Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed

Bob Ross was a man who painted on television; he spoke in a calm voice, finished a landscape in thirty minutes and told the viewer they could do it too. The programme ran eleven years and found a large audience again on the internet after his death. The documentary describes the business behind that familiar picture: the company Ross set up with his partners Annette and Walt Kowalski, the question of who owns the brand, and his son's inability to claim his name and legacy after his death. Joshua Rofé directs. It was released on Netflix in 2021. Its main witness is Ross's son Steve Ross, and the narrative rests largely on what he says. Some people who wanted to speak did not go on camera because of contracts and the threat of litigation, and the film says so plainly. The matter the narrative builds is not copyright but the right to a name; after his death, Ross's name became a commercial asset. The other side is not represented and the production admits that as a lack; the claims are visibly one sided. Its best part is the section on Ross's early years; his military background and how the programme was built are given in detail. Who it is for: people who watched the Bob Ross programme and viewers who like documentary about business. Who it is not for: the narrative is one sided, the register slides toward sensation in places, and it does not answer an expectation about painting.