Everything we know about the Burning Man documentary on HBO

The upcoming documentary series has explored the people, art, and challenges that have shaped Burning Man over the years.

Burning Man is getting the documentary treatment with HBO’s new four-part series, The Man Will Burn. Instead of only showing the wild art, music, and desert parties, the series gives fans a look at everything that goes into making the iconic event happen each year.

The first episode drops on July 9, with a new episode coming out every Thursday after that. If you’d rather binge it later, every episode will also be available to stream on HBO Max.

Directed by Jehane Noujaim and Vikram Gandhi, the series mixes old footage from Burning Man’s history with new interviews from founders, organizers, artists, volunteers, and longtime Burners. It gives viewers a better idea of how the festival has grown over the years and why so many people keep coming back.

The documentary also spends a lot of time on the challenges Burning Man has faced in recent years. Cameras followed the organization during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the festival was canceled and the team had to figure out how to keep the event going without losing what makes it special.

Along with the setbacks, The Man Will Burn shows everything that happens before the gates even open. From building giant art pieces to setting up an entire city in the middle of the desert, there’s a ton of work that most festivalgoers never get to see.

The series comes after a few busy years for Burning Man, including its new tiered ticket pricing system and weather issues that caused huge traffic delays heading into the 2025 festival. Whether you’ve been to the playa before or have always wanted to go, this looks like a fun watch for anyone interested in the culture behind one of the world’s most unique festivals.

Featured Image Courtesy of Reuters

About The Author

Neil Bayless

Hey everyone, I’m Neil! I first joined the dance community back in 2019 when my friend dragged me to Moonrise, my first-ever music festival, and I became hooked ever since. I like to dabble in most genres with my favorites being tech house and melodic techno. When it comes to studio output, Camelphat is part of my daily listening rotation and for a live performance, I’ll never miss a Solomun set. You can likely catch me on the dance floor somewhere in Brooklyn!

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