Summary

  • Netflix offers a diverse range of documentaries on various topics, from nature and true crime to art and politics.
  • True crime documentaries like Tiger King and The Tinder Swindler have captivated audiences with their shocking stories and twists.
  • Documentaries like Last Chance U and Won't You Be My Neighbor? provide inspirational stories and intimate looks into the lives of real people.

The best documentaries on Netflix comprise a substantial portion of the top streaming content for the service, with the platform known for delivering on almost every subject from the natural world to true crime. Most viewers are likely to be more familiar with Netflix's roster of shows and movies, but the streamer's growing list of documentaries and docu-series deserve just as much attention from subscribers. From the classic nature, technology, sports, and true-crime documentaries, to ones that dive deep into art, unexplained mysteries, politics, history, and even philosophy, it's all on Netflix.

While the genre is traditionally more popular for documentaries about nature and true crime, there are documentaries currently available on Netflix about practically any topic under (and beyond) the sun. Netflix has offered everything from true-crime stories to inspirational sports documentaries, as well as some behind-the-scenes looks at the entertainment industry, making the streaming service a go-to destination for the best in documentaries for all tastes.

For more streaming recommendations, be sure to check out the best movies on Netflix and the best TV shows on Netflix.

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26 Tiger King (2020-2021)

A Strange Story Of Murder And Betrayal Surrounding A Private Zoo

Tiger King
Where to Watch

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Release Date
March 20, 2020
Cast
Rick Kirkham , Bhagavan Antle , Erik Cowie , Eric Goode , Joe Exotic , Kelci Saffery , John Finlay , Carole Baskin , John Reinke , Howard Baskin
Seasons
2
Showrunner
Chris Smith

Tiger King was an instant phenomenon when it hit Netflix in 2020. This Netflix true-crime documentary tells the story of Joe Exotic, a man who owned a zoo in southern Oklahoma where he kept exotic wildlife, including some tigers. However, what made this so fascinating was watching Joe Exotic tell his own story. The documentary shows how he allegedly hired someone to kill a woman named Carole Baskin, someone who was coming after him for animal endangerment.

Carole had secrets of her own, as there are rumors she might have killed her own husband. Things grew even more bizarre when Joe Exotic tried to reach out to President Donald Trump for help in getting him off the charges, while the authorities fought to not only bring him down for the murder charges but also rescue the big cats that he kept in his park. All the double-crosses and ridiculous situations turned it into a massive hit for Netflix. It spawned two Netflix sequels and the story was turned into a Peacock original movie.

A second and third season of Tiger King aired in 2021.

25 Our Father (2022)

A Disturbing Tale Of A Doctor's Horrific Abuse

Netflix released the documentary Our Father in 2022, a horrific story about a doctor who betrayed the trust and medial ethics of dozens of his patients. Donald Cline was a fertility doctor in Indianapolis who used his own sperm to impregnate dozens of patients. Between 1974 and 1987, the doctor sired over 90 children without letting anyone know he was the sperm donor. This led to charges of fertility fraud, where he has already had to pay out over a million dollars in settlements in civil cases.

While reviews have been mixed, sitting at 77% on Rotten Tomatoes, this documentary was both creepy and terrifying, with the victims of Our Father's true story talking about their reactions to this strange case. Lucie Jourdan directs this Netflix true-crime documentary, which has plenty of shocking moments including the results of one woman's DNA test becoming a bigger ordeal than anyone could have expected. For fans of true crime, and others who might want to see how medical corruption can spiral out of control, Our Father fits that bill.

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24 Last Chance U (2016-2020)

The Nailbiting Sports Documentary About Aspiring NFL Players

last chance u
Documentary

Release Date
July 29, 2016
Seasons
5

Last Chance U offers sports fans a chance to see some truly inspirational stories of athletes who fought to make their dreams come true in less-than-optimal situations. The series focuses on small community and junior colleges and follows the football players there who couldn't make it to a major university but still hold onto their dreams of pro football success. There have been several NFL players who came out of Last Chance U, making this an inspirational story with some happy endings for viewers.

The show finished with five seasons and had a basketball spinoff that lasted for two seasons on Netflix. The series also remains controversial thanks to the inclusion of Jason Brown, the head coach who led his team to success in season 4, ended up fired after the season when news broke that he compared himself to Hitler as a way to threaten one of his German players (via USA Today). Despite the controversy, the fourth season still picked up a 2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Serialized Sports Documentary.

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23 Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (2023)

A True-Crime Case Involving A Wealthy And Influential Family

Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal

Release Date
February 22, 2023
Cast
Morgan Doughty , Miley Altman , Connor Cook , Anthony Cook
Seasons
2

When it comes to true-crime stories, the story of the Murdaugh family has been the subject of intense fascination. Netflix capitalized on this by releasing the true crime documentary Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal in 2023 in two parts. Each section has three episodes, and it goes into detail about the accounts of the murders, the comments from everyone involved, and what this all meant in the greater scheme of things. The main account here was Alex Murdaugh, who went to prison after being convicted of murdering his wife.

