Movies: Don’t Date Brandon (2025) by Grace Chapman: A chilling and empowering true-crime docuseries about women reclaiming their stories
- dailyentertainment95
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
When the perfect boyfriend becomes everyone’s nightmare
Don’t Date Brandon (2025) is a three-part true-crime documentary premiering October 28, 2025, on Paramount+, directed by Grace Chapman. The series follows two women, Amber and Athena, who discover they share the same ex — a manipulative man named Brandon — and together decide to expose his web of lies, abuse, and coercion.
Through candid interviews, podcast recordings, and emotional testimonies, the women launch a grassroots movement that encourages other victims to come forward. What begins as a personal confrontation evolves into a powerful story of solidarity, survival, and justice in the digital age.
A co-production between See It Now Studios and Wag Entertainment, the series sheds light on the emotional and psychological scars left by modern manipulation, making it one of Paramount+’s most talked-about documentary events of the year.
Why to Recommend: Empowerment through exposure
Female-led storytelling: Directed by Grace Chapman, the series gives control back to survivors, letting women define their narratives rather than be defined by them.
True-crime with purpose: Rather than focusing on the abuser, the show centers the resilience and resourcefulness of his victims.
Authenticity and empathy: The blending of raw interviews, text threads, and podcast audio creates an emotional intimacy rarely seen in true crime.
Summary: Don’t Date Brandon reclaims the genre — transforming pain into power and community into justice.
What is the Trend Followed: Survivor-driven true crime and digital accountability
The docuseries fits within a growing movement in media toward ethical, survivor-centered true crime, focusing on empowerment rather than voyeurism.
The rise of feminist true crime: Following works like Stolen Youth and The Tinder Swindler, it frames manipulation as systemic, not isolated.
Digital-age abuse: Explores how technology and social media amplify control, secrecy, and deceit.
Podcast-to-documentary storytelling: The women’s decision to start a podcast mirrors a broader trend of using grassroots media to expose hidden abuse.
Collective voice over singular victimhood: The narrative shifts from one victim’s trauma to a network of survivors finding collective healing.
Accountability culture: The doc taps into post-#MeToo awareness, exploring what it means to hold abusers responsible in public and private spaces.
Summary: Don’t Date Brandon joins a new wave of documentaries that make the act of telling the story a form of justice in itself.
Director’s Vision: Reclaiming the narrative from the inside out
Grace Chapman approaches the material with restraint and empathy, avoiding sensationalism. Her focus remains on how survivors rebuild identity after manipulation — not on glorifying the perpetrator.
Visual tone: Real-time podcast footage, blurred flashbacks, and minimalistic reenactments evoke a haunting sense of déjà vu.
Narrative structure: Each episode builds from personal pain to collective power, ending in an emotionally resonant call to action.
Emotional core: Chapman emphasizes connection — how truth-telling becomes survival when systems fail.
Ethical filmmaking: The director prioritizes participant agency, allowing victims to set boundaries for what is shared on screen.
Summary: Chapman’s direction turns true crime into a form of resistance — quiet, fierce, and deeply human.
Themes: Gaslighting, community, and reclaiming control
Psychological manipulation: Explores how emotional abuse hides beneath charm and romance.
Female solidarity: Shows how women uniting against one man’s lies becomes an act of collective healing.
Truth through storytelling: The podcast device symbolizes control over one’s voice — victims becoming narrators.
Digital vulnerability: Reveals the risks of love in an online age where deception is algorithmic.
Survival and transformation: Trauma becomes a shared language, leading to empowerment instead of isolation.
Summary: Don’t Date Brandon isn’t about revenge — it’s about redemption through connection.
Key Success Factors: Intimate, urgent, and socially relevant
Grace Chapman: Brings documentary rigor and compassion to a story that could easily have been sensationalized.
Authentic participants: Amber and Athena’s real-time journey from silence to speech is gripping and cathartic.
Emotional pacing: Balances tension with empathy, exposing harm while protecting dignity.
Editing and sound: The juxtaposition of cheerful voice notes with chilling revelations enhances the narrative’s impact.
Cultural resonance: The series arrives amid renewed conversations about online dating safety and coercive control.
Production & Distribution: International collaboration
Co-production: See It Now Studios & Wag Entertainment (a Fremantle company)
Executive producers: Steven Green, Eliya Aman (Wag); Susan Zirinsky, Terence Wrong (See It Now Studios)
Supervising producers: Aysu Saliba, Cara Tortora
Distributor: Fremantle International
Platform: Paramount+ (Global)
Premiere date: October 28, 2025
Summary: Backed by an experienced team of documentary veterans, Don’t Date Brandon stands out as both prestige television and social activism.
Critical Response: Powerful and unsettling
Variety: “A gripping, responsible true-crime series that prioritizes empathy over exploitation.”
The Hollywood Reporter: “Chapman crafts an unflinching portrait of modern manipulation — and the women rewriting the rules.”
Rolling Stone: “A must-watch in the era of digital dating — both terrifying and empowering.”
IndieWire: “Less about one man, more about the system that enables him — essential viewing.”
Summary: Critics praise the series for blending investigative rigor with emotional authenticity, calling it a new benchmark for ethical true crime.
Audience Reception: Cathartic, cautionary, and collective
Viewers: Many call it “healing” and “validating,” particularly those who’ve experienced similar relationships.
Podcast fans: Appreciate its meta structure and how real-time storytelling becomes activism.
True-crime enthusiasts: Praise its refusal to glorify the abuser, focusing instead on systemic accountability.
Consensus: “A documentary that doesn’t just tell a story — it gives survivors the mic.”
Streaming Details
Platform: Paramount+
Release date: October 28, 2025
Format: 3-part docuseries
Genre: True Crime / Documentary / Psychological
Country of origin: United States / United Kingdom
Language: English
Production companies: See It Now Studios, Wag Entertainment (Fremantle)
Industry Trend: Survivor-centered storytelling in true crime
This documentary aligns with a growing shift toward narrative reclamation, where storytelling becomes a tool for justice and healing. Producers are increasingly seeking first-person narratives and podcast tie-ins, using new media to amplify real voices.
Cultural Trend: Accountability through community
In the post-#MeToo landscape, Don’t Date Brandon embodies a cultural demand for transparency and mutual protection. It illustrates how the internet — once a breeding ground for deception — can now serve as a platform for solidarity and exposure.
Final Verdict: Haunting, heartfelt, and vital
Don’t Date Brandon (2025) is a gripping, emotional investigation into coercion, courage, and collective healing. Grace Chapman’s direction ensures the story transcends true crime to become a manifesto for survival and sisterhood.Verdict: Honest, harrowing, and hopeful — a must-watch docuseries that proves storytelling itself can be an act of justice.
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