Not quite. The Pitt takes place in a Pittsburgh hospital emergency room, not a surgery wing or clinic. The show unfolds in real time over one intense 15-hour shift, giving it a grounded, unrelenting pace.
In Hacks, what is the profession of Deborah Vance, the character played by Jean Smart?
Correct! Deborah Vance is a legendary Las Vegas stand-up comedian who reluctantly teams up with a young, struggling comedy writer named Ava. Jean Smart’s performance earned her widespread critical acclaim and multiple Emmy Awards.
Not quite. Deborah Vance is a veteran stand-up comedian — a Las Vegas legend who is forced to collaborate with a younger comedy writer to reinvent her act. Jean Smart won Emmy Awards for the role.
House of the Dragon is a prequel to Game of Thrones — approximately how many years before the events of Game of Thrones does it take place?
Correct! House of the Dragon is set roughly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. It depicts the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, a catastrophic conflict over succession to the Iron Throne.
Not quite. House of the Dragon is set approximately 200 years before Game of Thrones, not 50 or 100 years. The series is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood and covers the Targaryen dynasty at the height of its power.
In the 2025 horror film Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, what supernatural threat do twin brothers face in the Deep South?
Correct! Sinners features vampires as the central supernatural threat. Ryan Coogler’s film stars Michael B. Jordan in a dual role as the twin brothers, and blends horror with themes of race, music, and history in 1930s Mississippi.
Not quite. The supernatural menace in Sinners is vampires. Director Ryan Coogler crafted the film as a genre-bending horror story set in 1930s Mississippi, starring Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers caught in a terrifying night of violence.
Weapons, the 2025 horror anthology film on Max, was written and directed by which filmmaker?
Correct! Weapons was written and directed by Zach Cregger, who previously broke out with the acclaimed horror film Barbarian in 2022. The anthology follows multiple interconnected stories tied together by a disturbing central mystery.
Not quite. Weapons was directed by Zach Cregger, best known for directing Barbarian. Cregger has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting voices in modern horror, and Weapons continued that momentum on Max.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight is another Game of Thrones prequel series — which character does it primarily follow?
Correct! The series centers on Ser Duncan the Tall, a hedge knight, and his young squire Egg — who is secretly the young prince Aegon Targaryen. The story is based on George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas.
Not quite. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms follows Ser Duncan the Tall, a wandering hedge knight, alongside his squire Egg. The show is adapted from George R.R. Martin’s beloved Dunk and Egg novellas set a century before Game of Thrones.
One Battle After Another, the 2025 Max limited series, is based on a novel by which author?
Correct! One Battle After Another is adapted from Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland. The series marks a rare screen adaptation of Pynchon’s notoriously complex work, and generated significant buzz for its ambitious literary source material.
Not quite. The series is based on the work of Thomas Pynchon, one of American literature’s most elusive and celebrated novelists. Adapting Pynchon for television is a rare and ambitious undertaking given the dense, layered nature of his writing.
In Euphoria, what substance addiction is central to the storyline of the main character, Rue, played by Zendaya?
Correct! Rue’s battle with opioid addiction is a core thread running through Euphoria. The show uses her struggle as a lens to explore trauma, identity, and mental health among teenagers, and Zendaya won Emmy Awards for her portrayal.
Not quite. Rue struggles primarily with opioid addiction throughout Euphoria. Creator Sam Levinson drew on personal experience to shape her character, and Zendaya’s raw, emotionally powerful performance earned her back-to-back Emmy wins.
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The film broadens its scope to spotlight the greater systemic problems of the American prison system. From inside, the message is spearheaded by incarcerated activists Robert Earl Council (“Kinetik Justice”) and Melvin Ray, the founders of the Free Alabama Movement, who share deep insights and perspectives from behind bars. Since its release last year, the film has reignited the debate around prison reform. It’s gritty, voyeuristic, and gobsmacking.
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Music Box: Happy And You Know It (2025)
Why kids’ music matters more than you think
As a parent of a teenager, I’m finally at the stage where the trauma of Baby Shark, The Wiggles, and Let It Go has been silenced, pushed into the recesses of my psyche never to be reawakened. So, I was a little reluctant to watch Music Box: Happy And You Know It, for fear of a relapse. I’m kidding (sort of). It was fine.
This fun and interesting installment in HBO’s Music Box series actually takes a deep look at children’s music, revealing a multi-billion-dollar industry that, while its artists are often not taken seriously and their music ridiculed, its role as a developmental tool is vastly underestimated. Directed by Penny Lane (Hail Satan?, Listening to Kenny G), Happy And You Know It will be fascinating for parents who’ve been in the trenches with children’s music, as it brings in some of its worst offenders (I’m kidding), such as The Wiggles’ founding member Anthony Field, ’90s alt rocker Chris Ballew, who jumped ship from The Presidents of the United States of America to become Caspar Babypants, and children’s entertainer Johnny Only, who delves into the controversy and lawsuit around Baby Shark.
Told with a mix of fun, vibrant performance footage and interviews, Happy And You Know It is a quirky, heartfelt, and revealing look at the world of kids’ music, the entertainers behind it, and the role it plays in our kids’ development.
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Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024)
A tragic and uplifting portrait of the real-life superhero
With apologies to David Corenswet, Henry Cavill, Brandon Routh, and Dean Cain—Christopher Reeve will always be Superman to me. Like kryptonite to the Man of Steel, get ready to be reduced to a rubbery, blubbery mess after watching Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, a deeply personal and powerful portrait of Reeve’s life before and beyond the iconic role.
This Emmy-nominated 2024 documentary from directors Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui is the definitive chronicle of the remarkable life of Reeve. The 1-hour, 44-minute doc traces his life, from his years as an aspiring actor at the prestigious Juilliard school and his lifelong friendship with Robin Williams, through his meteoric rise to fame after starring in Richard Donner’s iconic 1978 masterpiece, Superman, and to the 1995 horseback riding accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down at the age of 42.
The film is built largely around Reeve’s own voice—pulled from audio recordings, journals, and never-before-seen home movies—and features heartfelt interviews with friends Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon, Jeff Daniels, and Whoopi Goldberg. The archival footage with Reeve and Robin Williams will totally wreck you. The documentary’s back half delves deep into Reeve’s second act as devoted husband and father, and relentless advocate for disability rights, spinal cord and stem cell research, and more, under the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation he founded before his death in 2004. It’s a beautiful tribute.
If your weekend watch list needs something a bit more substantial than the usual disposable true-crime binge or reality show, this lineup of documentaries on HBO Max should do the trick. If not, How-To Geek has all kinds of weekly and monthly streaming recommendation lists you can peruse to scratch whatever itch you have.
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HBO Max is a subscription-based streaming service offering content from HBO, Warner Bros., DC, and more. In 2025, the service re-branded itself as HBO Max after having previously cut “HBO” from its name.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
