The 50 Best Documentaries on Netflix to Watch Now
Nothing makes me cry like a good documentary. And there's a new film on Netflix, titled Daughters, that features a father-daughter dance between young girls and their incarcerated loved ones. It made me bawl like a faucet at this year's Sundance Film Festival, and I'm very glad that it's finally available for everyone to see.
But Daughters isn't the only amazing documentary in Netflix's catalog. Below, you'll find unbelievable stories of human perseverance, unsolved murders, and scientific miracles. There's also behind-the-scenes looks at some of our favorite athletes, entertainers, and a particular Tiger King with whom I'm sure you're already well-acquainted. To make the selection process easier, we rounded up 50 of our favorites.
Recent highlights include The Greatest Night in Pop's story of the "We Are the World" recording, as well as Beckham's look at the career of soccer star David Beckham. We also had to shout out Robert Downey Jr.'s ode to his father in Sr., the puzzling case of The Tinder Swindler, and the thrilling speeds in Formula 1: Drive to Survive. If you're looking for another tear-jerker, we recommend the beautiful tale of one man's connection with nature in the Oscar-winning My Octopus Friend.
Whatever you're interested in—uncovering the world's mysteries, reliving the glory days, or simply just learning something new—this list has a film for you.
Daughters
Daughters follows four young girls as they prepare for a father-dance with their incarnated fathers. At the same time, the men look to better themselves for their families when they get out. Get your tissues ready. It's a real tear-jerker.
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Inside the Mind of a Dog
Ever wonder how intelligent your dog really is? Well, scientists in Inside the Mind of a Dog have been working like a dog to uncover the truth about our lovable mutts.
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Skywalkers: A Love Story
Daredevils Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau travel to Malaysia to climb the world's tallest skyscraper in Skywalkers, which combines unbelievable heights with an even crazier love story.
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Beckham
In Beckham, the great David Beckham breaks down his career—from his early days with Manchester United to his stint with PSG (Paris Saint-Germain). Along the way, we learn about his courtship of Victoria Beckham and how international fame has shaped their lives.
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The Greatest Night in Pop
The Greatest Night in Pop brilliantly details the historic recording of “We Are the World.” One night in 1985, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, Willie Nelson, and many more teamed up to record the anthem as a fundraiser to fight starvation in Africa. The Greatest Night in Pop takes you behind the scenes and into the studio where it all happened. Come for the music history—and stay for the vintage footage of your favorite artists.
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World War II: From the Front Lines
World War II: From the Front Lines uses colorized archival footage to tell the story of World War II, as described by people who lived it. All sides of the conflict are presented in this stunning documentary, painting a full picture of one of the most devastating eras in world history.
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Sr.
Don’t sleep on the deeply personal Sr., in which Robert Downey Jr. explores the life of his father—who was a well-regarded indie film director—during his final days. As Downey Jr. told Esquire in an interview about the film, “There’s a little bit of God’s grace in here.”
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Bill Russell: Legend
What more is there to say about Bill Russell, who won about a zillion rings with the Boston Celtics, than “legend”? A lot, apparently. In Bill Russell: Legend, filmmaker Sam Pollard explores the life and legacy of one of basketball’s first true stars.
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Stutz
In Stutz, the great Jonah Hill profiles his also great therapist, Phil Stutz. If you’re currently in therapy, you’ll find Stutz to be a pretty fascinating exploration of some unconventional methods of psychotherapy. If not? Maybe you’ll finally be inspired to give it a try.
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Formula 1: Drive to Survive
Here at Esquire, we’ve finally joined the cult, fandom, mass obsession, bandwagon—whatever you want to call it—of Formula 1. Featuring the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, the series captures honesty, beef, and emotion in a way we’ll never see from our ultra-guarded athletes stateside.
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White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch
The saga of the once-exclusive retailer Abercrombie & Fitch is so captivating that you’ll swear you smell the inside of the store while you watch it. (Or is that Hollister?)
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Our Father
Our Father is Netflix-branded true-crime batshittery at its best. Or worst, really. In the film, a woman takes an at-home DNA test and finds out that she has multiple half siblings. Could a scheming fertility doctor be at the bottom of it all?
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Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King
The Internet is rife with scams, and Netflix seems determined to expose every single one. In Trust No One, a Canadian crypto-exchange founder mysteriously dies, leaving $215 million of customer cash missing. The story gets more complicated when conspiracy theorists and online sleuths suggest he faked his own death and ran away with the stash.
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Downfall: The Case Against Boeing
The Boeing 737 Max incidents shook the world back in 2019, when two of the massive planes crashed within months of each other, killing 346 people. This investigation into the role played by Boeing’s alleged emphasis on profit over safety seriously sullied the company’s reputation and is, sadly, still timely in 2024.
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Dancing with the Birds
Deep in exotic forests around the planet, birds of paradise dance, shake their feathers, and collect the prettiest rocks they can get their beaks on to attract a mate. Dancing with the Birds, produced by the creators of Our Planet, gets up close to capture these beautiful performances from some of nature’s most bizarrely captivating creatures.
