The Alabama Solution: Release date news, streaming details and more about the upcoming documentary on HBO

HBO's latest addition to their intense collection of documentaries is The Alabama Solution: a documentary that sheds light on the corrupted and violent conditions of inmates in Alabama prisons. Shown through phone footage and interviews with surviving inmates, the film shows the forced labor inmates were put under, and the rigged system that continued to exploit those serving time.

Releasing this October, the first received praise from audiences during it's Sundance premiere and is soon making it's way to the theaters. Here's everything you need to know about the documentary and where you can watch it.

Release and streaming details of The Alabama Solution?

Still from The Alabama Solution (Image via HBO)

The Alabama Solution had it's world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival where it received acclaim for it's raw storytelling and unprecedented access to footage smuggled from inside prisons. Following that, HBO has taken up distribution, and will be releasing the film in select theaters on October 3.

After that, the film will be available for streaming on HBO from October 10, 2025, joining the streaming giant's collection of documentaries.

Plans for HBO start at $9.99/month or $99.99/year with ads, with the standard plan priced at $16.99/month or $169.99/year with 16% savings. The premium plan starts at $20.99/month or $209.99/year with 16% savings.

More details about The Alabama Solution

The documentary, directed by Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman, was born when a family trip to Montgomery became a moment of justice and resilience for Alabam prison inmates. They begged for help from behind the boundaries, calling the prison unfit for human society. Soon enough, inmates started reaching out through contraband cellphones, shedding light on a system that thrives on forced labor and violence.

The footage is nothing short of disturbing. Bloodied hallways, starved inmates and denied justice. Activists Robert Earl Council and Melvin Ray risked everything to leak the truth and show the world what the corrupt system has been getting away with for years.

During the film's screening at the Sundance Festival, Council told the audience,

“We thank you all for listening, for being interested. On behalf of the brothers of Alabama, I thank you all. On behalf of the brothers who didn’t make it, who didn’t live to see this, and on behalf of the brothers who participated and contributed to make it happen. We’ve gone as far as we can in depicting every aspect of what life is like in here. This is where we pass the baton to you.”

The title is a witty nod to Governor Kay Ivey's infamous phrasing where he called the Alabama prisons "an Alabama solution to an Alabama problem". In practice, this solution was rigged and corrupted, even as parole rates collapsed and deal rates went up the roof.

The documentary doesn’t stop at statistics. It follows Sandy Ray, a mother searching for answers after her son Steven Davis was beaten beyond recognition by guards in 2019. The state settled for $250,000, never admitting fault. One officer, accused in over 20 lawsuits, was promoted twice. Inmates produce $450 million annually in goods and services, from prisons to community projects, echoing America’s long history of coerced labor.