Every fall, a quiet stretch of Texas woodland transforms into a 16th-century village. Knights joust, turkey legs smoke over open flame, and for eight weekends, more than half a million people step out of their own century entirely. But behind the pageantry, something far messier was unfolding: a fight over who would inherit a kingdom.

And it seems a camera crew was paying close attention.

Long before Succession ended, HBO found a real-life version of it playing out at a Renaissance fair in Texas. Ren Faire, the three-part documentary series directed by Lance Oppenheim, pulled back the curtain on the Texas Renaissance Festival and the messy power struggle over who would inherit it from its aging, larger-than-life founder. The documentary premiered on June 2 2024 on HBO and much like its subject matter, always finds a way into the spotlight.

Ren Faire was created by Lance Oppenheim, known for his peculiar style of blending non-fiction stories with a cinematic flair. More importantly, Oppenheim is also the man responsible for giving works like Some Kind of Heaven and You Can See Everything.

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While Ren Faire found a home on HBO, the documentary business seems to be running strong, especially on Netflix.

The streaming mogul Netflix has never been behind when it comes to cashing in off on highlights of the real world, and its 2026 catalogue of documentaries is proof of the same. From dramatic true crime documentaries in the form of A Toxic Love Story, The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson, and The Investigation of Lucy Letby to heartfelt sports and music documentaries that trade courtroom drama for triumph and resilience, the streamer has covered nearly every corner of real-life storytelling.

Despite the variety, the streamer failed to win big through its documentaries at the Oscars 2026. However, Netflix has previously received Best Documentary Short Film for The Elephant Whisperers, Best Documentary Feature for My Octopus Teacher, and Icarus. Turns out, no story is too small, too strange, or too far off; if there is real drama behind the curtain, a camera crew will eventually find it.

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Will you be watching Ren Faire? Let us know in the comments.