The trailer for the documentary The Work in Progress debuted exclusively via Deadline on 5 August 2026, offering the first look at a film that sits over 100 strangers across seven U.S. states at the same table and asks them simply to talk. Deadline

Directed by two-time Emmy nominee Ian Cheney — whose previous credits include The Most Unknown, Picture a Scientist, and The Arc of Oblivion — the film was shot over six months and captures face-to-face conversations between Americans who had never met, guided by questions from executive producer Robert Reich, the former U.S. Labor Secretary. Deadline

The trailer offers a glimpse of the mechanism: a deck of cards inscribed with questions rather than standard suits, dealt to help participants open a dialogue. The premise is direct — bring people with opposing political views into the same room and see what happens when they listen.

Reich's previous documentary, The Last Class (2025), grossed more than $1 million at the box office, ranking among the top-grossing nonfiction films of that year. Deadline That performance sets a commercial benchmark for a genre where seven-figure theatrical grosses are rare — for context, domestic refers to the United States and Canada combined box office, and reaching $1 million in theatrical receipts for a documentary is a meaningful threshold.

Abramorama, partnering with Wicked Delicate Films, CoffeeKlatch Productions, and Inequality Media, announced that The Work in Progress will open theatrically on 4 September at the Quad Cinema in New York City. Later in September the film expands to the Rialto Elmwood in Berkeley, California, and the Rialto Sebastopol in Sebastopol, California, with additional locations to follow. Deadline

The film is produced by Elliot Kirschner, CoffeeKlatch Productions founder Heather Kinlaw Lofthouse, and Emmy-nominated producer Meredith DeSalazar. Cheney's festival track record includes awards at events across the United States, and he carries that documentary pedigree into a project aimed squarely at the polarisation conversation. Deadline

The Work in Progress is expected to contend for Oscar consideration this year, positioning it within the documentary feature race — a field where a strong theatrical run and critical reception during the autumn festival corridor can shape the shortlist. Deadline

For a film about strangers finding common ground, the rollout follows a familiar independent documentary pattern: a single-screen New York launch, a deliberate expansion into receptive West Coast markets, and a slow build designed to sustain word-of-mouth through awards season. The deck of cards may be the film's hook, but the distribution calendar is pure strategy.