47 Best Documentaries to Watch on Netflix Now
Ever since the viral success of Making a Murderer—one of the best documentaries on Netflix, period—the streaming platform has churned out dozens more documentaries and docuseries.
From true-crime deep dives like Tiger King and Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal to fascinating insights into the lives of notable figures like Michelle Obama’s Becoming and Taylor Swift’s Miss Americana, the amount of nonfiction content on Netflix is seismic.
Aside from these Netflix originals, the streaming platform is also home to a vast number of other documentary films and series that will surely stand the test of time and span a variety of topics. Besides, you’re probably growing tired of watching the same Gilmore Girls episodes anyway.
Seriously, what are you waiting for? Below is a nonexhaustive list of the best documentaries on Netflix. Enjoy. And come back often—as long as Netflix keeps making documentaries, we’ll continue to update this guide.
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Courtesy of Netflix1/47Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult
Centered on the cult allegations against 7M, a talent management company that recruited TikTok dancers, this three-episode docuseries has captivated Netflix viewers for its depiction of events as they happened in real time.
“From my perspective, the thing that’s really exciting as a storyteller is the ability to immerse in a story that’s still unfolding, especially in the cult space, where I think generally, much of the time it’s a retroactive look back at the cult leader—the monster—and the victims and their experience,” director Derek Doneen told Glamour.
Courtesy of Netflix2/47Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal
A docuseries about the online dating site Ashley Madison, which famously encourages its users to cheat on their partners, is fascinating enough. But even more interesting? A docuseries about how that site was hacked and the resulting fallout when users’ information was exposed.
Netflix3/47Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey
Several former members and survivors of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) bravely share their stories in this documentary miniseries about the rise of leader Warren S. Jeffs and the powerful abuse he inflicted.
Craig Foster/Netflix4/47My Octopus Teacher
Take a break from all the crime documentaries with My Octopus Teacher, a gorgeously shot film about the bond between a South African octopus and filmmaker Craig Foster. The heartwarming movie even won an Oscar for best documentary feature.
Netflix5/47Athlete A
A moving, necessary documentary about the brave gymnasts who survived sexual abuse at the hands of USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar and the Indianapolis Star journalists who exposed his crimes to the world.
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Netflix6/4713th
From prolific director (and 2019 Glamour Woman of the Year) Ava DuVernay, this gut-wrenching documentary examines the US history of systemic racism, leading to the unjust mass incarceration of Black citizens. In a review of the doc, The Boston Globe wrote, “The urgency that courses through this documentary is that things actually can change if knowledge can be turned into momentum and momentum can become legislation.”
Looking to educate yourself? Here’s a great place to start.
Courtesy of Netflix7/47Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal
Murdaugh Murders covers the series of increasingly bizarre events that led to the arrest of Alex Murdaugh for the murder of his wife and son, Paul, starting with the death of teenager Mallory Beach, who was killed after the Murdaugh family boat crashed into a South Carolina bridge.
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection8/47Becoming
If you loved the former first lady’s book, then you need to watch this documentary. Becoming is educational and remarkably uplifting, giving viewers a glimpse into Michelle Obama’s life post–White House and her hopes for a better tomorrow. More important, it shows Michelle’s side of the story and offers insight into her remarkable journey.
Courtesy of Netflix9/47Miss Americana
Before her Eras tour broke records, Taylor Swift opened up to director Lana Wilson in a revealing documentary about her life, her art, and her struggle to claim power despite being one of the most famous women on the planet.
“I think to see Taylor, someone who’s an icon of beauty, voicing these thoughts [of insecurity] that so many people have had is incredibly, incredibly powerful because it’s not something you would expect to hear,” Wilson tells Glamour.
Courtesy of Netflix10/47Take Care of Maya
After premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, Take Care of Maya became a critical success among reviewers for its strange, horrific tale of a young girl experiencing chronic pain, her mother who was accused of Munchausen syndrome, and a hospital system that failed them both. It’s an agonizing watch, especially if you’re a parent.
Joshua Wilks/Netflix11/47The Tinder Swindler
Described as “the Jaws of internet dating documentaries” by The Times, The Tinder Swindler is the story of con man Simon Leviev. He posed as the son of a Russian Israeli diamond mogul in order to trick women into lending him money to fund his lavish lifestyle, and it’s estimated that he swindled around $10 million from people across the world.
NETFLIX12/47Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness
Any story involving murder, drug kingpins, con men, and cult leaders is wild. But throw in the fact that Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness is real and at the center of it all is a man named Joe Exotic (whom Netflix describes as a “mulleted, gun-toting polygamist and country western singer”), and you have something truly bizarre.
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection13/47A Secret Love
A Secret Love depicts the beautiful, bittersweet love story between Pat and Terry, two women who fell in love in the late 1940s and kept their relationship a secret for seven decades. The documentary is intimate and moving but never loses sight of the struggle they and countless other LGBTQ couples have faced.
