Best documentary shows on Netflix, ranked.
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- #895
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
2020 · Movie · 1h 23mDocumentary · Biography
3 EmmysIn this documentary David Attenborough, the celebrated naturalist, reflects upon both the defining moments of his lifetime and the devastating changes he has seen. The film provides a snapshot of global nature loss in a single lif...
Netflix - #1391
Jim 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 - #2090
City 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 - #3088
Winter 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 - #4287
Stay 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 - #4487
Turning 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 - #5586
Once Brothers
2010 · Movie · 1h 19mDocumentary · Biography · History
Drazen Petrovic and Vlade Divac were two friends who grew up together sharing the common bond of basketball. Together, they lifted the Yugoslavian National team to unimaginable heights. After conquering Europe, they both went to A...
Netflix - #6186
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
2024 · Movie · Norwegian · 1h 43mDocumentary · Animation · Biography
Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life, when they started receiving messages from online friends around th...
Netflix - #6785
The 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 - #6985
The Stringer: The Man Who Took the Photo
2025 · Movie · 1h 43mDocumentary · Biography · History
A two-year investigation uncovers a scandal behind the making of one of the most-recognized photographs of the 20th century. Five decades of secrets are unraveled in the search for justice for a man known only as "the stringer."
Netflix - #7885
Sunderland 'Til I Die
2018–2024 · Series · 3 seasonsDocumentary · Sport
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 - #9884
Elena
2013 · Movie · Portuguese · 1h 20mDocumentary · Biography · Drama
Elena, a young Brazilian woman, travels to New York with the same dream as her mother, to become a movie actress. She leaves behind her childhood spent in hiding during the years of the military dictatorship. She also leaves Petra...
Netflix - #10983
The Last Days
1998 · Movie · 1h 27mDocumentary · War
1 OscarIn late 1944, even as they faced imminent defeat, the Nazis expended enormous resources to kill or deport over 425,000 Jews during the "cleansing" of Hungary. This Oscar-winning documentary, executive produced by Steven Spielberg,...
Netflix - #12082
Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski
2018 · Movie · 1h 55mDocumentary · Biography
This documentary chronicles the life of Polish-American artist Stanislav Szukalski (1893-1987) from his early years in Chicago, to his time in Poland and Los Angeles, and his artistic and political contributions to the world.
Netflix - #12182
The Deepest Breath
2023 · Movie · 1h 48mDocumentary · Action · Sport
A champion and expert safety diver seemed destined for one another. Despite different paths taken, they meet at the pinnacle of the free-diving world, experiencing the thrilling rewards and inescapable risks of chasing dreams thro...
Netflix - #13282
Headspace Guide to Meditation
2021– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Animation
Over the course of eight animated episodes, Andy Puddicombe—former Buddhist monk and co-founder of the globally beloved Headspace meditation app—takes viewers through the benefits and science behind meditation.
Netflix - #17080
The 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.
NetflixPrime Video - #18980
The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52
2021 · Movie · 1h 36mDocumentary · Action
THE LONELIEST WHALE is a cinematic quest to find the "52 Hertz Whale," which scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude, calling out at a frequency that is different from any other whale. As a group of scientists mou...
Netflix - #19580
American 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 - #19779
Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father
2017–2021 · Series · 5 seasonsDocumentary · Comedy
Follows Jack Whitehall as he embarks on the trip of a lifetime with his father, Michael. The two set off on a journey across South East Asia to partake in a series of adventures, mishaps and escapades with two very different persp...
Netflix - #22479
The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel
2026 · Movie · 1h 33mDocumentary · History
Gritty, formative years of the Los Angeles band, and the influence of original guitarist Hillel Slovak, who died in 1988. It features interviews with bandmates Flea and Anthony Kiedis who discuss the band's early evolution.
Netflix - #23178
The Confession Tapes
2017–2019 · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Crime
A critical look into some true crime cases where American law enforcement made up for lack of actual physical evidence by using devious psychological tactics during interrogation in order to extract confessions from naive suspects.
Netflix - #23378
They'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 - #24078
American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson
2025– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Crime · History
Revisits the infamous 1990s murder case and trial that captivated America. With new interviews and insights, it explores the chase, courtroom drama, and cultural impact, offering a fresh look at this pivotal moment in US history.
Netflix - #24578
Civil: Ben Crump
2022 · Movie · 1h 41mDocumentary · Biography
Crump's mission to raise the value of Black life as the civil lawyer for the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Black farmers and banking while Black victims, Crump challenges America to come to terms with what it owes his ...
Netflix - #24778
June 17th, 1994
2010 · Movie · 53mDocumentary · Biography · History
Documents on how the events on the day OJ Simpson was pursued and arrested on charges of murdering his ex wife and her boyfriend overshadowed and took precedence over other sporting events from around the country by the media. No ...
Netflix - #27977

Sebastian Maniscalco: Aren't You Embarrassed?