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14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible
Six months and six days. That’s how long it took Nims Purja to climb the world’s 14 tallest mountains, all above 8,000 meters. The journey is brilliantly documented in 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible. After you’ve watched the film, make sure to read our interview with Purja.
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The Tinder Swindler
The Tinder Swindler is absurdist true crime at its best. The film follows the sins of Simon Leviev, who allegedly posed as a billionaire diamond heir on Tinder so he could con money from women. Guess what? He’s still out there. Somewhere.
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Pelé
Early in 2021, we saw the definitive portrait of arguably the greatest footballer of all time: Pelé. The film is both a celebration of the electric Brazilian and an unflinching look at the mistakes he made during his career.
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Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami
Throughout the 1980s, Willie Falcon and Sal Magluta controlled the largest cocaine smuggling organization on the East Coast and one of the biggest in the world, making more than $2 billion in cash by bringing cocaine into the U.S. from Colombia via Miami. Through interviews with their close friends and co-conspirators, this docuseries details everything from the early days of their operation to the various murders, bribes, trials, convictions, and escapes in this notorious case.
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Schumacher
This German sports documentary on the life of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher is an inside look at his early years, his rise to prominence, and his current rehabilitation at the family’s home following his 2013 skiing accident.
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Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed
When you think of Bob Ross, you probably recall his calming voice, his joyful landscapes, maybe even his signature Afro. But this doc paints a sinister portrait of the beloved painter’s legacy, examining the complicated legal battles that ensued over the use of Ross’s name following his 1995 death.
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My Octopus Teacher
The 2020 Oscar winner for best documentary, My Octopus Teacher follows one man on his journey to develop a relationship with an octopus off the Cape Town coast. It’s as strange as it sounds, but also a fascinating and utterly unique look at nature.
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The Innocence Files
The Innocence Project is a nonprofit legal organization that works to reverse wrongful convictions and exonerate innocent individuals through DNA testing. The Innocence Files is a limited series that tells the stories of these heartbreaking cases, exposing the inequality and deceit embedded deep in the criminal justice system.
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Seaspiracy
We really, really need to do a better job of taking care of our oceans (and the earth as a whole). When one documentarian sets out to show just how much damage we’re doing to the sea, he uncovers much more than he bargained for. Seaspiracy is a damning look at what we’ve done to the earth.
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Operation Varsity Blues
Fyre director Chris Smith documents another scandal among the well-to-do, the 2019 college admissions scandal, the largest crime of its kind ever prosecuted. But in Operation Varsity Blues, he focuses not on actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman but on Rick Singer, the mastermind behind the scheme. It’s a fascinating look at how it all went down, but also at the broader inequalities and injustices baked into the American college system.
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Murder Among the Mormons
Murder Among the Mormons is a comprehensive deep dive into a little-known story that took place in Salt Lake City in 1985 in a very niche community: dealers in rare Mormon documents. The unprecedented crimes of one man—who murdered two people to try to save his reputation—are explored in this shocking docuseries from directors Tyler Measom and Jared Hess, who both grew up in the Mormon church.
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Last Chance U: Basketball
The creators of Last Chance U and Cheer may have outdone themselves in Last Chance U: Basketball. Heartfelt, dramatic, and funny, too, the docuseries heads to East Los Angeles College to follow the school’s hopeful basketball players, who are some of the best personalities we’ve ever seen in the series.
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The Ripper
This doc is not about the infamous Jack but another British murderer. The Yorkshire Ripper, Peter William Sutcliffe, terrorized northern England through the ’70s and ’80s, evading capture for years largely due to the sexism and classism of the police at the time.
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Surviving Death
This truly wild documentary series explores the possibility of life after death—from near-death experiences to mediums to reincarnation. It’s a spooky, ghost-filled quest with a fascinating cast of characters that just might—might—leave you convinced.
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Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer
Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer chronicles the crimes of notorious California killer Richard Ramirez in the ’80s. Told primarily from the perspective of the homicide detectives on the case, this series focuses on the frustrating investigation, which dragged on for months before Ramirez was finally captured.
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American Murder: The Family Next Door
If you’ve never heard of the Watt family murders (don’t feel bad—you’re not alone), this 90ish-minute documentary will get you up to speed fast on the devastating deaths of Shannan Watt and her two daughters. What starts out as a heartbreaking disappearance quickly takes a gruesome turn, especially given the use of Watt’s own social media videos to narrate a large part of the story.
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David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet
That name alone should sell this film. Attenborough has been doing environmentally focused documentary work for years, and at a time when our planet needs our attention more than ever, his Netflix doc is a must-watch. Not only does it offer some keen perspective on Attenborough’s life, but it highlights just how much the environment has changed in the time the natural historian has been alive.
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The Last Dance
The 10-part Michael Jordan docuseries united the quarantined world in ways few other things did. But if you missed the weekly cultural moments (and memes), binge it all now in one go.
