The 15 Best Documentaries on HBO Right Now (September 2020)

Too Beautiful: Our Right to Fight (2018): Best Boxing Documentary

Too Beautiful: Our Right to Fight follows Namibia Flores Rodriguez, Cuba's most notable female boxer, as she fights against a government ban on women's competitive boxing. The film follows her training at Havana's Rafael Trejo Arena, where she undergoes the same unrelenting regime her male counterparts do. It was shot close to her 40th birthday, the cutoff age for participating in the Olympics. Too Beautiful also shows Rodriguez's mentorship and influence on other women in the Caribbean nation who also want to box. The struggle to be taken seriously is something many women can relate to, and the perspective of an athlete outside the U.S. is refreshing to watch, even as the film breaks your heart.

The Swamp (2020): Best Look at America's Broken Politics

Debuting on Aug. 4, The Swamp is a deep dive into the Washington political machine from the perspective of three Republican Congressmen—Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Ken Buck (R-CO). Over the course of a year, cameras follow these men during events like the Robert Mueller hearing and President Trump's impeachment (the film doesn't tackle the Coronavirus, though). The documentary examines how fundraising matters above all else in Washington, and how some politicians like Gaetz are finding different ways to raise money for their campaigns.

I'll Be Gone in the Dark (2020): Best True Crime Documentary

Based on the book of the same name, I'll Be Gone in the Dark is the late writer Michelle McNamara's investigation into the Golden State Killer, who terrorized California in the 1970s and '80s. Over the course of those two decades, he committed 50 home invasion rapes and 12 murders. The documentary series speaks with the survivors and their families, along with McNamara's loved ones, and tells of an era when sex crimes were often hidden or dismissed. It also dives into our society's current fascination with true crime, and how unhealthy and destructive it can be. I'll Be Gone in the Dark is a moving look at trauma, grief, and obsession.

Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland (2018): Best Race-Conscious Documentary

Sandra Blade was a politically active 28-year-old Black woman who was found hanging in her jail cell after being arrested for a traffic violation in Texas. Her death, and the dashcam footage of her arrest, went viral and led to national protests. Say Her Name follows the two-year case and tries to piece together what really happened to Bland. While the film doesn't have all the answers, it does a good job of centering Bland and her activism and highlighting issues that still plague America today.

Being Serena (2018): Best Look at a Sports Icon

Serena Williams needs no introduction. She's one of the most famous faces in sports. She's won 39 Grand Slam titles, four Olympic gold medals, and many other accolades. This documentary series focuses on two pivotal moments in her personal and professional life: the birth of her first child and her efforts to get back on the court afterward. Viewers get a look into her career, her family life, her role as a businesswoman, and more.

More than just a sports documentary, Being Serena is a portrait of Black motherhood and Black womanhood that's just as vital now as it was when the series premiered in 2018.

Ravi Patel's Pursuit of Happiness (2020): Best Rumination on Life's Biggest Questions

Ravi Patel's Pursuit of Happiness is a buddy comedy docuseries that follows actor Ravi Patel as he travels the globe looking for the answers to some of life's biggest and most universal questions. His stops include Mexico, Japan, Korea, and Denmark, where he discusses topics like aging and retirement, parenting and gender roles, work/life balance, and immigration.

Usually accompanied by a friend or family member, Patel offers his own unfiltered opinions and struggles on all of these topics while comparing social norms both in the U.S. and abroad.

Hard Knocks: Los Angeles (2020): Best Documentary Series for Football Fans

Hard Knocks: Los Angeles is the latest in HBO's Emmy Award-winning sports series about the National Football League. For the first time, the show follows the head coaches of two teams, the Los Angeles Chargers and the Los Angeles Rams. Since both are sharing a new home this season at SoFi Stadium, fans are getting a behind-the-scenes peek at both teams' training camp activities.

What's also notable is that Hard Knocks: Los Angeles was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic. That means fans can expect a radically different training season, one filled with social distancing, mandatory temperature checks, and no preseason.

Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018): Most Comforting Documentary

Fred Rodgers is one of the most iconic and enduring figures in television history. His children's program, Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood, entertained and enthralled people for generations. This documentary uses archive footage and interviews with family, friends, and colleagues to talk about Rodgers' life and work, and how his gentle idealism influenced untold numbers of children. Anyone who grew up watching Mr. Rodgers will enjoy this touching tribute to the mild-mannered father figure and pop culture icon.

Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (2015): Best Inside Look at Scientology

Going Clear is the deep dive into Scientology that you probably didn't realize you needed. Building on research done for Lawrence Wright's 2013 book of the same name, director Alex Gibney uses a mixture of interviews, reenactments, and real archival footage to explore a deeply critical look at Scientology in a way that few have attempted before.

With the help of ex-Scientologists like Spanky Taylor, John Travolta's one-time church liason, and Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis, Going Clear is able to paint a distressing picture of internal Scientology politics, including the mechanisms used to hold and control members.

McMillions (2020): Best Corporate Scam Documentary

McMillions is the sort of documentary that tells a story so perfectly weird that it hardly seems possible. This six part docu-series explores how one man, with a little greed and some questionable choices, managed to defraud McDonald's out of $24 million dollars. That's a lot of Bic Macs.

The fraud, of course, was centered on the Monopoly sweepstakes game that McDonalds ran between 1989 and 2001, promising fantastic prizes for buying burgers and collecting game pieces. Featuring in-depth interviews with people involved in just about every aspect of this massive web of crime, McMillions shines a light on how perpetrator Jerry Jacobson was able to carry out this bizarre act of fraud and get away with it for so long.

I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter (2019): Best Crime Documentary

The question this documentary posits is, "Do our words make us responsible for the actions they may cause others to take?" If you aren't yet familiar with the heartbreaking case of Michelle Carter and her boyfriend Conrad Roy, you're about to be. In this 2019 documentary, Carter stands accused of involuntary manslaughter, of having caused her boyfriend to kill himself through cruel and abusive text messages.

Regardless of which side you stand on, this might seem like a clear cut case. If that's the case, this two-part docu-series is likely to plant doubts in your mind. Carter may not be the irredeemable monster some think she is, but when our words spur others to action, might we not hold some responsibility?

David Bowie: The Last Five Years (2018): Best Last Hurrah Documentary

David Bowie: The Last Five Years comes to us from Francis Whately, the same director responsible for David Bowie: Five Years, an earlier documentary that covered Bowie's career from the late 1970s through the early 1980s. This doc, as the name implies, covers the final years of his life and was released on what would have been his 71st birthday.

Filmed toward the end of Bowie's life with his permission and seal of approval, this documentary provides a rare look into the massive burst of productivity that brought us Lazarus, The Next Day, and Blackstar. We learn a bit more about this mysterious and prolific artist, but are left, as always, wanting more.

Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (2018): Best Look Inside a Brilliant Comedic Mind

Robin Williams made us laugh and cry for decades with his impressive comedic and dramatic range, but very few really knew the man. Four years after his death by suicide, director Marina Zenovich brings us a fascinating look into his mind that comes across like it was intentionally narrated by Williams himself.

Peppered with footage and outtakes spanning Williams' career, and interviews with celebrity friends and acquaintances, Come Inside My Mind fills in the portrait of a complex and contradictory individual. Flashes of Williams' vulnerability shine through his quick wit and comedic genius, providing a better, if still painfully incomplete, understanding of the man behind the smiles and laughter.

At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal (2019): Chilling Look at a Culture of Winning Over Everything

Erin Lee Car's biting expose of USA Gymnastics and the monstrous Dr. Larry Nassar makes for uncomfortable viewing at times. Carr walks us through Nassar's numerous crimes, provides a window into the mind of this monster, and shines a light on the system that allowed him to continue victimizing young gymnasts for such a long time.

Featuring extensive first-hand testimony, both in the form of literal courtroom footage and interviews filmed for the documentary, At the Heart of Gold isn't a comfortable watch, but it is an important one.