Best documentary shows streaming, ranked.
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- #1100

Planet Earth
2006– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Family
4 EmmysBest Documentary SeriesA documentary series on the wildlife found on Earth. Each episode covers a different habitat: deserts, mountains, deep oceans, shallow seas, forests, caves, polar regions, fresh water, plains and jungles. Narrated by David Attenbo...
MAX - #2094

Capturing the Friedmans
2003 · Movie · 1h 47mDocumentary · Biography · Crime
Documentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.
MAX - #2693

Cameraperson
2016 · Movie · 1h 42mDocumentary · Biography · History
Exposing her role behind the camera, Kirsten Johnson reaches into the vast trove of footage she has shot over decades around the world. What emerges is a visually bold memoir and a revelatory interrogation of the power of the camera.
MAX - #3393
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
2024 · Movie · 1h 44mDocumentary · Biography
Reeve's rise to becoming a film star follows with a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After the accident, he became an activist for spinal cord injury treatments and disability ri...
MAX - #6291
Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off
2022 · Movie · 2h 15mDocumentary · Biography · Sport
Follows famous skater Tony Hawk's personal life, career and relationship with skateboarding, including never-before-seen footage and unprecedented access to Hawk, along with interviews with figures from the skateboarding world.
MAX - #6391

Grey Gardens
1976 · Movie · 1h 35mDocumentary · Comedy · Drama
Meet a mother and daughter, high-society dropouts, reclusive cousins of Jackie O., managing to thrive together amid the decay and disorder of their East Hampton, NY, mansion, making for an eerily ramshackle echo of the American Ca...
MAX - #7391
Escape from Kabul
2021 · Movie · 1h 13mDocumentary · History
Features never-before-seen archival footage of the historic confrontation at Kabul airport, from the U.S. withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan through the subsequent evacuation of Afghan citizens after the Taliban seized the ...
MAX - #9789
After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News
2020 · Movie · 1h 35mDocumentary
A look at the ongoing threat caused by the phenomenon of "fake news" in the U.S., focusing on the real-life consequences that disinformation, conspiracy theories and false news stories have on the average citizen.
MAX - #10589
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
2013 · Movie · Japanese · 1h 58mDocumentary
Follows the routines of those employed at Studio Ghibli, including filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki as they work to release two films simultaneously, The Wind Rises and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.
MAX - #10988
MythBusters
2003–2018 · Series · 15 seasonsDocumentary · Mystery · Reality
The Mythbusters use science (and explosions) to answer every shower thought ever. From testing the myth that coke and pop rocks can explode your stomach, to recreating historical weapons to see how they worked.
Disney+MAXHulu - #11288

Homicide Hunter: Lt Joe Kenda
2011–2023 · Series · 9 seasonsDocumentary · Crime
Through re-enactments, discussions with investigation teams, and interviews with victims' families and other involved persons, the show highlights Lt. Joe Kenda's successes with his 387 homicide case history and 92% solution rate.
MAXHulu - #14086
The Case Against 8
2014 · Movie · 1h 49mDocumentary · Biography
A behind-the-scenes look inside the case to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. Shot over five years, the film follows the unlikely team that took the first federal marriage equality lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.
MAX - #15085
One to One: John & Yoko
2025 · Movie · 1h 41mDocumentary · Biography
Set in 1972 New York, this documentary explores John and Yoko's world amid a turbulent era. Centered on the One to One charity concert for special needs children, it features unseen archives, home movies, and restored footage.
MAX - #16085
Valentine Road
2013 · Movie · 1h 29mDocumentary · Crime
On February 12, 2008 in Oxnard, California, eighth-grade student Brandon McInerney shot his classmate Larry King twice in the back of the head during first period. When Larry died two days later, his murder shocked the nation. Was...
MAXPrime Video - #16285
Conan O'Brien Must Go
2024– · Series · 2 seasonsDocumentary · Comedy
2 EmmysAfter years of conversations with listeners from across the world on his podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend (2018), Conan O'Brien sets off on an epic journey to connect with some of his dedicated followers in person.
MAX - #16684