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Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer
Deeply disturbing and incredibly wild, Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer tells a tale that begins when a video of a cat murder is posted online. While Internet sleuths set out to find the killer, the attention he receives leads him to post even more gruesome videos. It’s a dark and twisted binge.
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The Staircase
Practically every true-crime podcast has covered the haunting case of Kathleen Peterson, but if you aren’t a junkie yet and you’re looking to get into true crime, The Staircase is the perfect place to start.
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Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia
This three-part documentary dives into the New York City mob families of the ’70s and ’80s and the FBI agents who infiltrated the crime organization. It’s gory, suspenseful, and enlightening. And here’s some light reading about a certain former president for when you’re finished.
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Unsolved Mysteries
Who doesn’t like falling down the rabbit hole of a cold case? In 2020, Netflix rebooted this long-running network TV staple, which was the zenith of the true-crime, interviews-and-reenactments genre. Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries was a huge success, with fans playing couch detective all over again.
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Athlete A
Over 500 women have accused Larry Nassar, a former trainer for USA Gymnastics, of assault. In Athlete A, directors Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk seek justice for them. The documentary focuses on Maggie Nichols, who came forward about Nassar’s abuse in 2015, as well as the local newspaper reporters who made his crimes a national story.
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Ugly Delicious
Here’s a good rule of thumb: If culinary legend David Chang digs a restaurant, chef, or anything edible, best to put it on your radar. Follow Chang’s adventures in Ugly Delicious, in which he teaches some Food World 101 lessons to go along with visits with his favorite chefs and trips to out-of-the-way spots (plus one excursion to Outback Steakhouse).
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Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich
There were few news stories bigger in 2019 than the arrest and suicide of Jeffrey Epstein, onetime high-society financier and convicted sex offender. And while this four-part docuseries includes interviews with Epstein’s former colleagues and associates—and particularly chilling deposition footage of Epstein himself—director Lisa Bryant focuses on the stories of the survivors, women who were drawn into Epstein’s circle and are brave enough to share their accounts with the world.
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Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness
Hey, all you cool cats and kittens. You think you’re about to watch a documentary series about the treatment of animals? Not so fast. What starts out as a look into America’s roadside zoos turns into an absurd tale of polygamy, feuds, and a murder-for-hire plot. There’s a reason 34 million people watched Tiger King in its first ten days on Netflix.
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Crip Camp
Crip Camp takes a look at a summer camp that revolutionized the disability-rights movement. Focusing on a group of teens attending the camp, this deeply affecting documentary explores an era when people with disabilities were tragically ignored.
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Salt Fat Acid Heat
American chef Samin Nosrat travels the world to explore its foods and drive home the importance of the four basic tenets of cooking. It’s as fascinating as it is relaxing. Come for the complexity of culinary science, stay for Nosrat’s intoxicating personality.
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Cheer
Even if you have no interest in cheerleading, this docuseries will grab your heart and never let go. It follows the Navarro College competitive cheer squad as they experience the emotional highs and lows of being part of a proud legacy. Here’s hoping you make it on the mat.
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Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez
This Netflix docuseries covers the downfall and conviction of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, but it also goes to some unexpected places, including his sexuality and how football may have damaged his mental health. It features interviews with friends, NFL players, and other insiders to tell the story of how a promising football player became a deadly criminal.
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Evil Genius
If you vaguely recall the story of a bank heist that resulted in a pizza guy being blown up with a collar bomb, Evil Genius tells the full, insane tale of what happened back in 2003. If you haven’t heard of it, process that first sentence and read on. Evil Genius is a four-part documentary that unwraps the mystery behind the murder of Brian Wells and the string of events that led to his involvement in a deadly Pennsylvania bank robbery that made headlines across the nation.
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Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened
The disaster that was the Fyre Festival inspired not one but two documentaries in 2019. The Netflix version looks at the fallout for mastermind Billy McFarland and the people in the Bahamas who helped put the festival together. In one of the more memorable moments, McFarland’s business partner, Andy King, explains how he offered to go far beyond the call of duty to get some boxes of Evian water past customs.
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Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
Before directing Zac Efron’s performance as serial killer Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, filmmaker Joe Berlinger interviewed journalist Stephen Michaud about his revealing conversations with Bundy while he was in prison.
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Get Me Roger Stone
Before he was indicted in the Mueller probe, Roger Stone had a long career as a right-wing dirty trickster, dating back to his work with Richard Nixon. “I live a pretty Machiavellian life, and I’m a skeptic. I tend to believe the worst of people because I understand human nature,” Stone says in this doc. “That’s why one of Stone’s Rules is that hate is a stronger motivator than love.”
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The Black Godfather
Clarence Avant grew up in the segregated South and went on to become a hugely influential behind-the-scenes figure in the entertainment industry. For this biographical portrait, director Reginald Hudlin interviewed more than 75 people over three years, including Quincy Jones, Kamala Harris, Bill Clinton, Bill Withers, and Barack Obama.
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