When the world learned of legendary conservationist Jane Goodall’s passing on Wednesday, a select group at Netflix sprang into action. They had just 48 hours to finalize a groundbreaking new series, years in the making.
By Friday, Netflix quietly unveiled the debut episode of “Famous Last Words.” This unique series features intimate, late-life interviews with celebrated individuals, their content—and identities—kept strictly confidential until after their death. Goodall’s interview, recorded in March, was among several already awaiting release in a secure Netflix archive; she was simply the first subject to pass away.
In the 55-minute episode, reviewed by The New York Times on Wednesday, Goodall, renowned for her pioneering research into the lives of chimpanzees, offers a frank assessment of what she calls the “dark” times we currently inhabit. She also directs some particularly strong words towards global figures, including President Trump.
Despite her concerns, Goodall, who was 91 at the time of her death, repeatedly emphasizes her belief that she was destined to fulfill a specific mission on Earth. Her concluding message to the world is one of unwavering hope.
“If you want to save what is still beautiful in this world,” she states in the episode, edited from approximately four hours of footage, “then think about the actions you take each day.”
“Don’t give up,” she implores. “There is a future for you.”
“Famous Last Words” draws its inspiration from the acclaimed Danish TV series “Det Sidste Ord” (“The Last Word”), which first aired in 2020. Netflix secured the rights to adapt this format for international audiences. (Neither executive producer Brad Falchuk nor creator Mikael Bertelsen were aware of The New York Times’s own similar series, “The Last Word,” until after the Danish format was acquired by Netflix. The Times series, which began in 2006, is no longer filming, with its most recent published interview featuring Representative Carolyn McCarthy of New York in June; a few interviews remain unreleased.)
Brad Falchuk, who also conducts the interviews, first discussed the series with The New York Times in June. By then, he had already dedicated over two years to the project, with Netflix having about four episodes ready for release and another four in production. (Both Netflix and Falchuk declined to reveal the subjects of the upcoming episodes this week.)
Falchuk shared his most significant insight from the interviews so far:
“Nobody says, Wow, I really should have spent more time at work.”
Danish Origins
Mikael Bertelsen, the Danish TV and radio host who conceived the original series, explained that the idea for “Det Sidste Ord” first sparked several years ago after a Danish comedian he had interviewed suddenly passed away.
Later, following an event at the Royal Danish Library, its director expressed frustration that modern television interviews weren’t suitable for preserving cultural heritage purposes. This prompted Bertelsen to consider creating something more enduring.
“That made me want to start up,” Bertelsen recalled in a video interview from Tuscany in July. However, he admitted, “It took me, I mean, eight years to get somebody to believe the idea.”
Mikkel Bondesen, Falchuk’s producing partner, was instantly captivated by “Det Sidste Ord.” He reached out to Bertelsen, and together Bondesen and Falchuk presented the concept to Netflix. (They now serve as executive producers for the Netflix version, with Bertelsen acting as a consultant.)
“I had never seen something that was so opposite of TV,” Bondesen commented. “No cutaways to clips. No photos. Just two people in a room talking.”
The Netflix series’ format closely mirrors its Danish predecessor. Cameras are operated remotely, ensuring only the subject and interviewer are present on the soundstage. Even those in the control room are unable to hear the conversation directly.
Falchuk often poses questions in the past tense, reminding subjects, he said, that “they are dead.”
‘Across the Threshold into Death’
From the outset, Falchuk felt it was crucial to conduct the interviews himself. This approach would maintain a small circle of involved individuals and ensure the guest remained the central focus. As Gwyneth Paltrow’s husband, he was confident in his understanding of why famous people tend to “lock up,” and how to encourage them to relax their guard. (Falchuk’s background is primarily in scripted television, having co-created multiple series with Ryan Murphy, including “American Horror Story,” “Pose,” and “9-1-1.”)
Falchuk’s vision for the show is to offer viewers a precious extra hour with individuals they admire. “The idea of this show is, we’re giving you just an extra hour,” he explained.
He stresses that “Famous Last Words” is “not transactional.” “It’s not to get them to say some secret about their lives that’s a big front-page New York Post story.”
“It’s a service to these people to deliver their last words,” he added. “We’re almost bringing them across the threshold into death. If they don’t want to talk about something, we don’t talk about it.”
Netflix utilizes a studio in Los Angeles and a mobile studio to facilitate these interviews, explained Brandon Riegg, head of nonfiction programming for the streamer. Many subjects are, after all, in their 90s.
The Danish version features Eames chairs on a raised platform, with a stark color palette of whites, grays, and blacks. The Netflix adaptation, however, adopts a warmer, richer tone with reds and browns. It “has to look like an in-between space between life and death,” Falchuk described. “Ethereal in some way.”
In a further tribute to the Danish series—whose interviews are preserved in the archives of the Royal Danish Library—Netflix’s interviews are entrusted to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
The End
For her episode, Goodall brought along Mr. H., a beloved stuffed monkey she had owned for 34 years. After settling into her seat, she took a sip of whiskey, which she continued to enjoy throughout the conversation.
At one point, Falchuk acknowledged the deep respect people hold for Goodall and her work, as well as her calm and thoughtful demeanor in her lifelong fight to protect the planet. He then probed: Who exactly is this fight against? Whom does she truly dislike?
“Absolutely there are people I don’t like, and I would like to put them on one of Musk’s spaceships and send them all off to the planet he’s sure he’s going to discover,” Goodall declared, referring to Elon Musk. “He’d be the host” of the party, she added, listing President Trump, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, President Xi Jinping of China, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel as her preferred guests.
“Put them all on that spaceship,” she stated, “and send them off.”
Death is an explicit theme throughout the episode. Goodall recounts a chimpanzee’s reaction to losing its mother and shares her hope that her own mother, her childhood dog, and another chimp she named David Greybeard will greet her upon her passing.
For Goodall’s powerful concluding message, Falchuk exits the set, leaving her to speak directly to the camera.
“I want to make sure that you all understand that each and every one of you has a role to play,” she says. “You may not know it, you may not find it, but your life matters, and you are here for a reason.”