This summer, the Trainwreck anthology will revisit some of the most gripping, bizarre — and sometimes even horrifying — events that once dominated the mainstream media. The headlines may sound familiar — “Boy Trapped in ‘UFO-Like Balloon’ Floating Over Colorado,” or “Toilets Overflowing as Stricken Ship Limps Towards Port” — but behind the sensational coverage and sound bites are complex stories, essential questions, and real people who found themselves at the center of the chaos.
Told from their perspective, the Trainwreck series and films will explore everything from disastrous festivals, political scandals, and media hoaxes to cult-like corporations and reality TV disasters. The first installment, released in 2022, explored the infamous Woodstock ’99 festival, and starting June 10, Trainwreck will examine eight more moments in recent history — from the devastating Astroworld tragedy to the cult of American Apparel — every week. The next chapter, told in two parts from director Jack MacInnes (Surviving Black Hawk Down), revisits the viral “Storm Area 51” movement that captured the world’s imagination and drew thousands to the Nevada desert in 2019. And below, learn more about the real-life stories explored across the entire Trainwreck anthology of documentary films and series.
In November 2021, around 50,000 music fans gather at Houston’s NRG Park for Travis Scott’s third Astroworld music festival — the first since the COVID-19 pandemic. But event security personnel struggle to manage the large crowd, and events turn tragic when the audience pushes toward the stage for the headliner, resulting in a fatal crowd crush that becomes the subject of fevered speculation and condemnation in the media. (In 2023, a Houston grand jury found that no individual was criminally responsible for the deaths at Astroworld. All 10 wrongful death lawsuits have been settled out of court by Live Nation, Travis Scott, and other defendants for undisclosed amounts.)
Kari Lia and Hamish Fergusson
Passion Pictures
What exactly happened at Astroworld that led to the deaths of 10 people? Here’s what to know about the Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy documentary, which is available to stream now.
In the 2010 Toronto mayoral election, firebrand city councilor Rob Ford unexpectedly throws his hat into the ring. Widely dismissed as a joke by other politicians and the media, he defies critics with a shocking victory. But his administration soon becomes a slow-motion disaster, as an avalanche of scandals and allegations of hard drug use lead to an international media frenzy.
Sheun Adelasoye De Nicola, Alexander Marengo, and Tim Wardle (RAW); Casey Feldman, Erica Roberts, and William Swann (BBH)
RAW and BBH
The “poop cruise” refers to a 2013 incident aboard the Carnival Triumph cruise ship, where an engine fire left 4,000+ passengers stranded at sea for several days with unsanitary conditions, including overflowing toilets and sewage-soaked carpets.
It was supposed to be a luxury cruise: a four-day round trip from Galveston, Texas to Cozumel, Mexico. But for the passengers and crew on board, the reality proved catastrophically different. After an engine room fire destroyed electrical cables supplying the entire ship, the boat was left drifting with no power for propulsion, refrigeration, lighting, air-conditioning, or, worst of all … flushing toilets.
Soon, raw sewage leaked all over the ship, food supplies started dwindling, and passengers began to revolt. The cruise company raced to control the fallout, but the damage was done: The media couldn’t get enough of the “poop cruise.”
Sheun Adelasoye De Nicola, Alexander Marengo, and Tim Wardle (RAW); William Swann and Casey Feldman
RAW
In the mid- 2000s, American Apparel becomes one of the United States’ most successful fashion brands, known for its colorful casual clothing, ethical production, and sexually provocative advertising campaigns. For young staffers it’s an exciting time: a chance to be part of a cult-like company revolutionizing the fashion industry, and an opportunity to learn from American Apparel’s charismatic CEO and founder, Dov Charney.
But as the brand quickly expands, the young employees begin to realize that American Apparel’s shiny surface is hiding a darker reality. Charney’s chaotic management starts to hit the company’s finances, and he is accused of sexual harassment by female employees. As problems mount and the company begins to implode, staff members are forced to come to terms with the toxic work environment Charney has created. (Charney has denied the allegations and has not been found guilty of, or liable for, any crimes. The lawsuits against him either settled or went to arbitration.)
Sheun Adelasoye De Nicola, Alexander Marengo, and Tim Wardle (Raw); Casey Feldman, Erica Roberts, and William Swann (BBH)
RAW and BBH
In 2012, a teenage girl in the small Netherlands town of Haren creates a Facebook event for her sixteenth birthday party, but makes the page public instead of private. Inspired by a love of the Hollywood movie Project X, Dutch teenagers make the event go viral, and soon thousands of people have RSVP’ed.
Despite warnings, police and local authorities don’t seem to think anyone will turn up. No provisions are made to entertain the masses of young people who arrive in Haren, and the party soon explodes into a full-blown riot.
Sheun Adelasoye De Nicola, Alexander Marengo, and Tim Wardle (Raw); Casey Feldman, Erica Roberts, and William Swann (BBH)
RAW and BBH
On Oct. 15, 2009, a father in Fort Collins, Colorado, speaks to a 911 operator, claiming that his homemade dirigible has escaped from the family backyard, carrying his 6-year-old son inside. This stranger-than-fiction claim is backed up by footage from a news helicopter, which catches up with the balloon and televises the chase. What starts as a local emergency quickly escalates into a national one, as everyone from the local sheriff’s department to the National Guard scrambles to come up with a plan to safely rescue “Balloon Boy.”
As the balloon softly lands, a captivated nation prays for a miracle reunion — only to discover that no boy is inside. But what appears to be a tragedy takes a sharp turn into something else. Public sympathy quickly turns into righteous outrage, as Balloon Boy quickly becomes one of America’s most infamous — and bizarre — news stories.
Sheun Adelasoye De Nicola, Alexander Marengo, and Tim Wardle (RAW); Casey Feldman, Erica Roberts, and William Swann (BBH)
RAW and BBH
In 2010, Lifetime commissions a reality TV series about a private investigation agency staffed by soccer moms. Everyone is convinced they have the next big hit on their hands, until the production crew starts to notice something is off. The moms’ investigations keep falling apart, leading to allegations of sabotage. At the same time, a mysterious informant accuses the agency’s boss of running an illegal drug operation on the side, abetted by a corrupt cop. For both the TV series and the criminals dealing drugs, it is only a matter of time before things fall disastrously apart.
Sheun Adelasoye De Nicola, Alexander Marengo, and Tim Wardle (Raw); Casey Feldman, Erica Roberts, and William Swann (BBH)
RAW and BBH
This is the story of the greatest sh*tpost ever made. When 20-year old Matty Roberts creates a Facebook event inviting people to storm the heavily secured Air Force facility Area 51 in the Nevada desert, the post quickly goes viral, with hundreds and then thousands saying they’ll join the event whose announcement stated, “They can’t stop all of us.”
This prompts the US Air Force, FBI, and Federal Aviation Administration to strongly advise against anyone illegally trying to access the base. Despite official warnings, the post continues to go viral, and soon millions have signed up to attend: meme lords, military commanders, UFO hunters, sexy aliens, and YouTubers, all part of the ultimate story of the internet bursting into the real world.
RAW and BBH
Alex Marengo
