PBS Documentary Series ‘Independent Lens’ Reveals Fall Slate of Films (EXCLUSIVE)

September 12, 2025 / By Addie Morfoot Read on Variety.com

'Cracking the Code' premieres on October 6, 2025.

Despite Trump's budget cut, Independent Lens exec says the series will rely on "long-standing preparation for this moment and our critical funders"

The PBS documentary series “Independent Lens” returns for a new season on Oct. 6 with  Bill Haney’s “Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution.” About the life and legacy of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Phil Sharp, the doc is narrated by Mark Ruffalo.

In addition to “Cracking the Code,” the fall slate includes two additional doc features that speak directly to today’s most pressing issues.

On Oct. 20, Deborah Riley Draper and Sabaah Folayan’s “Ratified” will debut. The doc, which made its world premiere at the 15th annual Bronze Lens Film Festival in August 2024, is about the Equal Rights Amendment’s path back to life through Virginia’s pivotal ratification battle led by Black women. The doc traces the legal, political, and deeply personal fight to enshrine gender equality in the U.S. Constitution nearly a century after the ERA was first proposed.

Closing out Independent Lens’ fall lineup on Nov. 3 is “Life After” from disabled filmmaker Reid Davenport (“I Didn’t See You There”). In the film, Davenport investigates assisted dying and uncovers how ableism, policy and systemic failures can make death seem like the only option. Winner of the 2025 Sundance Special Jury Award, the documentary explores who gets real choice and who doesn’t, in life and death.

The final two episodes of the short-form docuseries “The Opioid Trilogy” will air on Independent Lens on Sept. 16, just before the fall slate launches. The second installment of the series, titled “Do No Harm,” follows Raina McMahan’s 17-year struggle with heroin addiction and her path to recovery. The third and final episode, “Coming Home,” follows Tahira Malik as she rebuilds her life after opioid addiction and incarceration. (The first installment of “The Opiod Triology” debuted on Independent Lens in July 2022.)

“Helping us make sense of our world is the goal of independent filmmakers,” said Lois Vossen, Independent Lens executive producer. “This fall, we explore the important role of scientists and biotech innovation, surviving opioid addiction, ongoing efforts for gender equality, and the complex realities of assisted dying. Through our Indie Lens Pop-Up community screening program, we extend these conversations about how we live, govern, and care for one another into local communities — where real change begins.”

Last month, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced that it is shutting down after nearly six decades. CPB provided funding to NPR and PBS. In July, Congress formally passed President Donald Trump’s measure to claw back $9 billion in previously approved funding, including $1.1 billion for PBS and NPR.

“With the elimination of federal funding for public media and the shuttering of CPB, Independent Lens is relying on long-standing preparation for this moment and our critical funders, who have helped ensure these consequential stories continue reaching the American people,” said Vossen. “We have an incredible season ahead and are in active conversations with PBS to carry this work into 2026–2027. Our vision and teams are strong, but sustaining this mission requires sustainable multi-year funding.”

All of Independent Lens’ fall slate will be available via linear TV as well as various streaming sites, including PBS YouTube, the PBS app and PBS Passport.