Critically Acclaimed Docs & Series, a list by Riz

7.6

/8694/

74

/329/

80

/96/

3.7

/34550/

77

/4/

age 15+

Discover the untold story of the toxic and abusive environment inside '90s kids' TV. Hear harrowing accounts from former child stars and crew who probe the balance of power in the industry and reveal an era that inflicted lasting wounds still felt today.

83

8.3

/19922/

78

/770/

78

/80/

91

/55/

Audience

93

77

/27/

age 14+

Documentary series tracking the dreams and worries of Wrexham, a working-class town in North Wales, UK, as two Hollywood stars (Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds) take ownership of the town’s historic yet struggling football club.

82

8.7

/126670/

86

/7173/

74

/682/

age 12+

This fast-paced and stunt-filled motor show tests whether cars, both mundane and extraordinary, live up to their manufacturers' claims. The long-running show travels to locations around the world, performing extreme stunts and challenges to see what the featured cars are capable of doing. The current hosts are Paddy Mcguinness, Chris Harris and Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff.

85

9.0

/55685/

85

/1758/

84

/197/

Audience

98

68

/8/

Follow Jeremy Clarkson as he embarks on his latest adventure, farming. The man who on several occasions claims to be allergic to manual labour takes on the most manually labour intensive job there is. What could possibly go wrong?

75

7.5

/17366/

75

/486/

75

/47/

3.6

/15653/

76

/8/

age 15+

After a harrowing home invasion and kidnapping in 2015, a couple is accused of staging the ordeal when the woman reappears in this true-crime docuseries.

86

8.6

/51475/

83

/1647/

80

/415/

4.2

/24705/

96

/45/

Audience

96

76

/21/

Robert Durst, scion of one of New York’s billionaire real estate families, has been accused of three murders but never convicted. Brilliant, reclusive, and the subject of relentless media scrutiny, he’s never spoken publicly—until now. During interviews with Andrew Jarecki, he reveals secrets of the case that baffled authorities for 30 years. In 2010, Jarecki made the narrative film All Good Things based on the infamous story of Robert Durst. After Durst saw the film, he contacted Jarecki wanting to tell his story. What began as a feature documentary ultimately became a six-part series as more and more of his incredible story was revealed.

84

77

8.7

/3849/

77

/235/

85

/39/

Audience

95

80

/5/

Finding truth at the intersection of fantasy and reality in the veiled world of professional wrestling.

93

9.5

/158062/

91

/2559/

86

/726/

4.6

/31323/

100

/28/

Audience

94

96

/10/

age 6+

David Attenborough presents a documentary series exploring how animals meet the challenges of surviving in the most iconic habitats on earth.

89

8.9

/38443/

87

/1792/

81

/203/

97

/45/

Audience

91

age 14+

Self-proclaimed business expert, writer, director and comedian Nathan Fielder helps real small businesses turn a profit with marketing tactics that no ordinary consultant would dare to attempt. From driving foot traffic to an off-the-strip souvenir shop by using Hollywood flair and a Johnny Depp impersonator, to creating a rebate that can only be redeemed by climbing a mountain, to founding a coffee shop called "Dumb Starbucks,” Nathan has always gone to the limit to make his ideas come to life. With his unorthodox approach to problem solving, Nathan’s genuine efforts to do good often draw the real people he encounters into an experience far beyond what they signed up for.

76

8.5

/50879/

81

/2185/

82

/431/

Audience

57

age 15+

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

90

9.1

/151974/

86

/3449/

82

/1207/

4.4

/95857/

97

/63/

Audience

95

90

/13/

age 13+

A 10-part documentary chronicling the untold story of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls dynasty with rare, never-before-seen footage and sound from the 1997-98 championship season – plus over 100 interviews with famous figures and basketball’s biggest names.

77

8.4

/7385/

79

/633/

70

/69/

Hardcore survivalists are put by themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness, without camera crews, teams, or producers – on a single mission to stay alive for as long as possible.

85

9.3

/128540/

89

/5005/

85

/1453/

4.3

/14435/

80

/5/

Audience

81

age 10+

Famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson provides clarity for the vision of the cosmos as he voyages across the universe with never-before-told stories that delve into the scientific concepts of the laws of gravity and the origins of space and time.

81

8.3

/54789/

83

/4669/

78

/511/

3.8

/1072/

MythBusters is a science entertainment television program created and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The show's hosts, special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, use elements of the scientific method to test the validity of rumors, myths, movie scenes, adages, Internet videos, and news stories.

87

86

9.2

/29124/

89

/418/

81

/141/

4.5

/2563/

A documentary series that gives a historical account of the events of World War II, from its roots in the 1920s to the aftermath and the lives it profoundly influenced.

84

8.5

/25947/

82

/1091/

81

/137/

Audience

87

86

/23/

age 13+

With a construction crew, a legion of actors, and seemingly unlimited resources, Nathan Fielder allows ordinary people to prepare for life’s biggest moments by “rehearsing” them in carefully crafted simulations of his own design. When a single misstep could shatter your entire world, why leave life to chance?

