discovery+, the definitive non-fiction, real-life subscription streaming service, announced today its expansive slate of documentaries for the first half of 2022 at the semi-annual gathering of the Television Critics Association (TCA). Spotlighting diverse voices and powerful storytelling, these highly anticipated documentaries will launch only on discovery+.
From 11-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Jonathan Hock comes LEGACY: IN THE SHADOW OF GREATNESS (launching March 8), a six-part docuseries following the athletic pursuits of the children of sports icons Dwyane Wade, Evander Holyfield, and Randall Cunningham as they attempt to break out from their parents’ shadows and become legends in their own right.
Additional new offerings include INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED HISTORY (launching March 31), an inspiring six-part series that tells the incredible stories behind the world’s most important inventions, and two new additions to the UNDISCOVERED strand of documentaries that explore some of the world’s greatest untold stories and have the potential to rewrite the history books along the way: UNDISCOVERED: EDGEWOOD (launching May 19), uncovering bizarre and top-secret drug experiments that were performed on US soldiers for decades and UNDISCOVERED: FINDING AMELIA, following a brand new expedition to locate and bring home Amelia Earhart (launching June 9).
“In 2022, discovery+ will be the place for audiences to dive into enlightening and out-of-this-world stories with our wide range of feature documentaries and premium docuseries,” says Howard Swartz, Senior Vice President, Docs & Specials (Factual Networks & Streaming). “From intimate storytelling in Legacy: In the Shadow of Greatness to unpacking tales of our past that can change the course of history, audiences will have a menu of options to satisfy their viewing desires.”
“Our first year of discovery+ included a groundbreaking set of documentaries and the reaction from both viewers and the doc community has been amazing. We saw audiences flock to the platform for the work of a diverse group of talented filmmakers in a big way. In 2022, we will expand on our promise to bring urgent, surprising & ambitious stories from award-winning filmmakers including Werner & Rudolph Herzog, Nick Brigden and Keith Maitland, to our viewers around the world,” says Igal Svet, Vice President, Documentaries, discovery+.
These documentaries join the previously announced titles DESTINATION FEAR: TRAIL TO TERROR (launching February 24), directed by and starring Dakota Laden, LAST EXIT: SPACE (launching March 10), directed by Rudolph Herzog and executive produced and narrated by Werner Herzog, and DEAR MR. BRODY (launching April 28), an official selection of the Telluride Film Festival and directed by Keith Maitland.
The full slate of discovery+ premium documentaries, with release dates in chronological order, is below (all streaming dates are subject to change).
LEGACY: IN THE SHADOW OF GREATNESS (March 8, 2022)
Director: Jonathan Hock
Executive Producers: Mike Basone, Dwyane Wade, Mark Ciardi, Jonathan Hock, and Melanie Capacia Johnson
Produced by: NEO Studios, 59th & Prairie Entertainment
A six-part docuseries from 11-time Emmy Award winning filmmaker Jonathan Hock, following the athletic pursuits of the children of sports icons Dwyane Wade, Evander Holyfield, and Randall Cunningham as they attempt to make their own mark on the world.
INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED HISTORY (March 31, 2022)
Executive Producers: Tom Forman, Chuck Dalaklis, Jenny Daly, Jon Beyer
An inspiring six-part limited series that tells the unbelievable stories behind our culture’s most notable inventions.
UNDISCOVERED: EDGEWOOD (May 19, 2022)
Executive Producers: Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Craig H. Shepherd, Nick Brigden
From 1955 to 1975, the United States Army Chemical Corps conducted classified human subject research on thousands of soldiers at the Edgewood Arsenal facility in Maryland. The purpose was to evaluate the impact of potent, mind-altering chemical warfare agents on military personnel as an alternative to traditional mortal combat. Today, many of those soldiers believe that the military broke the law and engaged in a decades-long cover-up to hide the truth about what really happened to them at Edgewood Arsenal. Through shocking, never-before-seen footage of the drug experiments, along with exclusive, first-hand accounts from both the mastermind behind the research and the soldiers who participated in it, UNDISCOVERED: EDGEWOOD will uncover the true story of one of the most bizarre and controversial chapters in recent American history.
UNDISCOVERED: FINDING AMELIA (June 9, 2022)
Director: David Carr
Producers: Mark Kadin, Will Ehbrecht, Greg Spring, Michael Carra, Mary Williams
It is the greatest unsolved mystery in American history. Amelia Earhart disappears while attempting to be the first woman to fly around the world in 1937. Credible theories remain unproven, and decades of searching have turned up nothing. But now, a team has irrefutable evidence they know Amelia’s final resting place and are launching an expedition to finally bring her home.
Previously announced:
DESTINATION FEAR: TRAIL TO TERROR (February 24, 2022)
Director: Dakota Laden
In his first-ever documentary and genesis for the hit TV series Destination Fear, Dakota Laden takes his sister Chelsea Laden and best friends Tanner Wiseman and Coalin Smith on a journey to test their limits of fear. Dakota does not tell anyone where they are going, just that they will be sleeping alone for five consecutive nights in five of the most haunted locations in America. What starts out as an experiment in fear turns into a real-life horror movie.
LAST EXIT: SPACE (March 10, 2022)
Director: Rudolph Herzog
Executive Producer: Werner Herzog
Produced by: Gunpowder & Sky, Spring Films and Taglicht Media
Rudolph and Werner Herzog take us on an unforgettable journey into space and living beyond Earth as they look to answer the big question, how close are we to fulfilling our dream of becoming space colonists?
DEAR MR. BRODY (April 28, 2022)
Director: Keith Maitland (Tower, A Song For You)
Producers: Melissa Robyn Glassman, Megan Gilbride, Keith Maitland, and Sarah Wilson.
Executive Producers: Edward R. Pressman, Shep Gordon, Jon Katz, Carolyn Pfeiffer, Regina K. Scully, for Impact Partners: Dan Cogan, Jenny Raskin and Geralyn White Dreyfous, and for Topic Studios: Michael Bloom, Maria Zuckerman and Lisa Leingang.
When hippie-millionaire Michael Brody Jr. publicly announced that he would be giving away his fortune in 1970, he and his wife became instant celebrities. They were mobbed by the public, scrutinized by the press, and overwhelmed by a crush of personal letters from across America responding to his extraordinary offer. DEAR MR. BRODY uses a mix of archival footage, psychedelic animation, stylized recreations, and interviews with the letter writers themselves, to offer a moving meditation on universal human struggles and needs, as well as a uniquely preserved snapshot of a year of American history that deeply resonates today.
