Best western & documentary shows streaming, ranked.
Your next watch, decided. Every show ranked by quality — not popularity. No more arguing about what to watch tonight — share a WatchList with your partner.
- #1100#1100
MAXPlanet 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 - #1097#1097
NetflixGodless
2017– · Series · 1 seasonWestern · Action · Drama
3 EmmysIn the 1880s American West, murderous outlaw gang leader Frank Griffin hunts for ex-protege Roy Goode. Frank's chase leads him to La Belle, New Mexico--a town inhabited, after a mining disaster, almost entirely by women.
Netflix - #1596#1596
NetflixDavid Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
2020 · Movie · 1h 23mDocumentary · Biography
3 EmmysThe story of life on our planet by the man who has seen more of the natural world than any other. In more than 90 years, Attenborough has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wild places of our planet and documenting the living world in all its variety and wonder. Addressing the biggest challenges facing life on our planet, the film offers a powerful message of hope for future generations.
Netflix - #1696#1696
NetflixPrime VideoMan on Wire
2008 · Movie · 1h 34mDocumentary · Biography · Crime
1 OscarA look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century".
NetflixPrime Video - #2595#2595
MAXThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion
2020 · Movie · 1h 15mDocumentary
30 years later, we're bringing the Banks family back together. Join Will Smith and his former co-stars for a funny and heartfelt night full of music and dancing in honor of the show that ran for six seasons and 148 episodes.
MAX - #3494#3494
MAXCapturing 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 - #3894#3894
NetflixTo Kill a Tiger
2023 · Movie · 2h 8mDocumentary
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Netflix - #4493#4493
MAXCameraperson
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 - #4893#4893
MAXSuper/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 - #5093#5093
NetflixThe Elephant Whisperers
2022 · Movie · Tamil · 41mDocumentary
1 OscarBomman and Bellie, a couple in South India, devote their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu, forging a family like no other that tests the barrier between the human and the animal world.
Netflix - #6392#6392
MAXGimme Shelter
1970 · Movie · 1h 31mDocumentary · Thriller
When three hundred thousand members of the Love Generation collided with a few dozen Hells Angels at San Francisco's Altamont Speedway, the bloody slash that transformed a decade's dreams into disillusionment was immortalized on t...
MAX - #6892#6892
NetflixWinter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom
2015 · Movie · 1h 42mDocumentary · History
A documentary on the unrest in Ukraine during 2013 and 2014, as student demonstrations supporting European integration grew into a violent revolution calling for the resignation of President Viktor F. Yanukovich.
Netflix - #7291#7291
NetflixAmerican Factory
2019 · Movie · 1h 50mDocumentary
1 OscarIn post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a factory in an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class...
Netflix - #7691#7691
MAXMea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God
2012 · Movie · 1h 46mDocumentary
3 EmmysAlex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all the way to the Vatican.
MAX - #7891#7891
MAXTony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off
2022 · Movie · 2h 15mDocumentary · Biography
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 - #8191#8191
MAXFirst Cousin Once Removed
2012 · Movie · 1h 18mDocumentary
Acclaimed filmmaker Alan Berliner chronicles the deeply personal story of his mother's first cousin--well-known poet/translator/professor Edwin Honig--on his journey into the depths of Alzheimer's disease. Shot over the course of ...
MAX - #8391#8391
NetflixJim Gaffigan: Obsessed
2014 · Movie · 1hDocumentary · Comedy
Jim Gaffigan bursts back on the scene with this eagerly anticipated fourth comedy special. Dubbed the "King of Clean Comedy" by The Wall Street Journal, Jim's obsession with all things food comes to fruition on "Obsessed" as he ta...
Netflix - #10490#10490
MAXEscape from Kabul
2021 · Movie · 1h 13mDocumentary · History
Unfolding over 18 monumental days in August 2021, this deeply immersive and emotional documentary combines never-before-seen archival footage from those on the ground at the airport with exclusive interviews with people who were there throughout the period, including Afghan citizens attempting to flee, U.S. Marines tasked with managing the evacuation, and Taliban commanders and fighters who had recently taken the city.
MAX - #11190#11190
MAXBuena Vista Social Club
1999 · Movie · 1h 45mDocumentary
Aging Cuban musicians whose talents had been virtually forgotten following Castro's takeover of Cuba, are brought out of retirement by Ry Cooder, who travelled to Havana in order to bring the musicians together, resulting in trium...
MAX - #11590#11590
NetflixChef's Table
2015–2024 · Series · 7 seasonsDocumentary · Biography
Chef's Table goes inside the lives and kitchens of six of the world's most renowned international chefs. Each episode focuses on a single chef and their unique look at their lives, talents and passion from their piece of culinary ...
Netflix - #12289#12289
NetflixJim & Andy: The Great Beyond - Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton
2017 · Movie · 1h 34mDocumentary
A behind-the-scenes look at how Jim Carrey adopted the persona of idiosyncratic comedian Andy Kaufman on the set of Man on the Moon (1999).
Netflix - #12889#12889
NetflixCity of Joy
2016 · Movie · 1h 14mDocumentary · Crime · Drama
This film follows the first class of students at a remarkable leadership center in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a region often referred to as "the worst place in the world to be a woman." These women have been through...
Netflix - #13789#13789
MAXAfter 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 - #13989#13989
NetflixFound
2021 · Movie · 1h 37mDocumentary · Drama
The story of three American teenage girls-each adopted from China-who discover they are blood-related cousins on 23andMe. Their online meeting inspires the young women to confront the burning questions they have about their lost h...