91

9.4

/220109/

91

/4652/

85

/1012/

4.6

/42198/

100

/21/

Audience

89

age 6+

David Attenborough celebrates the amazing variety of the natural world in this epic documentary series, filmed over four years across 64 different countries.

90

9.1

/27962/

87

/547/

82

/158/

4.4

/11550/

96

/49/

Audience

95

90

/19/

An immersive 360-degree narrative telling the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never before been told on film. Featuring testimony from nearly 80 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides.

75

7.3

/10304/

76

/616/

78

/188/

age 11+

Paranormal investigator Zak Bagans and his crew, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin, search for haunted locations both domestically and internationally. During their investigations, Zak and crew acquaint themselves with the general area; interview locals about the hauntings; and go face-to-face with the evil spirits who reportedly haunt these locations.

88

9.0

/28057/

85

/667/

84

/323/

4.5

/63865/

93

/122/

Audience

94

85

/28/

age 13+

The three-part documentary series, compiled from over 60 hours of unseen footage, captures the warmth, camaraderie, and creative genius that defined the legacy of music’s most iconic foursome. The series also includes – for the first time in its entirety – The Beatles’ final performance at London’s Savile Row.

88

9.3

/51007/

88

/1498/

85

/321/

4.5

/15721/

Audience

90

84

/14/

age 6+

Experience our planet's natural beauty and examine how climate change impacts all living creatures in this ambitious documentary of spectacular scope.

87

8.6

/19937/

84

/502/

82

/124/

4.2

/23293/

100

/69/

Audience

97

/298/

83

/19/

3.5

As the Russian invasion begins, a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting the war's atrocities.

85

78

8.6

/7556/

79

/237/

74

/27/

100

/11/

Audience

90

83

/5/

Seven singles take their first steps into the world of dating; this uplifting four-part documentary follows young adults on the autism spectrum as they explore the unpredictable world of love and relationships.

84

7.8

/55019/

77

/2469/

75

/1147/

4.0

/86467/

95

/226/

Audience

87

/22356/

85

/41/

4.0

age 16+

A documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse, the immensely talented yet doomed songstress. We see her from her teen years, where she already showed her singing abilities, to her finding success and then her downward spiral into alcoholism and drugs.

83

8.5

/102805/

80

/3777/

78

/442/

3.9

/23080/

84

/85/

Audience

95

77

/34/

Filmed over 10 years, this real-life thriller follows a DNA exoneree who, while exposing police corruption, becomes a suspect in a grisly new crime.

75

7.0

/9265/

70

/565/

69

/81/

3.1

/20016/

100

/11/

Audience

83

/174/

age 15+

In this twisting documentary, a mechanic tries online dating for the first time and meets a woman who takes romantic obsession to a deadly extreme.

86

8.7

/13282/

84

/708/

82

/80/

Audience

89

90

/20/

age 16+

In a uniquely hilarious odyssey of self-discovery and cultural observation, documentary filmmaker and self-described "anxious New Yorker" John Wilson covertly and obsessively films the lives of his fellow New Yorkers while attempting to give everyday advice on relatable topics. The awkward contradictions of modern life are eased by Wilson’s candid, unpolished commentary. Building upon Wilson’s previously released "how to" short films, each episode takes wildly unexpected turns but is grounded in John's refreshing honesty.

80

75

8.2

/4251/

82

/326/

78

/92/

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.

77

8.0

/62186/

76

/2403/

76

/477/

3.7

/61163/

Audience

79

A group of online justice seekers track down a guy who posted a video of him killing kittens.

80

8.1

/35070/

78

/1164/

77

/202/

4.0

/21793/

Audience

88

79

/8/

When a controversial cult leader builds a utopian city in the Oregon desert, conflict with the locals escalates into a national scandal.

80

8.1

/35130/

77

/638/

80

/102/

3.9

/22648/

Audience

95

69

/8/

age 14+

With never-before-seen footage, this docuseries follows David Beckham's meteoric rise from humble beginnings to global football stardom.

86

8.9

/6924/

83

/622/

75

/66/

Audience

98

age 13+

Bourdain travels across the globe to uncover little-known areas of the world and celebrate diverse cultures by exploring food and dining rituals. Known for his curiosity, candor, and acerbic wit, Bourdain takes viewers off the beaten path of tourist destinations – including some war-torn parts of the world – and meets with a variety of local citizens to offer a window into their lifestyles, and occasionally communes with an internationally lauded chef on his journeys.

76

7.4

/1675/

72

/147/

72

/9/

3.7

/4592/

Audience

69

/38/

86

/5/

3.5

Filmed over four years with unprecedented access, this documentary chronicles the riveting courtroom drama of two defamation lawsuits brought by Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims' families against Alex Jones and his website, InfoWars.

