‘Free Solo’ Climber Announces His Next Daring Feat—and It’s Streaming Live on Netflix

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Alex Honnold is not done topping himself.

The daredevil rock climber, who gained global fame as the star of the Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo, has set his sights on his next record-breaking challenge: being the first person to free solo Taipei 101—a 1,667-foot tall skyscraper in Taiwan that used to hold the title of World’s Tallest Building (it’s now in 11th place).

Best of all, he’s inviting fans to experience every second of the climb by partnering with Netflix, who will air the pulse-pounding attempt as a live special next year. 

“Skyscraper Live will kick off 2026 as our latest global must-watch live event,” Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s VP of Nonfiction Series & Sports, said in a statement announcing the special on Tuesday. “Watching Alex Honnold free climb Taipei 101 will be an adrenaline inducing spectacle that you can’t look away from. Everyone will be talking about it as it happens.”

Though the company did not announce an official date for the special, it’s currently slated to run for two hours in early 2026. It’s the latest addition to Netflix’s growing lineup of live entertainment, which has proved to be a hit for the streaming giant with sporting events including NFL Christmas Gameday, Paul vs. Tyson, Canelo vs. Crawford, and WWE Raw and live comedy shows such as The Roast of Tom Brady and Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney.

Honnold, 40, became a household name in 2017, when he became the first person in the world to free solo El Capitan’s 3,000-foot “Freerider” route in Yosemite National Park—with all of it captured on film for Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s National Geographic documentary Free Solo, which took home the 2019 Oscar for Best Feature Documentary. 

In 2024, Honnold partnered with Nat Geo again for Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold, a three-episode docuseries in which Honnold travels to Greenland to face off against Ingmikortilaq, which is considered one of the world’s most difficult climbs due to its unpredictable, Arctic conditions.