David Bowie’s last years are to be explored in a new Channel 4 documentary, provisionally titled The Final Act.
As per Deadline, the documentary will “chart the final creative chapter of one of music’s most iconic artists” and will feature rare interviews with those who knew and worked closely alongside Bowie. Bowie died at the age of 69 in January 2016 following an 18-month battle with cancer; he released his final album, ‘Blackstar‘, just two days before he died.
Deadline also report that the documentary will include interviews with famous fans and artists who have been inspired by his work. They add it will “uncover the strategy behind Bowie’s artistic resurrection and the inexhaustible extraordinary creativity that defined his final decade, in which he released his critically acclaimed album Blackstar just two days before he died.”
Speaking about the project, director Jonathan Stiasny said: “The traditional music documentary celebrates triumph. What fascinated me most when making this film was how Bowie’s final chapter wasn’t an ending, it was a resurrection.
“He transformed failure into triumph, silence into revelation, and ultimately, death into art.”
Shaminder Nahal, Head of Specialist Factual at Channel 4, said: “Bowie was one of those rare artists whose imagination never dimmed. This film reveals how, when faced with the end, he found ways to push boundaries and create something transcendent.”
The 90-minute film has been made by Rogan Productions – the team behind Freddie Mercury: The Final Act and ABBA: Against the Odds.
Earlier this month (October 1), the BBC also announced a new Bowie documentary set to premiere in 2026 under the working title Bowie In Berlin.
The 90-minute documentary will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer sometime in autumn 2026 – a firm release date has yet to be announced. The documentary film will explore the icon’s time in Berlin between 1976 and 1978.
Bowie had famously retreated from fame and moved to Berlin in 1976 to battle his cocaine addiction and reroute his career – the move would prove integral, as it sparked three legendary albums: ‘Low’, ‘Heroes’ and ‘Lodger’ – also known as the Berlin Trilogy.
Bowie In Berlin will feature archival footage of the legendary musician himself, as well as rare interviews with four women who played a large role in Bowie’s life during his Berlin stay – Clare Shenstone, Romy Haag, Sarah-Rena Hine and Sydne Rome. Bowie considered all four women his muses, with each of them providing the musician with a different approach to art and life.
“These women saw a Bowie that nobody else saw,” says the BBC in statement announcing the documentary. “(They) all gave him something different, helping his regeneration into an artist who no longer needed to hide behind characters, but was happy to perform as himself – David Robert Jones.”
It is executive produced by documentarian, host, author and broadcaster Louis Theroux. Theroux said in a statement: “This is a dream project. Francis’ three previous Bowie films are the gold standard for Bowie film-making and indeed for docs about music in general. To have his artistry focused on the Berlin years – using the lens of the women in Bowie’s life – is a perfect match of director and material. There’s a wonderful unity of time and place to Bowie’s period in Berlin.
“He hit bottom, but he also found himself making some of his most personal music, then relaunched himself for the first time without a mask, as himself. So, Berlin is the crucible for his incredible regeneration and everything that came afterwards.”
Most recently, London’s V&A East Storehouse opened the doors to the new David Bowie Centre in September.
It contains over 90,000 of the icon’s possessions to guide fans through his artistic life and impact on culture, alongside special curations from the likes of Nile Rodgers and The Last Dinner Party.
Check out NME‘s walk-through video, along with our interview with primary curator Dr Madeleine Haddon here.