This remains a compelling watch about a family that believed they could get away with murder, and their shock when everything fell apart. The series received positive reviews from critics and picked up a second season as well, with six total episodes telling this horrific true-crime story. This is actually the third documentary about the Murdaugh murders, following The Murdaugh Dynasty on Max in 2022 and The Murdaugh Murders: Deadly Dynasty on Investigation Discovery, also in 2022.

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22 The Social Dilemma (2020)

A Look At The Effects Of Social Media On Various Aspects Of Society

The Social Dilemma is a Netflix documentary that takes a hard look at the effects of social media on individuals and the world as a whole. The main focus is the psychological damage that social media can cause to a person, from bullying and peer pressure to the constant bombardment of news and politics. The documentary also looks at how people use social media to influence public opinion and how it is the leading cause of misinformation being spread about news, politics, and more.

The documentary looks at how social media uses artificial intelligence to predict the user's actions

Directed by Jeff Orlowski, the documentary looks at how social media uses artificial intelligence to predict the user's actions. it then uses this information to keep people engaged as long as possible. The movie interviews former employees from Google, Facebook, and more, as well as medical doctors and psychiatrists. While it received backlash from companies like Facebook, The Social Dilemma received critical praise and seven Emmy nominations, winning for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program.

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21 Miss Americana (2020)

A Behind-The-Scenes Look At Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift released a concert film in theaters in 2023, and The Eras Tour broke all records for the genre - as well as setting streaming records when released on Disney Plus. However, Netflix already has a very different documentary about the pop sensation. Miss Americana tells Swift's story from her point of view as she opens up to fans like never before. In the feature, she talks about her battle with body dysmorphia and eating disorders, her mother's cancer diagnosis, the scrutiny she faces every day online, and the controversies that have plagued her life.

What sets this documentary apart is that it presents Swift at a time in her life when she was more stripped down and reflective, realizing that she was much more than a singer and entertainer. She is a role model who can influence young women all over the world to stand up for their rights. The time frame is 2018 and her Reputation Stadium Tour and the documentary takes fans behind the scenes and even into her home life. The documentary received universal acclaim and was named one of the top documentaries of 2020 by the National Board of Review.

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19 Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)

A Look At Iconic Children's Entertainer Fred Rogers

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Release Date
June 29, 2018
Director
Morgan Neville

Won't You Be My Neighbor tells the story of Fred Rogers, who an entire generation of children grew up with as Mr. Rogers. He had his children's educational television program running on TV from 1968 to 2001. More than that, Rogers was also a huge proponent of children's television and the government funding PBS to allow these kids' shows to continue to air for future generations. He even spoke to the U.S. Senate on this matter in 1969, in one of the most beloved and inspirational testimonials in history.

The documentary was a massive success, winning awards with the Producers Guild, National Board of Review, Gotham Awards, and Directors Guild of America Awards. It now lives on as one of the best documentaries on Netflix and is more than worth a watch for subscribers seeking an in-depth and intimate look at one of entertainment's most beloved individuals. This documentary also came out one year before Tom Hanks played Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, and the two movies made a great double feature.

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18 The Tinder Swindler (2022)

A True-Crime Story Of A Dating App Conman

The Tinder Swindler is a Netflix documentary that tracks a British true-crime story but is also a terrifying tale for the Internet age. This follows the story of a man named Shimon Hayut who pretended to be the son of a diamond mogul on the dating app Tinder. He would contact women and have them loan him money he never repaid. He would then use the money other women sent him to take other women on lavish dates, only to scam them out of money as well.

The documentary reveals that he swindled $10 million from women all over the world before he was caught and exposed. Shockingly, he was still active on Tinder until the documentary dropped on Netflix, and the dating platform finally banned him. The Tinder Swindler picked up five Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, as well as for its writing, music, editing, and sound editing. This was also a crowd favorite, as it was watched for 45.8 million hours in its first week and finished in the top 10 in 92 different countries.

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17 Shirkers (2018)

The Story Of A Stolen Movie

Shirkers is a documentary about a group of film students and independent filmmakers who made a movie — also called Shirkers — in 1992. However, after shooting the movie, their mentor and teacher Georges Cardona took the movie and disappeared. The filmmakers never saw him again. Then, in 2011, Cardona's ex-wife sent the footage — minus the audio tracks — to the former students after Cardona had died. The Netflix documentary Shirkers allows those behind the original lost movie to tell the story of making their movie and the disappointment of never seeing it released.