2014 · Movie · 1h 3mDocumentary · Comedy
Sebastian Maniscalco returns home to Chicago to perform in front of a live sold-out audience in this all-new comedy event. With his inimitable delivery, he burns modern-day society through the lens of his old-world Italian-America...
NetflixPrime Video - #28377
Casting JonBenet
2017 · Movie · 1h 20mDocumentary · Crime · Drama
In the months following the unsolved murder of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, responses were elicited from her Colorado hometown community, creating a work of art from the collective memories and mythologies the crime in...
Netflix - #28577
Ancient Apocalypse
2022–2024 · Series · 2 seasonsDocumentary · History
What if everything we know about prehistory is wrong? Journalist Graham Hancock visits archaeological sites around the world investigating if a civilization far more advanced than we ever believed possible existed thousands of yea...
Netflix - #29277
This Magic Moment
2016 · Movie · 1h 41mDocumentary · Biography · History
In the mid-1990s, Orlando was the center of excitement in the NBA. The young franchise, led by mega-stars Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway, beat the mighty Bulls en route to the 1995 NBA Finals. While it was clear Orlando was a...
Disney+Netflix - #29877
Street Food: Latin America
2020– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary
The newest installment will travel to six countries in Latin America and explore the vibrant street food culture of Oaxaca, Mexico; Salvador, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Lima, Peru; Bogota, Colombia; and La Paz, Bolivia.
Netflix - #30777
Selena y Los Dinos: A Family's Legacy
2025 · Movie · 1h 57mDocumentary · Biography · Family
Selena Quintanilla's journey from performing at local events to becoming the "Queen of Tejano Music" with her family band Selena y Los Dinos, culminating in sold-out stadium tours, is chronicled through personal archive footage.
Netflix - #31577
My Next Guest with David Letterman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy
2022 · Movie · 44mDocumentary
David Letterman visits war torn Kyiv, Ukraine to meet with, and interview, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the impact of the war with Russia on its people, economy, and relations with the Western world. Letterman provides some...
Netflix - #32276
Island of the Sea Wolves
2022– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Action
Where the Pacific meets the wilderness of Canada lies a mysterious island. But peer a little deeper and we find something even more remarkable: a community full of charismatic animal residents, waiting to show you around.
Netflix - #33976
Pony Excess
2010 · Movie · 1h 42mDocumentary · Biography · History
SMU puts together the best football team in America during the early 1980s with the help of bribes and payoffs, until the NCAA gives the team the "Death Penalty"--a sanction from which the team has yet to competitively recover.
Netflix - #34376
This Is the Zodiac Speaking
2024– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Crime
A shocking new series that points to Arthur Leigh Allen as the Zodiac killer. At the heart of the revelations is an unlikely family whose increasingly chilling relationship with Allen promises to connect him to the infamous Zodiac...
Netflix - #34876
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson
2017 · Movie · 1h 45mDocumentary · Biography
Victoria Cruz investigates the mysterious 1992 death of black gay rights activist and Stonewall veteran, Marsha P. Johnson. Using archival interviews with Johnson, and new interviews with Johnson's family, friends and fellow activ...
Netflix - #35976
Circus of Books
2019 · Movie · 1h 32mDocumentary · Biography · History
In 1976, Karen and Barry Mason had fallen on hard times and were looking for a way to support their young family when they answered an ad in the Los Angeles Times. Larry Flynt was seeking distributors for Hustler Magazine. What wa...
Netflix - #36076
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich
2020– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Crime
Survivors reveal the manipulation, abuse and emotional scars suffered at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Their stories expose a sex trafficking ring of powerful enablers leading up to his 2019 arrest.
Netflix - #37775
The Short Game
2013 · Movie · 1h 39mDocumentary · Sport
The best 7-year-old golfers from around the world descend on the world-famous Pinehurst Golf course in North Carolina to determine the next world champion and who might become golf's next phenomenon. Most of these young prodigies ...
Netflix - #37875
Worst Ex Ever
2024– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Crime
Shocking tales of betrayal, violence, and deceit through testimonials, bodycam footage, and reenactments. Exposes the disturbing realities of monstrous past relationships, tapping into the universal fear of not truly knowing one's...
Netflix - #38375
American Murder: Gabby Petito
2025– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Crime
A young couple's cross-country van journey, documented on social media, ends in tragedy when domestic violence shatters their seemingly perfect life. Their story sparks a nationwide investigation and raises questions about family ...
Netflix - #38475
Joshua: 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 leade...
Netflix - #38975

Unabomber: In His Own Words
2020– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Biography · Crime
The beginning of the Unabomber's campaign of terror from 1978 to 1985; a look into his childhood to discover what might have turned the young mathematical genius with few friends, Ted Kaczynski, into a sociopathic terrorist.
Netflix - #39075
Worst Roommate Ever
2022–2024 · Series · 3 seasonsDocumentary · Crime · Thriller
When Alex Miller let Jed Creek rent her room via Craigslist, she had no idea that he was a notorious serial squatter, and that he would use his knowledge of tenancy laws to slowly kick her out of her own home.
