We are barely into December and 2025 already has a contender for messiest entertainment story of the year. Netflix is dropping a four-part docuseries, 'Sean Combs: The Reckoning,' produced by Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson, that charts the Bad Boy mogul's rise, collapse, and prison time. It premieres December 2. The twist: everyone is now arguing about where Netflix got some of its footage, and the back-and-forth is as dramatic as anything in the trailer.
The show
Directed by Alexandria Stapleton, the series promises a candid look at Combs' career and the long shadow of his legal troubles. The teaser is narrated by Mark Curry and leans into never-before-seen material, including a tense clip from days before Combs' 2024 arrest.
"We need to find someone who will work with us who has worked in the dirtiest of dirty businesses. We are losing."
As for the case the series covers: Combs was arrested in 2024 on racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation for prostitution charges. He was acquitted of the most serious counts, convicted on two lesser ones, and sentenced to 50 months in prison. The doc features jurors from United States v. Combs and various people from his orbit talking about the empire, the scandals, and the mechanics of Bad Boy Records.
Who you will hear from
- Aubrey O'Day
- Erick Sermon
- Brooklyn Babs
- Jurors from United States v. Combs
- Narration by Mark Curry
The footage fight
Here is where it gets thorny. Netflix hasn't disclosed all of the sources for the Diddy footage (per Forbes), which has fueled a lot of speculation. Combs' camp has gone on offense, calling the project a shameful hit piece and accusing Netflix of using stolen material that was never cleared for release (per Variety). They say the doc includes private, misappropriated content, including legal conversations that were not intended for public consumption. Combs' publicist, Juda Engelmayer, blasted the inclusion of a secretly recorded September 2024 video shot six days before the arrest, calling Netflix's use of it reckless disregard, not journalism, and confirming a cease-and-desist went out.
Netflix, for its part, is standing firm. The company says Stapleton and the production have the rights they need and that the footage was obtained legally; they also say they repeatedly asked Combs' legal team for an interview and comment but got no response. They have even hinted that part of the pipeline is Combs himself, who has documented his life obsessively over the years.
"It came to us, we obtained the footage legally and have the necessary rights. We moved heaven and earth to keep the filmmaker's identity confidential."
50 Cent's role, explained
Because Jackson is executive producing, people assumed this was about old beef. He says it is not. On Good Morning America, he framed his involvement as accountability, not a vendetta, and he even joked that if he truly hated Combs, he would not have hired his kids. His broader point (per NBC) was about what silence looks like in hip-hop when serious allegations hit someone that prominent.
"If I didn't say anything, you could assume that all of hip-hop culture is comfortable with his actions."
Jackson also chalked a lot of the noise up to competitive energy and the trash talk that comes with hip-hop, insisting this is not personal. He believes the series tells the truth.
So, what are we actually getting?
Beyond the legal wrangling, the series is built around access: high-profile interviews, juror recollections, and footage from just before the arrest, including that secret September 2024 video that Combs' team is furious about. Netflix says it is on solid legal ground. Combs' side says it is theft and misrepresentation. The finished product will probably depend on where you land on that divide.
'Sean Combs: The Reckoning' streams on Netflix starting December 2, 2025.