Netflix on 15 July released “Trainwreck: Balloon Boy,” the latest instalment in its Trainwreck documentary series, revisiting the 2009 saga in which Colorado parents Richard and Mayumi Heene claimed their six-year-old son had drifted off in a home-made helium balloon. The film features new interviews with the Heene family and investigators, offering a retrospective on how the episode unfolded across live television and social media. The documentary recounts how the balloon’s 90-minute flight prompted a multijurisdictional rescue effort, only for authorities to find the child safe in the family’s garage attic. Prosecutors later concluded the incident was a hoax staged to attract television deals. Richard Heene pleaded guilty to attempting to influence a public servant and served 30 days of a 90-day sentence, while Mayumi Heene served 20 days for filing a false report; the couple also paid $36,000 in restitution. Public interest persisted for more than a decade. In 2020, Colorado Governor Jared Polis issued pardons to both parents, saying the state should “move on.” Their son, Falcon, now 22, appears in the film and says he remembers little of the event; he currently operates a tiny-home construction business in Florida. The documentary positions the Balloon Boy incident as an early template for viral media spectacles and examines the enduring personal and legal fallout for the Heenes.