Netflix - #39275
Ordinary Men: The "Forgotten Holocaust"
2022 · Movie · German · 58mDocumentary · History · War
The Nuremberg Einsatzgruppen trial of 1947/1948 is considered the largest murder trial in history against members of four death squads from the security police and SD (the security service of the SS). During World War II, six mill...
Netflix - #39575
Inside the World's Toughest Prisons
2016–2023 · Series · 7 seasonsDocumentary
Imagine being in jail. Now imagine living in a foreign country. Scary? Paul Connelly takes you inside these jails. He shows what living conditions are for the inmates, as well as the guards. You'll never look at prison the same.
Netflix - #39975
Tom Segura: Sledgehammer
2023 · Movie · 1h 1mDocumentary · Comedy
Tom discusses his "admiration" for Brad Pitt, what it's like to raise two sons, and the lessons he learned from sharing his gummies with his mother at a performance in Phoenix, Arizona, in front of an energizing sold-out audience.
Netflix - #40475

American Pickers
2010– · Series · 27 seasonsDocumentary · Reality
Mike and Frank are pickers that travel the country and literally would go anywhere just for the prospects of finding antique gold. With the assistance of Danielle they often find themselves in a comedic pickle.
Disney+HuluNetflixPrime Video - #41275
Untold: The Race of the Century
2022 · Movie · 1h 23mDocumentary · Biography · Crime
A chronicle of the 1983 America's Cup, "Race of the Century" is a classic underdog story. It tells the tale of a group of Australians who band together to break a 132 year win streak in the most prestigious sailing race in the world.
Netflix - #42175
Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer
2025– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Crime
A look back at the women who disappeared from New York City and Long Island before the 2010 discovery of female remains found in the Gilgo Beach area of Long Island, which lead authorities to believe the deaths were all connected.
Netflix - #44774
Young Royals Forever
2024 · Movie · Swedish · 53mDocumentary
Edvin Ryding and Omar Rudberg, among others, together with the main writer, creator and executive producer Lisa Ambjörn share the story of how Wilhelm and Simon's journey took shape, from the writing process and casting to the fin...
Netflix - #45474
ReMastered: Tricky Dick & The Man in Black
2018 · Movie · 59mDocumentary · Biography
Concerned by a rising rock-n-roll influence on a growing liberal fanbase, President Nixon invited Johnny Cash to the White House to solidify his base in the traditionally more conservative genre of country music. What Cash did ins...
Netflix - #46174
American Murder: Laci Peterson
2024– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Crime · Mystery
The case of Laci Peterson's disappearance and murder shook the US in 2002. Her husband Scott was convicted, though he maintains innocence. Twenty years later, Laci's mother and friends speak out, revisiting this tragedy.
Netflix - #46574
The U Part 2
2014 · Movie · 1h 42mDocumentary · Biography · History
Produced in 2009 for the 30 for 30 series, "The U" took a look at all that was good and bad about the rise of the University of Miami's football program in the 1980s. But that wasn't the end of the story. "The U Part 2" picks up w...
Netflix - #47774
Leanne Morgan: I'm Every Woman
2023 · Movie · 1h 14mDocumentary · Comedy
Morgan showcases her life via intimate tales about her upbringing in a small town in Tennessee, her almost 20 years of marriage, the challenges of parenting her three children, and her first experience as a grandmother.
Netflix - #48074
Untold: Johnny Football
2023 · Movie · 1h 10mDocumentary · Biography · Sport
In 2012, Johnny Manziel is a star quarterback at Texas A and M; the money rolls in, the scrutiny grows, and the scandals pile up; losing his way, Manziel fumbles his shot at NFL success but goes on to find inner peace and happiness.
Netflix - #48474
The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
2019 · Movie · 1h 22mDocumentary
The Crystal Calls: Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance takes viewers behind the scenes of a new world with unprecedented access, revealing the vision, artistry and talent required to bring an entirely handcrafted universe t...
Netflix - #49573
ReMastered: The Miami Showband Massacre
2019 · Movie · 1h 11mDocumentary · Crime
In 1974, while on the way home from a gig, the apolitical rock group, The Miami Showband, fell into the crosshairs of a Protestant unionist paramilitary group that planted explosives on their bus when it was stopped at a fake chec...
Netflix - #49673
Catholics vs. Convicts
2016 · Movie · 1h 42mDocumentary · Biography · History
On October 15, 1988, Notre Dame hosted the University of Miami in what would become one of the greatest games in college football history. It was tradition vs. swagger, the No. 4-ranked Fighting Irish versus the No. 1-ranked Hurri...
Netflix - #49973
Pop Culture Jeopardy!
2024– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Drama
High-stakes quiz show pitting teams against each other on pop culture knowledge. Covering everything from music to movies, contestants compete tournament-style for prizes and bragging rights. Expertise across generations is key to...
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