Netflix Unveils Jane Goodall’s Final Chapter With Posthumous Docu-Series Famous Last Words
Netflix is unveiling Famous Last Words, a posthumous docu-series built around Jane Goodall’s final interview, where the pioneering primatologist looks back on her life and career before delivering a last message to the world.
Netflix just announced something unusual and, honestly, kind of bold: a posthumous docu-series called 'Famous Last Words' arriving two days after Dr. Jane Goodall passed from natural causes. Goodall appears in one of the final interviews she gave, and the whole premise is built around intimate, final conversations that only see daylight after the subject is gone.
So what is 'Famous Last Words'?
It is exactly what the title hints at: long, reflective sit-downs with major cultural figures who agreed, in advance, to talk about their lives and legacies on the condition that the footage would be held until after their death. Yes, the concept is unusual. It is also very inside-baseball: the series is adapted from the acclaimed Danish format 'Det Sidste Ord' and sticks to a pure one-on-one approach. No entourage. No cameras crammed with crew. Just the interviewer and the interviewee in a private session, and the material locked away until the subject passes.
The Jane Goodall episode
Goodall’s installment was recorded as one of her last interviews. After the conversation, the episode ends with her speaking directly into the camera, unedited, to deliver a message she intended for the world to hear after she was gone. That final address is the series’ signature moment—the literal 'famous last words'.
"Jane Goodall was fearless in all things. She deeply loved humanity and the natural world. It was clear to me in our conversation that she was approaching her final adventure with the same fearlessness, hope, humor and joy that she approached everything else in life. She was one of the world’s greatest and most beloved champions of good."
— Brad Falchuk, executive producer
Who is making it
- From Emmy winner Brad Falchuk via his Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision banner
- In partnership with BSNA, part of Banijay Entertainment
- Executive producers: Brad Falchuk and Mikkel Bondesen
- Executive producer: David Goldberg
- Showrunner: David Friedman
What Netflix says to expect
Netflix is pitching Goodall’s episode as a rare, very personal window into her life’s work—how she connected people to the natural world in ways few ever have—and it includes stories she had not shared publicly before. The streamer also says the conversation is strikingly candid and revealing. Because she knew it would only air posthumously, Goodall spoke openly about her own death.
It is a heavy premise, sure. But if there is anyone whose final word is worth hearing, it is Jane Goodall’s.