Best biography & documentary shows on Netflix, ranked.
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- #1095
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 - #1591
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
This Is Going to Hurt
2022– · Series · 1 seasonBiography · Comedy · Drama
Set on Labour Ward with all its hilarity and heart-lifting highs but also its gut-wrenching lows, the show delivers a brutally honest depiction of life as a junior doctor on the wards, and the toll the job can take back home.
Netflix - #2790
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 - #3788
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 - #4987
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 - #5187
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 - #6286
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 - #6886
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 - #7585
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 - #7785
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 - #8385

El Chapo
2017–2018 · Series · Spanish · 3 seasonsBiography · Crime · Drama
A look at the life of notorious drug kingpin, El Chapo, from his early days in the 1980s working for the Guadalajara Cartel, to his rise to power during the '90s as the head of the Sinaloa Cartel and his ultimate downfall in 2016.
Netflix - #8885
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.
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