Won’t You Be My Neighbor?: Fred Rogers Documentary Gets HBO Premiere Date

Morgan Neville’s critically acclaimed Mister Rogers documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is coming to HBO on Feb. 9, 2019.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? centers on America’s favorite neighbor: Fred Rogers. The moving documentary tells the story behind the minister/puppeteer/writer/producer whose show entered homes across America daily for over 30 years. In his beloved television program, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Rogers and his cast of puppets and friends spoke directly to young children about some of life’s most complicated issues in a simple, direct manner that children could understand. The no-frills, profound series discussed death, divorce, disease, difference and more without an explicit attempt to make the material more digestible, and proved revolutionary in children’s programming.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? has become the top-grossing biographical documentary of all time since its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, earning more than $22 million at the domestic box office. It took home three Documentary Critics’ Choice Awards, including Best Documentary, Best Director and Best Editing.

Also on Feb. 9, HBO will honor Fred Rogers’ contribution and commitment to public television with a special presentation of the film on PBS’ Independent Lens.

“We’re excited to have such a great partner in HBO to help spread Fred’s message back into the world,” said Neville in a statement. “And we’re especially excited that HBO has forged a unique collaboration with PBS to ensure that the film reaches the broadest possible audience in February.”

In case you missed the film in theaters this summer, check out the trailer for Won’t You Be My Neighbor? embedded below.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? will debut Saturday, Feb. 9, at 9 p.m. ET on HBO. The documentary will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and partners’ streaming platforms at that time.