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Best Documentary TV Shows on Netflix

This format-specific guide separates tv shows from mixed results, so your group can compare real documentary options without debating whether tonight is a film night or a longer episodic commitment.

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Netflix TV shows to start with

A documentary TV guide with separate service-listed and broader discovery sets. These titles were listed for Netflix in US when refreshed.

Ancient Aliens poster

Ancient Aliens

2010

TV show · Documentary / Mystery

Did intelligent beings from outer space visit Earth thousands of years ago? From the age of the dinosaurs to ancient Egypt, from early cave drawings to continued mass sightings in the US, each episode gives historic depth to the questions, speculations, provocative controversies, first-hand accounts and grounded theories surrounding this age old debate.

48 Hours poster

48 Hours

1988

TV show · News / Crime

This newsmagazine series investigates intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all aspects of the human experience. Over its long run, the show has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, driven the reopening — and resolution — of cold cases, and changed numerous lives. CBS News correspondents offer an in-depth look into each story, with the emphasis on solving the mystery at its heart.

Formula 1: Drive to Survive poster

Formula 1: Drive to Survive

2019

TV show · Documentary

Drivers, managers and team owners live life in the fast lane — both on and off the track — during each cutthroat season of Formula 1 racing.

America's Test Kitchen From Cook's Illustrated poster

America's Test Kitchen From Cook's Illustrated

2001

TV show · Documentary

Equipment reviews, taste tests, and recipes from the test kitchen to the home cook. A team of test cooks that viewers have come to love and trust deconstruct recipes and reveal the test kitchen’s secrets to foolproof cooking at home.

The First 48 poster

The First 48

2004

TV show · Documentary / Drama

The First 48 follows detectives from around the country during these first critical hours as they race against time to find the suspect. Gritty and fast-paced, it takes viewers behind the scenes of real-life investigations with unprecedented access to crime scenes, autopsies, forensic processing, and interrogations.

Amend: The Fight for America poster

Amend: The Fight for America

2021

TV show · Documentary / War & Politics

Will Smith hosts this look at the evolving, often lethal, fight for equal rights in America through the lens of the US Constitution's 14th Amendment.

Explained poster

Explained

2018

TV show · Documentary

This enlightening series from Vox digs into a wide range of topics such as the rise of cryptocurrency, why diets fail, and the wild world of K-pop.

The Movies That Made Us poster

The Movies That Made Us

2019

TV show · Documentary

These blockbusters brought us together and gave us the time of our lives. Meet the actors, directors and industry insiders who made them happen.

The UnXplained poster

The UnXplained

2019

TV show · Documentary

Explore the world’s most fascinating, strange and inexplicable mysteries. Each episode features compelling contributions from scientists, historians, witnesses and experiencers—each seeking to shed light on how the seemingly impossible actually can happen.

Antiques Roadshow poster

Antiques Roadshow

1997

TV show · Documentary

Based on the popular BBC series running since 1979, the PBS Antiques Roadshow combines history with discovery. Each year, the show visits a handful of cities to appraise items brought in by viewers. Are these items worth a lot of money, more than the visitors expect?

Death of the Pastor's Wife poster

Death of the Pastor's Wife

2026

TV show · Documentary / Crime

What happened to Mica Miller? This documentary series retraces her promising life, toxic marriage and the mysterious circumstances of her death.

History 101 poster

History 101

2020

TV show · Documentary

Infographics and archival footage deliver bite-size history lessons on scientific breakthroughs, social movements and world-changing discoveries.

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More TV shows worth searching for

A documentary TV guide with separate service-listed and broader discovery sets. These broader TMDB matches are deliberately distinct from the first section; confirm local availability before watching.

DNA Journey poster

DNA Journey

2019

TV show · Documentary

Celebrities are given a unique insight into their lives using innovative DNA science and technology to trace their ancestors.

Fuse poster

Fuse

1962

TV show · Comedy / Documentary

Fitil is a popular Soviet/Russian television satirical/comedy short film series which ran for about 500 episodes. Some of the episodes were aimed at children, and were called Фитилёк, Fitilyok, Little Fuse. Each issue contained from the few short segments: documentary, fictional and animated ones. Directed by various artists, including Leonid Gaidai who presented his famous trio of Nikulin, Vitsin and Morgunov into the cast. It was called in USSR as "the anecdotes from the Soviet government".

NOVA poster

NOVA

1974

TV show · Documentary

PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.

Vetenskapens värld poster

Vetenskapens värld

1971

TV show · Documentary / News

Vetenskapens värld is a popular science TV documentary program broadcast on Swedish Television (SVT).

Great Performances poster

Great Performances

1971

TV show · Comedy / Documentary

The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.

Mayday poster

Mayday

2003

TV show · Documentary / Drama

Major real-life air disasters are depicted in this series. Each episode features a detailed dramatized reconstruction of the incident based on cockpit voice recorders and air traffic control transcripts, as well as eyewitnesses recounts and interviews with aviation experts.

Panorama poster

Panorama

1953

TV show · Documentary / News

Current affairs programme, featuring interviews and investigative reports on a wide variety of subjects.

Cuisines des terroirs poster

Cuisines des terroirs

2001

TV show · Documentary / Comedy

A sensual approach to culinary art "on the ground", meeting farmers, winegrowers, restaurateurs and cooks, where gastronomy and the art of living have their roots.

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction poster

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction

1997

TV show · Documentary / Mystery

Can you tell the difference between fact and fiction? Several stories of strange, mysterious and incredible occurrences are chronicled during each episode. It is up to the viewer to decide which stories actually happened and which were completely fabricated by the show’s writers. The answer is revealed by Jonathan Frakes at the conclusion of each episode.

mare TV poster

mare TV

2001

TV show · Documentary

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