Netflix - #14388#14388
NetflixPrime VideoThe Queen of Versailles
2012 · Movie · 1h 40mDocumentary
A documentary that follows a billionaire couple as they begin construction on a mansion inspired by Versailles. During the next two years, their empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic...
NetflixPrime Video - #14688#14688
Disney+MAXHuluMythBusters
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 - #15388#15388
NetflixSecret Mall Apartment
2025 · Movie · 1h 31mDocumentary
In 2003, eight Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment inside a busy mall and lived there for four years, filming everything along the way. Far more than a prank, the secret apartment became a deeply meaningful place for all in...
Netflix - #17088#17088
Disney+MAXHuluHomicide 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.
Disney+MAXHulu - #17888#17888
NetflixThey'll Love Me When I'm Dead
2018 · Movie · 1h 38mDocumentary · Biography
In the final fifteen years of the life of legendary director Orson Welles, he pins his Hollywood comeback hopes on a film, The Other Side of the Wind (2018), in itself a film about an aging film director trying to finish his last ...
Netflix - #18387#18387
NetflixUnknown: The Lost Pyramid
2023 · Movie · 1h 23mDocumentary · History
In the sands of Saqqara, two of the world's most famous Egyptologists, Dr. Zahi Hawass and his protege and rival, Dr. Mostafa Waziri race with their teams against the clock to see who will make the biggest discovery.
Netflix - #18887#18887
NetflixThe Wrecking Crew
2008 · Movie · 1h 41mDocumentary · History
A celebration of the musical work of a group of session musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew", a band that provided back-up instrumentals to such legendary recording artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys and Bing Crosby.
Netflix - #19487#19487
NetflixPrime VideoRaise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins
2019 · Movie · 1h 33mDocumentary
RAISE HELL: THE LIFE & TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS tells the story of media firebrand Molly Ivins, six feet of Texas trouble who took on the Good Old Boy corruption wherever she found it.
NetflixPrime Video - #19887#19887
NetflixTurning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War
2024– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary
The series chronicles the creation of the atomic bomb and the spread of nuclear arms over the following decades. It continues past the dissolution of the Soviet Union to Vladimir Putin's ascent and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Netflix - #20387#20387
NetflixCamp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis
2021 · Movie · 36mDocumentary · Animation
At the height of WWII, a group of young Jewish refugees are sent to a secret POW camp near Washington, D.C. The recent refugees soon discover that the prisoners are no other than Hitler's top scientists.
Netflix - #21586#21586
NetflixStay on Board: The Leo Baker Story
2022 · Movie · 1h 12mDocumentary
Follows celebrated competitive skating icon Leo Baker as they try to make space for themselves in the gendered world of pro sports and build a more inclusive skate culture, which leads them to doing the punkest thing imaginable.
Netflix - #22786#22786
NetflixLead Me Home
2021 · Movie · 39mDocumentary
More than 500,000 people are homeless in the US. A few of these real-life stories give the audience a rare, in-depth look at the scale, scope, and diversity of the problem while questioning uninformed attitudes and outmoded policies.
Netflix - #23086#23086
MAXHomegrown: The Counter-Terror Dilemma
2016 · Movie · 1h 29mDocumentary
HOMEGROWN: THE COUNTER-TERROR DILEMMA explores the real and perceived threat of homegrown Islamic extremism in America today through first-hand accounts from those on the front lines of this battle - family members of convicted te...
MAX - #23186#23186
NetflixLenox Hill
2020– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Biography
An intimate look at the lives of four doctors - two brain surgeons, an emergency room physician, and a Chief Resident OBGYN - as they navigate the highs and lows of working at the renowned Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
Netflix - #24586#24586
MAXTaylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music
2023 · Movie · 1h 46mDocumentary
1 EmmyCaptures Taylor Mac's exuberant, blatantly gay 24-hour musical performance in New York City, featuring skilled musicians, creative costumes, and the American myth as recounted through sailor's ditties, disco, and sugary pop alike.
MAX - #24885#24885
MAXThe 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 - #25185#25185
NetflixThe Trials of Gabriel Fernandez
2020– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Crime
Filmmaker Brian Knappenberger investigates the tragic death of an 8-year-old California boy who endured horrific abuse by his mother and her boyfriend, along with the fractured and complex systems that failed to protect him.
Netflix - #25985#25985
NetflixJoshua: Teenager vs. Superpower
2017 · Movie · 1h 19mDocumentary
When the Chinese Communist Party backtracks on its promise of autonomy to Hong Kong, teenager Joshua Wong decides to save his city. Rallying thousands of kids to skip school and occupy the streets, Joshua becomes an unlikely leader in Hong Kong and one of China’s most notorious dissidents.
Netflix - #27485#27485
NetflixSunderland 'Til I Die
2018–2024 · Series · 3 seasonsDocumentary
Highlights the unfailing passion Sunderland residents have for their beloved football club, taking viewers through the highs and lows of SAFC's 2017-18 season in the Championship following its relegation the previous year.
Netflix - #27685#27685
NetflixRather
2023 · Movie · 1h 35mDocumentary · Biography
For decades, Dan Rather delivered the news with authenticity, integrity and courage. RATHER chronicles his rise to prominence, sudden and dramatic public downfall, and redemption and re-emergence as a voice of reason to a new gene...
Netflix - #27984#27984
MAXConan 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 - #28384#28384
MAXPrime VideoValentine 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 - #29984#29984
NetflixJamie Foxx: What Had Happened Was...
2024 · Movie · 1h 8mDocumentary · Comedy
A stand-up special with Jamie Foxx performing before an Atlanta crowd. Containing songs and anecdotes, the main topic is his time away from the limelight while undergoing a medical emergency in 2023.
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