82

8.0

/27548/

79

/1328/

78

/618/

4.0

/48026/

98

/121/

Audience

89

/12316/

79

/31/

3.0

Shot in France, England, Switzerland and the United States, this documentary covers director Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo, Holy Mountain, Santa Sangre) and his 1974 Quixotic attempt to adapt the seminal sci-fi novel Dune into a feature film. After spending 2 years and millions of dollars, the massive undertaking eventually fell apart, but the artists Jodorowsky assembled for the legendary project continued to work together. This group of artists, or his “warriors” as Jodorowsky named them, went on to define modern sci-fi cinema with such films as Alien, Blade Runner, Star Wars and Total Recall.

85

77

9.0

/18454/

85

/264/

80

/91/

4.3

/6242/

A documentary on the American Civil War narrated by Ken Burns, covering the secession of the Confederacy to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

78

6.6

/480/

69

/28/

86

/6/

3.6

/3889/

95

/22/

77

/22/

3.5

age 10+

What would American democracy look like in the hands of teenage girls? In this documentary, young female leaders from wildly different backgrounds in Missouri navigate an immersive experiment to build a government from the ground up.

86

8.2

/78951/

79

/2879/

76

/894/

3.8

/21149/

98

/148/

Audience

91

/29699/

88

/27/

4.0

A film that exposes the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, Inside Job traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia.

83

8.1

/77320/

81

/3697/

79

/1252/

4.0

/146456/

98

/160/

Audience

93

/3201/

83

/25/

3.0

age 11+

Follow Alex Honnold as he attempts to become the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite's 3,000 foot high El Capitan wall. With no ropes or safety gear, this would arguably be the greatest feat in rock climbing history.

83

8.1

/72427/

80

/2732/

79

/1073/

4.0

/75050/

99

/134/

Audience

90

/28827/

83

/33/

3.0

age 14+

Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.

80

7.9

/11077/

80

/625/

80

/154/

3.7

/35822/

98

/49/

Audience

89

/235/

69

/10/

3.0

age 13+

In 1985, 46 music icons, including Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Diana Ross, and Stevie Wonder, came together for the most star-studded recording session in history. This is the untold story of the legendary global pop song “We Are the World” — which very nearly didn’t happen.

80

7.4

/1282/

72

/69/

79

/12/

3.6

/6030/

97

/32/

Audience

92

/48/

74

/7/

3.5

Rob Reiner profiles Albert Brooks, comedic legend, acclaimed filmmaker, talented character actor and a lifelong friend, who Reiner first met in their high school drama club.

76

6.5

/422/

69

/12/

75

/6/

3.4

/685/

82

/45/

Audience

85

/20/

77

/6/

3.5

age 10+

The story of the Reels family who are valiantly attempting to protect the land their family bought one generation after slavery. This documentary, based on the 2019 ProPublica article, highlights the covert ways the legal system has been exploited to keep Black land ownership fragile and the racial wealth gap growing.

79

7.5

/8929/

75

/390/

73

/60/

3.7

/21612/

90

/48/

Audience

88

/231/

73

/16/

3.5

age 13+

Through archival interviews and footage, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley relive the arc of their Wham! career, from 70s best buds to 80s pop icons.

78

7.5

/1966/

72

/181/

71

/21/

3.6

/2910/

100

/25/

Audience

92

/61/

72

/7/

3.0

The story of Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan, who became fast friends during their youth in Germany. With Rob coming from a broken home and Fabrice having left an abusive household, they shared a similar upbringing, as well as a future goal: to become famous superstars. In a few short years, their dreams came true. Rob and Fab, better known as Milli Vanilli, became the world's most popular pop duo in 1990 and won the GRAMMY for Best New Artist. However, their ascension to success came with a devastating price that ultimately led to their infamous undoing.

77

7.5

/281/

74

/21/

70

/2/

3.6

/772/

96

/49/

Audience

85

/26/

77

/10/

3.0

age 11+

The triumphs and challenges of Negro League baseball in the early 20th century. Through rare footage and interviews with iconic players like Satchel Paige and Buck O'Neil, as well as Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, the film highlights the league's pivotal role in Black communities and the impact of integration.

77

6.4

/843/

60

/20/

51

/7/

3.7

/1429/

98

/43/

Audience

96

/24/

77

/17/

4.0

age 15+

Focuses on three intersex individuals who overcame shame, secrecy and unauthorized surgery throughout their childhoods to enjoy successful adulthoods, choosing to ignore medical advice to conceal their bodies and coming out as who they truly are.

79

7.8

/9613/

77

/394/

77

/82/

3.8

/14719/

92

/13/

Audience

95

/467/

64

/5/

age 14+

When Jack and Beata Kowalski are wrongfully accused of child abuse after their 10-year-old daughter Maya visits the ER, a nightmare unfolds.

77

7.2

/1220/

69

/25/

71

/19/

3.6

/6250/

98

/49/

Audience

79

/14/

82

/24/