Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

WATCH: First Look at Intimate Carrie Fisher-Debbie Reynolds Documentary

Get ready for a seriously crushing two minutes.

The first trailer for “Bright Lights,” an HBO documentary about Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher, has hit the internet and it’s just as intimate, warm and funny as we could possibly hope it to be.

“Mummy, I’m home!” Fisher calls out in the opening moments of the teaser. She walks into her mother’s house with a tray of food, and then promptly chastises her for still using a flip phone.

“It works fine,” Reynolds responds to camera. “Just dandy.”

The film, shot while Fisher was rehearsing for the most recent “Star Wars,” shows the two women spending time together, trading barbs, supporting one another through new career moves and talking about their storied Hollywood past.

Originally slated to be released in March, the documentary was given an earlier premiere date after the untimely passing of both Fisher and Reynolds in December.

“I’m my mom’s best friend,” Fisher can be heard saying at one point, to which Reynolds firmly agrees.

“I share everything with my daughter,” Reynolds says. “Especially the checks.”

Watch the bittersweet trailer below, and then check out the feature film when it premieres January 7th on HBO.

BRIGHT LIGHTS Trailer (2017) Carrie Fisher & Debbie Reynolds Documentary

Thea Glassman is an Associate Editor at the Forward. Reach her at [email protected]

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.