Netflix has released Episode 3 of ‘Famous Last Words’, featuring the final interview with pioneering writer, activist and feminist organiser Gloria Steinem, following her death aged 92.
The series has a rather extraordinary premise. Major cultural figures sit down for a deeply personal interview while they are still alive, knowing the conversation will be kept completely secret and only released after their death. Steinem recorded hers with executive producer Brad Falchuk in February 2025, around 18 months before it was finally seen by the public.
The unusual setup means the interviewee knows exactly why the conversation is being recorded and gets the opportunity to reflect on their life, work and legacy in their own words.
For Steinem, that means talking about everything from her family and childhood to her career as a writer, the founding of Ms. magazine, her activism, the feminist movement and even her love of reality television.
She also pushes back on the idea that she was ever “the face” of feminism.
“I hope I wasn’t the face of the feminist movement,” she tells Falchuk. “It’s not right. It’s a diverse movement. [My fame] has more to do with endurance … because I’ve just lasted longer, because I’ve stayed at it longer.”
The conversation also looks at some of the more complicated parts of the movement, including Steinem’s tensions with fellow feminist writer Betty Friedan, alongside wider discussions about race, gender, equality, Indigenous cultures and the importance of bringing people with different experiences together.
Despite spending more than half a century campaigning for change, Steinem remained clear-eyed about how much work was still left to do.
“I don’t lose all hope in the future,” she said. “We have no shortage of things we need to do in order to be compassionate toward each other.”
When Falchuk asks how she feels about no longer being here, Steinem says she hopes she has left behind something useful for the people who follow.
Asked what she would like people to say about her after her death, she replies:
“There was this person who tried to make the world a little more equal, compassionate, joyful, funny than it was when I showed up.”
Falchuk also points out that she chose what could be viewed as the harder path by devoting so much of her life to progress and change. Steinem’s response is wonderfully simple:
“Doesn’t feel harder. It feels like fun.”
Falchuk described filming the interview with Steinem:
“Gloria Steinem was the steady heartbeat of a revolution, but in this room, she was a woman reflecting on the simple, profound beauty of human connection. She spoke about the intersection of race, gender, and peace with a wisdom that only comes from a lifetime on the front lines. Even in her final moments, she was organizing us, challenging us to keep moving forward. It’s an extraordinary privilege to share her final thoughts with the world.”
Part of what makes ‘Famous Last Words’ so unusual is how these conversations are filmed. Only the interviewer and interviewee are present, with remotely operated cameras used so that there is no production crew sitting around the room. The intention is to create an environment where the subject can be as open and vulnerable as possible.
At the end of each episode, Falchuk leaves the stage entirely, allowing the interviewee to look directly into the camera and deliver a final, unedited public message.
Steinem uses hers to urge people to share their experiences with one another, signing off with a simple request:
“Please tell your own story.”
Steinem is the third person to appear in ‘Famous Last Words’. Episode 1 featured pioneering ethologist and conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall, while Episode 2 featured Eric Dane (‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Euphoria’), who reflected candidly on his life while facing ALS.
The series is based on the Danish format ‘Det Sidste Ord’ and is executive produced by Falchuk and Mikkel Bondesen through Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision, alongside BSNA, a Banijay company, David Goldberg and showrunner David Friedman.
It’s a fascinating concept for an interview series. Rather than leaving other people to decide how someone’s life should be summed up after they are gone, ‘Famous Last Words’ gives its subjects the opportunity to have one last say themselves.
‘Famous Last Words’ Episode 3 premiered Thursday, 3rd September 2026 on Netflix.
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