Floyd Norman: An Animated Life
2016 · Movie · 1h 34mDocumentary · Biography
Animator. Storyman. Troublemaker. At 80 years old, see how Disney Legend Floyd Norman, the first African-American animator at Disney, continues to impact animation and stir up "trouble" after the company forced him to retire at ag...
MAX - #19281

Top Gear: The Perfect Road Trip
2013 · Movie · 1h 25mDocumentary · Comedy
Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond go on a seven-day road trip from Venice, Italy, to Pau, France, in this special episode from the BBC motoring series. Along the way the pair visit the Autodromo Nazionale Monza race track and ta...
Peacock - #19881

Friends: The Reunion
2021 · Movie · 1h 44mDocumentary · Biography · Comedy
"Friends (1994)" reunion special hosted by James Corden in which the main cast revisit the sets of the original show, meet with celebrity guests, do table reads and re-enactments of episodes, and share behind-the-scenes footage.
MAX - #23078
60 Days In
2016– · Series · 9 seasonsDocumentary · Crime · Reality
"60 Days In" offers an unprecedented look at life behind bars at Indiana's Clark County Jail. Seven ordinary people volunteer to live among its general population for 60 days, without fellow inmates or staff knowing their secret.
Disney+HuluNetflixPeacockPrime Video - #23178
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound
2019 · Movie · 1h 34mDocumentary · History
An exploration of the history and emotional power of cinema sound, as revealed by legendary sound designers and visionary directors, via interviews, clips from movies, and a look at their actual process of creation and discovery.
Peacock - #23978
I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter
2019– · SeriesDocumentary · Crime
Teen Michelle Carter's actions shocked a nation - but what really happened behind closed doors? This HBO special showcases the prosecution's point of view and alternately the defense's. Which side do you fall on?
MAX - #24278
Carrie Fisher: Wishful Drinking
2010 · Movie · 1h 17mDocumentary · Comedy
Hollywood icon Carrie Fisher tells her raw and intoxicating true story in this documentary based on her hit stage production. Touching on stardom, mental illness, addiction and more, the actress recounts her peaks and valleys with...
MAX - #24877
American Greed
2007–2023 · Series · 15 seasonsDocumentary · Crime
Documentary series focusing on history's largest financial crimes ranging from Ponzi schemes, murder, card counting, generating fake currency and goods, extortion, online dating, identity theft, drug distribution, and insider trad...
PeacockPrime Video - #24977

Exterminate All the Brutes
2021– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · History
Through time, into the darkest hours of humanity, the documentary deconstructs the making and masking of history, digging deep into the exploitative and genocidal aspects of European colonialism, from America to Africa and its imp...
MAX - #27675
Bleed Out
2018 · Movie · 1h 28mDocumentary · Drama · Romance
After a routine partial hip replacement operation leaves his mother in a coma with permanent brain damage, what starts as a son's video diary becomes a citizen's investigation into the future of American health care. Using underco...
MAX - #29174
George Stevens: D-Day to Berlin
1994 · Movie · 46mDocumentary · Biography · War
3 EmmysProduced and narrated by George Stevens Jr., this short documentary uses footage taken by his father when he was in the Army Signal Corps and follows American troops from D-Day in June 1944 to the end of the European war.
MAX - #29474

John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise
2021– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Biography · Crime
The chilling story of one of the world's most notorious serial killers told through the words of Gacy himself, those who were forever changed by his unspeakable deeds and those who believe that the full truth remains concealed to ...
Peacock - #29874
The History of Comedy
2017–2018 · Series · 2 seasonsDocumentary · Comedy · History
Utilizing archival footage punctuated by contemporary interviews with comedy legends and scholars, this is the history of not only what makes us laugh, but how comedy has affected the social and political landscape throughout hist...
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