Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story | Official Trailer | Netflix

Beloved for blurring performance and personal crisis, Maria Bamford unpacks the mental health journey behind her fearless comedy in this documentary.

Watch on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/82917947

OFFICIAL TRAILER AND KEY ART DEBUT

PARALYZED BY HOPE: THE MARIA BAMFORD STORY

Release Date: October 23, 2026

Synopsis: Maria Bamford has built a career on turning radical honesty into radical comedy - often blurring the line between performance and personal crisis. In this documentary, co-directors Judd Apatow and Neil Berkeley trace her path from a childhood in Duluth, Minnesota, through discovering a love of performance in college, to hard-won fame in Los Angeles while closely following her present day life for almost four years. Also featuring hilarious clips from her stand-up specials and testimonials from fellow comedians who admire her singular voice, the film doesn't shy away from the harder material: Bamford's mental health journey and pivotal family relationships that shaped her along the way. The result is a portrait that's as funny as it is tender, capturing an artist who has made a career of finding laughter inside the hardest truths.

Directors: Judd Apatow & Neil Berkeley

Producers: Judd Apatow, Neil Berkeley, Amanda Rohlke, David Heiman

Executive Producers: Josh Church, Wayne Federman, Olivia Rosenbloom