Compare Netflix’s Sean Combs: The Reckoning and Peacock’s Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy. Reviews, release dates, what each documentary reveals about the disgraced mogul’s fall from grace.
The fall of Sean “Diddy” Combs has become one of the most documented celebrity downfalls in recent history. Two major documentaries released in late 2024 and early 2025 examine the music mogul’s rise to power and subsequent criminal conviction. Here’s everything you need to know about both films and which one deserves your time.
Two Documentaries, Two Different Approaches
Within weeks of each other, Netflix and Peacock both released documentaries examining Sean Combs’ journey from hip-hop pioneer to convicted offender. While both tackle similar subject matter, they take dramatically different approaches to telling his story.
Netflix’s Sean Combs: The Reckoning – A four-part limited series (4 hours total)
Release Date: December 2, 2025
Executive Producer: Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson
Director: Alexandria Stapleton
Peacock’s Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy – A single 90-minute documentary
Release Date: January 14, 2025
Production Companies: Ample Entertainment, Blink Films, FGW Productions
Netflix’s Sean Combs: The Reckoning – Deep Dive into Decades of Allegations
What Makes It Stand Out
The Netflix series immediately grabs attention with never-before-seen footage of Combs in his hotel room just days before his September 2024 arrest. In these intimate clips, viewers watch an increasingly anxious Combs speaking with his attorney, complaining that his legal strategy isn’t working.
The documentary unfolds across four episodes with distinct focuses. Episode one explores how a kid from Harlem became Puff Daddy through his work at Uptown Records and founding Bad Boy Entertainment. The second episode examines the dangerous rivalry between Bad Boy and Death Row Records, including persistent questions about Tupac Shakur’s murder.
Episode three shifts to allegations of abuse in Combs’ relationships following The Notorious B.I.G.’s death, while the finale brings together accusers who detail claims of drugging, sexual assault, and the infamous “freak off” parties that became central to his trial.
Critical Reception
The series earned strong reviews from critics and massive viewership numbers. Within six days of release, it racked up 21.8 million views, making it the second-most-watched Netflix title that week behind only Stranger Things Season 5. The documentary holds a 90 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on critic reviews.
Critics praised director Alexandria Stapleton’s measured approach. Rather than creating sensationalist true crime content, the series methodically builds its case through testimony from childhood friends, former employees, collaborators, and even two jurors from Combs’ trial. The Amsterdam News described it as a study in power and self-destruction that doubles as a case study in how power protects itself until it doesn’t.
One particularly notable element includes journal entries from Bad Boy Entertainment co-founder Kirk Burrowes, who took detailed notes while managing financial and personal aspects of Sean’s life. These firsthand accounts provide disturbing context to allegations spanning decades.
What It Gets Right
The documentary doesn’t flatten Combs into a one-dimensional villain. It includes details about his violent childhood, his father’s death, and pressure from his mother to “fight dirty.” This psychological framing adds complexity without excusing his actions. The now-infamous hotel corridor video of Combs assaulting Cassie Ventura appears not as an isolated incident but as part of a broader pattern of alleged abuse and control.
Most importantly, the series examines the industry ecosystem that enabled Combs for years. How did someone with such serious allegations continue operating at the highest levels of entertainment? The documentary suggests the answer lies in a culture that looked the other way as long as the money kept flowing.
Peacock’s Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy – Focused on Early Years
A Different Perspective
Where Netflix takes a comprehensive four-hour approach, Peacock’s 90-minute documentary focuses more narrowly on Combs’ early years and transformation from Sean to Puffy to Diddy. The film promises insight into forces that shaped the man and may have made him a monster.
The documentary features exclusive interviews with people from Combs’ inner circle, including his former bodyguard, childhood friends, his makeup artist, and producer Al B. Sure, who speaks publicly for the first time about his relationship with Kim Porter before she dated Combs. Never-before-seen footage shows Diddy partying at home and in the studio during his peak years. One particularly telling moment appears in the trailer, where someone from his circle admits, “Honestly, I didn’t want to be around him unless there were cameras.”
Mixed Critical Response
Unlike its Netflix counterpart, the Peacock documentary received more polarized reviews. On IMDb, it holds a modest 5.4 rating, with viewers describing it as unfocused and tabloid-like. Several reviews criticized the documentary for lacking depth and substance despite covering inherently compelling material.
Critics noted the film suffers from being structured for television with dramatic cliffhangers placed before commercial breaks, followed by repetitive content afterward. One reviewer described it as presenting conspiracy theories and hot takes about childhood trauma rather than serious investigative journalism. Another complained about sensationalist editing that prioritizes drama over factual analysis.
