Featuring (as themselves): Ed Sullivan, Smokey Robinson, Harry Belafonte, James Brown, The Jackson 5, The Beatles, Diahann Carroll, Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr, Johnny Carson, Gladys Knight, Elvis Presley, and many more.

Directed By: Sacha Jenkins

Studio/Streamer: Netflix

Release Year: 2025

runtime: 90 minutes

Audio Description produced By: International Digital Center

Written By: Valerie Hunter

Narrated By:

What is it?: The Ed Sullivan Show used to be the bees knees. It was a groundbreaking program that launched the career of many musicians, turning mild mannered Ed Sullivan into a TV icon. Families across the country tuned in to see which musical guests he had wrangled on Sunday night. He was part of the initial iconic launch of The Beatles, in an episode that took a historic percentage of available households at the time. but, he also was doing something else very intentionally, and that was launching black artists. Sunday Best explored how the Ed Sullivan program was a launch pad for everyone from Tina Turner to Stevie Wonder. And, even though he’s been off the air for over fifty years, a few artists still alive comment on what his legacy meant for them. the film does make a bold decision to use an AI version of Ed Sullivan’s voice to narrate, supposedly from his own writings.

What Works: The easy breezy 90 minute runtime. And even though this film is mainly focused on how Sullivan subverted racism at the time to put black artists on television during a time when they were not, I knew they still had to mention Sullivan’s airing of The Beatles. it’s just too iconic. You can’t make a documentary about Ed Sullivan and not mention The Beatles, where something like 3/4ths of the televisions in America were tuned into him. His market share was insane.

It’s actually a well told story, packaged nicely for a generation that may have only heard the name Ed Sullivan, and never actually seen his show. This is a nice time capsule. His influence on music is indelible and his contribution to the history of television is unquestioned.

What Doesn’t Work: I think the AI voice is a mistake. it is a gimmick, and it doesn’t do what they think it does. We’re just starting to encroach on the use of AI, and how and when to use it. we’ve already got Matthew LAwrence running around asking if we can bring back robin Williams, and someone was trying to make a James dean film. It’s not like Ed Sullivan died while filming, and you filled it out, like Carrie Fisher in Star Wars, or even Oliver Reed in Gladiator. No, you just rendered his voice, and gave him words. they may be his own, but this was also an opportunity for one of his contemporaries to narrate in his stead. While some of the most logical choices are also dead, I’d argue Ryan Seacrest has made himself a semi-heir apparent. from his radio program, to hosting American Idol, and the New year’s Rockin Eve specials, he’s pumping and promoting artists. he’s also a producer (he is why we keep up with the Kardashians), and host (Live with Kelly and Ryan, Wheel of Fortune). It would remove the ethical question surrounding the use of AI.

Aside from that, I do wish we had gotten more black musicians to comment on this. It feels like only a few who are still alive are willing to say anything, and Smokey Robinson is propping up this documentary. Aren’t there any black artists who grew up as kids in the 60’s and are still alive today, even if they weren’t artists at the time? It almost highlights the importance of the documentary, like Ed Sullivan, as iconic as he is, is already being forgotten more than we realized.

the Audio description: Fantastic. Valerie Hunter tries so hard to name every artist who graces the screen, and there are a lot of them. that way, even for the artists who don’t get a slightly longer feature, like the Jackson 5, you still can be amazed at how many legends came through. It’s really great audio description for a documentary. Valerie understood the assignment.

You Might Like it If: You’ll like it. Probably. It’s pretty quick, it has a ton of history wrapped into it and does its job.

Why You might Not Like it: AI can be polarizing, and for some who are in industries losing the battle, the simple presence of AI here could cost them a viewer.

Final Thoughts: As a junkie for documentaries about old Hollywood, this felt pretty comprehensive given the runtime, though I lament the use of AI to recreate Ed Sullivan’s voice, and consider it distracting and unnecessary.

Fresh: Final Grade: 8/10