Documentary+, a nonfiction streaming service, will premiere XTR and People’s Television’s investigative pop culture documentary series “The Price of Milk” on July 2nd. All four episodes will be available to stream on all Documentary+ platforms, including free on the Documentary+ streaming network.
The series, directed by Emmy Award nominee Nicholas Bruckman (“Not Going Quietly,” “Mint: The Rise (And Fall?)”) and Peabody Award winner Yoni Brook (“Philly DA”) and produced by Jen Mailak, James Doolittle, Bruckman and Brook, made its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival and was shown on the NOW program. The series is also executive produced by XTR’s Justin Lacob, Matt Cerchio and Bryn Mouser.
This film tells the untold story of the 90’s iconic “Do you have any milk?” Campaigns and their impact on farmers, consumers, and public policy. Using interviews and archival footage, we move from the farm to the White House, digging into America’s love-hate relationship with milk and the dairy industry’s control over pop culture, politics, and food.
The series begins by looking into how “Do You Have Milk?” became a pop culture phenomenon in the 1990s, drawing attention to all things dairy from Frankie Muniz to Britney Spears to Beyoncé to SpongeBob SquarePants. However, this campaign was a huge failure, unable to reverse the decline in milk consumption. This series follows the money and reveals the dairy industry working with the U.S. government to counter changing American tastes.
“I grew up fascinated by these 1990s ads, but behind them is a story of David vs. Goliath and the battle for America’s refrigerators. I hope viewers discover that there’s so much more to what’s on our plates and on our screens,” Brookman said.
“A glass of milk is often taken for granted, so I want audiences to meet people for whom milk is something truly personal. As a filmmaker, I loved exploring how milk is not just a food, but a complex part of American identity,” Brook said.
This project has its own unusual origins. “The Price of Milk” was funded by Oatly, a global oat milk company. Its only condition was that the series be about milk. The filmmakers retained full creative control and reported the story journalistically. This brand is not mentioned in the series, other than being revealed as a title card.
Below are four episodes.
Episode 1 — Have You Been Milked?: The “Have You Got Milk?” campaign popularized the milk mustache in the 1990s. But who paid for it? Government-mandated milk slush fund. The dairy farmer couple takes on the interests of the advertisers and companies behind the campaign.
Episode 2 — Dairy Isn’t Dead: America’s most unlikely tourist destination is a dairy farm theme park in Indiana. Live calves are born on stage, and tens of thousands of cows are kept behind the scenes. Journalists and activists uncover the dark story behind the curtain of the so-called “Dairy Disneyland”.
Episode 3 — Government Cheese: The origins of crusty pizza and Taco Bell’s Quesalupa begin with a government program to induce Americans to eat more dairy. As money flows into corporations, small dairies close down and a Wisconsin dairy farmer-turned-whistleblower takes over “Big Milk.”
Episode 4 — The Children Are Not Alright: Milk needs a new mouth to survive. Students oppose making milk cartons compulsory in school lunchrooms, and climate change activists decry greenwashing of cow dung. Will milk lose its grip on children’s stomachs and hearts?
