Documentary of the Week

The Showtime series "Couples Therapy" follows three New York couples as they work through conflicts with the counseling of Dr. Orna Guralnik. It may sound voyeuristic, but as we watch these couples experience breakthroughs in self-awareness, it becomes therapeutic.

The Netflix series "High on the Hog" explores the wide-ranging influence of African-American food traditions. Host Stephen Satterfield talks to chefs and historians throughout West Africa and the United States for an eye-opening and mouth-watering journey.

"Five Years North" profiles two figures on the opposite sides of immigration struggles in New York City: an undocumented Guatemalan teenager and an ICE agent. Filmmakers Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci deepen our understanding of the human effects of America's policies. The documentary opens theatrically this weekend at New York’s Film Forum.

The new documentary The Crime of the Century studies how Purdue Pharma and other companies fostered an opioid epidemic. Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney interviews author Patrick Radden Keefe ("Empire of Pain") and others to expose the secrets that Big Pharma tried to conceal.

“The Boy From Medellin” follows reggaeton superstar J Balvin as he prepares the biggest concert of his career against the backdrop of political turmoil in Colombia. Oscar-nominated director Matthew Heineman follows Balvin over a dramatic week as he grapples with how to use his voice in a time of protest. 

In “Duty Free,” filmmaker Sian-Pierre Regis takes his mom on a bucket list journey after she loses her job at age 75. Well-timed for Mother’s Day, the emotional film explores what happens when an elderly parents have to rely on their adult children.

The eight-part series “Philly D.A.” follows District Attorney Larry Krasner as he carries out a progressive agenda to reduce incarceration in Philadelphia. The series invites comparisons to “The Wire” for its dramatic twists and turns as Krasner tries to live up to his principles against fierce opposition.

“Down a Dark Stairwell” examines how Black and Asian activists were galvanized in different ways over the 2014 New York police shooting of Akai Gurley. Filmmaker Ursula Liang covers the complex case from multiple viewpoints.

“Oliver Sacks: His Own Life” profiles the neurologist and best-selling author of “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.” Filmmaker Ric Burns examines the life experiences that influenced Sacks and how he reinvigorated the literary genre of scientific case histories.

“WeWork: or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn” dissects the company that soared on the charisma of its co-founder Adam Neumann until its bubble burst. Filmmaker Jed Rothstein (“The China Hustle”) interviews WeWork insiders and journalists to tell a story of financial chicanery that fits alongside recent documentaries on the Fyre festival and Theranos.