The documentary does feature some revealing interviews and previously unreleased footage, but reviewers felt these strong elements got buried under tabloid-style presentation. For a topic deserving serious examination, the execution fell short of providing the thoughtful analysis the allegations warrant.
Key Differences Between the Documentaries
Length and Depth
Netflix provides four hours to examine Combs’ entire career arc and allegations spanning decades. Peacock’s 90-minute runtime necessitates a narrower focus on formative years, which some viewers felt left important context unexplored.
Tone and Approach
The Netflix series takes a methodical, investigative approach with carefully sourced testimony and archival materials. Peacock’s documentary leans more sensational with dramatic editing and less cohesive timeline structure.
Exclusive Content
Netflix’s biggest coup is footage of Combs just days before his arrest, plus Kirk Burrowes’ detailed journal entries from inside Bad Boy Entertainment. Peacock offers interviews with people from Combs’ childhood and early career, including Al B. Sure’s first public comments about Kim Porter.
Critical Reception
Netflix: 90 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.5 on IMDb, strong viewership numbers
Peacock: Mixed reviews, 5.4 on IMDb, criticism for tabloid approach
Sean Combs’ Legal Situation: Where Things Stand
Both documentaries were produced and released during ongoing legal proceedings. In July 2025, Combs was convicted on two counts of transportation for purposes of prostitution under the Mann Act. He received a 50-month federal prison sentence (about four years) and is currently incarcerated at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey with an expected release date of May 2028.
Importantly, he was acquitted of more serious charges including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. His legal team filed an expedited appeal on December 24, 2025, arguing the judge overstepped by acting as a “thirteenth juror” and requesting immediate release or a reduced sentence.
The documentaries chronicle events leading to his September 2024 arrest following federal investigations triggered by multiple civil lawsuits, including a high-profile case from his former girlfriend Cassie Ventura.
Should You Watch One or Both?
Watch Netflix’s Sean Combs: The Reckoning If You Want:
- Comprehensive examination of Combs’ entire career and allegations
- Serious investigative journalism with strong sourcing
- Context about the hip-hop industry and Death Row rivalry
- Exclusive footage from days before his arrest
- Understanding of how power structures enabled abuse
Watch Peacock’s Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy If You Want:
- Shorter time commitment (90 minutes vs 4 hours)
- Focus on Combs’ childhood and formative years
- Interviews with people from his earliest days
- Al B. Sure’s perspective on Kim Porter
- Behind-the-scenes party footage
The Honest Assessment
For most viewers seeking to understand the full scope of the Diddy story, Netflix’s four-part series provides superior journalism, better context, and more thorough investigation. The 90 percent critical approval rating reflects genuine quality in storytelling and ethical approach to difficult subject matter.
Peacock’s documentary offers some value through its focus on Combs’ early life and exclusive interviews, but the sensationalist editing and lack of cohesive structure undermine the seriousness these allegations deserve. If you only have time for one, Netflix delivers the more complete and professionally executed examination.
The Bigger Picture: What These Documentaries Reveal
Beyond the specifics of Sean Combs’ case, both documentaries raise important questions about celebrity culture, power dynamics in the music industry, and how allegations of abuse get dismissed when money and influence are at stake.
The Netflix series particularly succeeds in showing not just what Combs allegedly did, but how an entire ecosystem of enablers, business associates, and industry gatekeepers allowed concerning behavior to continue for decades. Multiple people interviewed describe knowing something was wrong but feeling unable to speak up against someone so powerful.
This pattern echoes other high-profile cases like R. Kelly and Harvey Weinstein, where systems of power protected perpetrators long after warning signs appeared. Both documentaries contribute to ongoing conversations about accountability, though Netflix does so with more rigor and less sensationalism.
Final Verdict
The tale of Sean “Diddy” Combs serves as a cautionary story about unchecked power and the long road to accountability. While two major documentaries have tackled his story, they differ dramatically in execution and impact.
Netflix’s Sean Combs: The Reckoning stands as the definitive examination comprehensive, well-researched, and unflinching in its portrayal of both Combs’ accomplishments and alleged crimes. Its massive viewership and critical acclaim reflect documentary filmmaking that respects both the subject’s complexity and the seriousness of accusations against him.
Peacock’s Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy provides supplementary material for those deeply interested in Combs’ early years, but falls short of delivering the thoughtful analysis such serious allegations require.
For anyone seeking to understand one of hip-hop’s most dramatic falls from grace, start with Netflix. The four hours invested will provide context, clarity, and uncomfortable but necessary truths about power, fame, and accountability in the entertainment industry.
Where to Watch:
- Sean Combs: The Reckoning – Streaming now on Netflix (subscription required)
- Diddy: The Making of a Bad Boy – Streaming now on Peacock ($7.99/month with ads, $13.99/month ad-free)