Ben Stiller, a driving force behind Apple TV hit workplace psychodrama Severance, now turns to a much more personal subject as a director: his famous comedian parents. His new documentary, Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, begins streaming Friday on Apple TV. And it looks like it might prompt laughs as well as tears.
Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost documentary on Apple TV
If you’re looking to take a break from thrillers and such, you might try Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost. Stiller directs the deeply personal story of his parents, comedy legends Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, and their outsized impact on popular culture and their own kids. The film’s streaming follows its theatrical run, which began October 17.
The documentary is another collaboration between Stiller and Apple TV. It comes on the heels of his work on the Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning thriller series Severance. That groundbreaking, mind-messing show broke records as the most-watched series on Apple TV. It also earned the distinction of being the most Emmy-nominated series of 2025. And the show, which Stiller executive-produces and directs, recently got renewed for a third season and may spawn two spinoffs.
Coming from a showbiz family
In Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost, Ben and his sister Amy Stiller explore the remarkable career and complex personal lives of their parents. They performed as the comedy duo Stiller & Meara throughout the 1960s and ’70s. The film explores Jerry and Anne’s impact on both popular culture and at home. It examines how the lines between creativity, family, life and art often blurred, Apple TV said.
The documentary draws from an extraordinary archive that Jerry Stiller meticulously assembled over decades. Following his parents’ deaths — Meara in 2015 at age 85 and Jerry in 2020 at age 92 — Ben dug into the vast treasure trove of recordings, footage, letters and other ephemera with which they documented their personal and professional lives.
“I feel very fortunate to be partnering once again with the incredible team at Apple TV, this time on a project that is very personal to me and my family,” said Ben Stiller in a press release. “It’s exciting to finally get to share it with audiences; and a great honor to celebrate my parents, both as I knew them growing up, and as I’ve come to know them in new ways through the making of this film.”
Critical acclaim for ‘family therapy’ on screen
Photo: Apple TV
The documentary has received strong reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, 94% of critics’ reviews are positive. Metacritic assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, indicating “generally favorable” reviews. Variety praised it as “a very good film.” RogerEbert.com gave it three out of four stars, calling it “a fascinating snapshot of American comedy history, illustrating how much the industry has evolved over time.”
Rather than offering a conventional celebrity tribute, the film serves as what critics have described as multi-generational family therapy captured on screen. The documentary includes rare moments of vulnerability, such as when Amy Stiller discusses with Ben how it felt to watch him become famous while she struggled to break into the industry, with Ben quietly giving her space to fully express herself, Roger Ebert.com said.
The documentary also features appearances by Ben’s wife, actress Christine Taylor, and their children, Quinn and Ella. They provide insight into three generations of the Stiller family navigating fame, creativity and family life.
Watch this and other documentaries on Apple TV
You can now stream Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost on Apple TV. The film runs 1 hour and 38 minutes. It premiered at the 2025 New York Film Festival on October 5. And of course it’s just one of many documentaries you can stream.
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