New Red Hot Chili Peppers Documentary Explores Dark Days

A new documentary about the early days of the high-energy, genre-bending, funk band will premiere on Netflix on March 20, 2026. The documentary will take an in-depth look at the band’s gritty formative years when their dear friend and bandmate Hillel Slovak sadly lost his life to drug addiction in 1988. He was 26. All members have dabbled in drugs in one form or another, but have outlasted many who succumbed to their addictions.

Ben Feldman, known for “Bug Out” and “Rich & Shameless,” directs the doc, “The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.”

“It’s a true honor to partner with Netflix to bring The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers to a global audience,” Feldman said in a statement. “At its heart, this is a deeply relatable story — about the friendships that shape our identities and the lasting power of the bonds forged in adolescence. What’s less relatable, of course, is that here those friends went on to create one of the greatest rock bands in history. I’m profoundly grateful to the band and to Hillel’s family for their trust and generosity, and to Netflix for helping bring this story to the world stage.”

The band’s been playing together for more than 40 years and is one of the best-selling bands in the U.S., amassing a dedicated fan base. The Californication album sold more than 16 million copies.