This is a great documentary for both aspiring filmmakers and anyone who has a dream but never saw it fulfilled, because that is the life these people lived for almost 20 years. The best thing is that the documentary of their attempts to make the movie ended up premiering at Sundance in 2018, winning the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award, making director Sandi Tan only the second Singapore-born filmmaker to win the award. Shirkers is also universally acclaimed, with a 99% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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16 Disclosure: Trans Lives On Screen (2020)

Examining How Trans People Are Depicted In Pop Culture

Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen is a documentary that looks at how Hollywood has depicted transgender people over the years. This documentary helps show how transgender people see themselves on the big and small screen with all its positives and negatives. It shows how some critically acclaimed movies hurt the cause, such as Silence of the Lambs, and others have helped it, such as Pose. The filmmakers talk to some big names, such as Orange is the New Black's Laverne Cox, and allow them to tell their stories.

This won the GLAAD Media Award in 2021 for Outstanding Documentary. The movie was also critically acclaimed, sitting at a certified fresh 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. While the documentary does look at the history of trans depiction in movies, it also works hard to show that progress has been made, but there is still a lot of work to be done before everyone is fairly represented on the big and small screen. It is engrossing, compelling, and essential watching to educate people about the entertainment industry.

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15 Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)

A Filmmaker Takes A Unique Approach To Dealing With Her Father's Impending Death

Dick Johnson Is Dead

Release Date
October 2, 2020
Cast
Kirsten Johnson
Director
Kirsten Johnson

The 2020 documentary Dick Johnson is Dead is a Netflix original with a deeper meaning than the title might suggest. Kirsten Johnson directs this documentary about her father, Richard, who was diagnosed with dementia. The story then focuses on the different ways he could die, some of them in violently accidental ways. Throughout the documentary, Richard plays along with his daughter's dark sense of humor to develop these incidents, where she has him act out the death scenes.

Dick Johnson is Dead premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and won the Special Jury Prize for Non-fiction Storytelling and then dropped onto Netflix at the end of the year. Despite its humorous description, this is a movie about the relationship between a father and his daughter, and their memories together. While darkly comic, it has a perfect 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program.

Director Kristen Johnson is best known for her role as Sally on 3rd Rock From the Sun.

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14 Crip Camp (2020)

An Inspiring Tale Of A Camp For People With Disabilities

Crip Camp dropped on Netflix in 2020 and tells the story of Camp Jened, a summer camp in New York for teens with disabilities. The documentary starts off back in 1971 and mostly focuses on the kids from the camp who became activists for the disability rights movement when they grew up. Co-director James LeBrecht, who was born with spinal bifida and uses a wheelchair, had never seen a documentary about people who work as disability rights advocates and this led him to want to make a movie about the summer camp.

Crip Camp originally premiered at Sundance and won the Audience Award, and it continued its success on Netflix, where it even picked up an Oscar nomination. With 99 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, it sits at a perfect 100% fresh rating. Critics praised Crip Camp as an inspiring documentary that delivers a strong message and ensures the light remains on the fight for equality, and the hard work of the people who take up this important fight.

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13 Wild Wild Country (2018)

The Bizarre True Story Of A Cult That Took Over A Town

Wild Wild Country goes behind the scenes for a look at Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho) and his followers in the Rajneeshpuram community in Oregon. They settled in Oregon after being banished from India in 1981, and things did not go much better in America, where most people considered them a cult. The town they came to only had 40 residents, but Osho brought in several thousand followers to flood into the town and claim it as their own.

This documentary tells the entire story and includes everything from attempted murder, immigration fraud, a terrorist attack, and more. The cult-based documentary picked up five Emmy nominations, winning for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. It also received awards notice for its sound editing, sound mixing, picture editing, and direction by Chapman Way and Maclain Wat. The Osho International Foundation argues that the documentary doesn't show their side of the story, pointing out possible U.S. government conspiracy theories.

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12 The Last Dance (2020)

A Look At Michael Jordan Leading The Chicago Bulls As A Dominating NBA Team

The Last Dance

Release Date
April 23, 2020
Cast
Michael Jordan , Dennis Rodman
Seasons
1

In 2020, ESPN released the sports documentary The Last Dance. This follows Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1997-98 NBA season, the final that Jordan would play with the Bulls in his career. Jordan had helped lead the Bulls to five NBA titles, and he wanted to add a sixth in this season. However, as the documentary on Netflix shows, the season was full of turmoil, as his relationship with Scottie Poppen fell apart, and the team was possibly on its last legs.

With 90 people interviewed and 10 episodes, this is an incredibly in-depth and fascinating sports documentary. While the focus is on the final season of the Bulls' Dynasty with Jordan and Pippen, it goes back to showcase Jordan's entry into the NBA, the rise of Scottie Pippen, the coaching brilliance of Phil Jackson, and the controversies that arose over the years, including Jordan retiring to play baseball before returning to relaunch the dynasty once again. The Last Dance won an Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series.

