Martha Stewart's Bombshell Documentary Trailer Just Dropped

Netflix has released the official trailer for its upcoming documentary on Martha Stewart, simply called "Martha", on YouTube. The film premieres as a Netflix streaming exclusive on October 30, 2024. "Martha" is directed by R.J. Cutler, who has experience helming documentaries about powerful businesswomen — he also directed "The September Issue," the 2009 film about Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

In the trailer, Stewart muses, "What does it mean to be the first female self-made billionaire in American history?" She then answers her own question with a sly chuckle. This moment is the perfect encapsulation of Stewart's persona: She is at once a brilliant marketer — the trailer shows Martha Stewart's longtime partnership with Snoop Dogg alongside a countless array of covers of Martha Stewart Living magazine — and a fearless entrepreneur, and she does it all with poise and pointed wit. The trailer posits that Stewart is the "original influencer" and also someone who's walked a bit of a tightrope as a woman in the professional world and the celebrity spotlight. We see how, as Stewart built her eponymous cooking and home decorating empire, she was at once labeled as "perfect" and a "b***h". The trailer also hints that the doc will delve into some of the surprisingly dark parts of Stewart's life, including infidelity within her marriage and her infamous federal conviction and prison sentence.

"Martha" does not flinch when it comes to covering Martha Stewart's setbacks, including what may be the most challenging experience of Stewart's life: when she served a federal prison sentence for lying about a stock trade. Stewart also speaks about the challenges in her marriage, with her husband's infidelity leading to her divorce. She is then reminded that she also had an affair. Stewart acknowledges this, shutting down the line of questioning by saying, "Yeah, but I don't think [Stewart's husband] Andy ever knew about that."

This balancing of the light and dark within her life makes it look like the documentary will be an uncompromising portrait of Martha Stewart. Will it join the pantheon of amazing celebrity chef documentaries alongside the acclaimed doc "Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain?" Kick back with Martha Stewart's signature Martha-tini and tune into Netflix on October 30th to find out.