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11 American Factory (2019)

Cultures Clash As A Chinese Automobile Factory Opens In Blue-Collar America

American Factory
TV-14
Documentary

Release Date
August 21, 2019
Director
Steven Bognar , Julia Reichert

The 2019 documentary American Factory focused on a Chinese company's factory near Dayton, Ohio, and the billionaire owner hiring 2,000 Americans to work there. According to the billionaire, Cao Dewang, it was all about how he could influence America's views on China. The documentary starts out with the closure of the GM plant that was in the building that Dewang bought and the new Chinese company hiring American workers to work at the business, Fuyao, that opened in its place.

When optimism turns to fear and distrust, the documentary takes a dark turn. The movie shows how the optimism of Americans getting work and seeing a bright future turns into setbacks and paranoia as the working-class Americans' values clash with the high-tech Chinese working conditions that might one day see all these employees pushed out and replaced by machines. The movie was a huge success, sitting at 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and winning both an Oscar and Emmy for Best Documentary Feature.

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10 Dirty Money (2018-2020)

A Dive Into The Seedy Underbelly Of Capitalism

Dirty Money

Release Date
January 26, 2018
Seasons
2
Creator
Josh Adler

In a nutshell, Dirty Money is the raw, unfiltered story of unhinged capitalism. The docuseries comes from Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room), and it's about evidence-based stories focused on corporate corruption. Most notably, there are episodes dedicated to the rise of Donald Trump, the scandals surrounding Jared Kushner's real estate properties, and the fraudulent, destructive, but profitable activities of mining, banking, and manufacturing companies.

It is a deep dive into the unethical practices that produce billionaires that is informative and frustrating. Some of the more interesting stories include the deep dive into the Valeant Pharmaceuticals scandal, Scott Tucker and his racketeering scandal with payday loans, and Jared Kushner's allegations surrounding his real estate holdings. Critics praised the series, giving it a 100% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. While it remains controversial for including Donald Trump, while he was President, it is one of Netflix's most popular true-crime documentaries.

Stream on Netflix

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9 Don't F**k With Cats (2019)

A Case Of Animal Cruelty Inspires Amateur Detectives

Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer

Release Date
December 18, 2019
Seasons
1
Creator
Mark Lewis

Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer is about a crowdsourced investigation into a man who filmed himself killing two kittens and posted it on the internet. While the producers tracked down the man, the police were closing in on the perpetrator as well, as it's revealed that he also killed a foreign exchange student while filming the act as well. The entire situation is almost too much to believe as a true-crime story, as the act of killing the cats ended up sending a man to prison for the murder of a person.

While ultimately worth a watch on Netflix, viewers should be warned that the first episode contains horrifying moments of animal cruelty. Don't F**k with Cats leaves out details that also earned it some criticism, but it is a gripping and disturbing tale for fans of true crime. The documentary ended up as one of the most-watched documentaries on Netflix in 2019, and director Mark Lewis went on to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing and a BAFTA nomination for Best Factual Series.

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Don't F**k with Cats won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program.

8 The Movies That Made Us (2021)

An Informative Look At The Making Of Hollywood Classics

The Movies That Made Us

Release Date
November 29, 2019
Seasons
3
Creator
Brian Volk-Weiss

A spinoff from the Netflix original series, The Toys That Made Us, the docuseries The Movies That Made Us looks at landmark movies in the 1980s and 1990s and the stories behind them - from how they were made to why they have become so important in many people's lives. While the original documentary was really made for a specific generation, this series was made for movie fans in general, both those that grew up with the movies and those who discovered them in other parts of their lives.

With movies like Home Alone, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, and more, it takes people of a certain age on a walk back to their childhood in a way few other documentaries could. It's also one of the best documentaries on Netflix for younger audiences to learn about the original movies that spawned today's popular reboots and sequels. The third season focused on horror, with movies like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and A Nightmare on Elm Street kicking off the season.

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7 Pamela, A Love Story (2022)

A Look At The Little-Known Life Of Pamela Anderson

Pamela: A Love Story

Release Date
January 31, 2023
Director
Ryan White
Runtime
1h 52m

The limited series Pam & Tommy was a big hit and received critical acclaim for its dramatized version of the story of Pamela Anderson. However, the series was also criticized by Pamela Anderson herself, and she has since fired back with a documentary to tell her side of the story. Pamela: A Love Story follows the life and rise to fame of Pamela Anderson, including her take on being in the media spotlight for aspects she would rather have kept private.

One of the best documentaries available on Netflix today, it features never-before-seen-footage, journals, and revelations about Pamela Anderson that might put her life in a different context for audiences. While Pam & Tommy received rave reviews, critics also loved Pamela, A Love Story, with it sitting at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Netflix documentary also received two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special.

Stream on Netflix