Courtesy of Netflix14/47Cheer
Cheer, a six-episode docuseries about the Navarro College cheer team, will make you cry, laugh, cringe, and most definitely cheer as it highlights the time, resilience, and effort these talented athletes put into their craft. Cheer is truly inspiring and grants viewers a better understanding of the often trivialized world of cheerleading.
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection15/47Lenox Hill
Lenox Hill is basically the real-life version of Grey’s Anatomy, offering viewers an intimate look at the lives of four doctors as they devote their time to care for patients at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. The eight-episode first season is emotionally gripping, inspiring, and sometimes scary, exposing viewers to all aspects of a doctor’s job. At the very least, you will come out of it with a greater appreciation for all the ways in which doctors change the world.
16/47Don’t F**k With Cats
Don’t F**k with Cats, which tells the true story of one of Canada’s most infamous murderers, Luka Magnotta, is absolutely spine chilling and twisted in all the right ways. It’s also one of the most compelling true-crime docuseries that Netflix has produced to date. As disturbing as the story is, you will not be able to look away…which, as the series will explain, is kind of the problem.
©Lifetime Television/Courtesy Everett Co / Everett Collection17/47Surviving R. Kelly
Surviving R. Kelly is a powerful documentary series that explores R&B singer R. Kelly’s history of alleged sexual predatory behavior. Though it can be hard to watch, Surviving R. Kelly gives the musician’s accusers and their families a chance to finally speak out and tell their stories. The entire six-episode series is a gut-wrenching testament to how our culture excuses disturbing behavior among those who share the privilege of fame.
Getty Images18/47Chelsea Does
Chelsea Handler does everything in this hysterical docuseries—from taking selfies with Khloé Kardashian to chatting with a creepy robot head. If you’re in the mood to laugh, put Chelsea Does at the top of your queue. And when you’re finished, there are a slew of comedy specials you can check out.
Netflix19/47Conversations With a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
Netflix’s creepy-as-hell documentary series features never-before-surfaced audio interviews with Ted Bundy, a serial killer who murdered more than 30 women over several years before he was caught in 1978. The doc also explores the way he used his characteristics—charm, good looks—that defied the stereotype of a serial killer to his advantage, allowing him to “hide in plain sight,” as Netflix describes it.
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection20/47Period. End of Sentence.
Period. End of Sentence. is an inspiring and educational documentary that opens up a much-needed conversation about women’s health in rural Indian communities, where menstruation is a taboo topic. It’s refreshing and uplifting and brings awareness to the little things we often take for granted…like access to sanitary pads.
Courtesy of Netflix21/47Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened
Netflix’s Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened offers viewers a behind-the-scenes look at what led to events of the infamous fail that was the 2017 Fyre Festival. The documentary includes interviews with some of the staff and details on how Fyre creator Billy McFarland pulled off one of the biggest scams of the decade.
Netflix22/47Audrie & Daisy
Warning: Sensitive material ahead. This essential documentary explores the sexual assault cases of two young women: Audrie Pott and Daisy Coleman, both of whom later died by suicide. The two stories are heartbreaking, and what the film says about “boys will be boys” rape culture is important.
Getty Images23/47What Happened, Miss Simone?
One of the most powerful music documentaries in recent memory, this Liz Garbus–helmed film explores the life and career of Nina Simone, whose music resonated with everyone from classically trained pianists to dive-bar dwellers. Rotten Tomatoes says the doc “is a compelling—albeit necessarily incomplete—overview of its complex subject’s singular artistic legacy and fascinating life.”
Courtesy of Netflix24/47Gaga: Five Foot Two
Pop icon Lady Gaga readies the release of her fifth studio album, Joanne, and prepares for the 2017 Super Bowl Halftime Show in this emotionally raw and resonant music documentary. She opens up about everything from fame to Madonna to her battle with fibromyalgia. It’s a must-watch for Little Monsters.
Courtesy of Netflix25/47The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson zeroes in on Marsha P. Johnson, a transgender activist who played a major role in the gay rights movement and the Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969. In 1992, her body was found in the Hudson River. Though the police ruled her death a suicide, many of her friends believe she was murdered.
Netflix26/47Amanda Knox
The case of Amanda Knox riveted the nation in the mid-2000s. (If you forgot, Knox, an American studying in Italy was accused of murdering her British roommate in 2007.) In this documentary, she retells the story in her own words. And what she says may surprise you. Will we ever grow tired of this case?
Netflix27/47Hip-Hop Evolution
The four-season series tells the story of hip-hop and pop culture through conversations with influential MCs, artists, DJs, and moguls. Host Shad Kabango explores the rise of the genre and where it will go next with stars like Ice T, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Lil’ Kim, and Busta Rhymes.
Netflix28/47Making a Murderer
The story of Steven Avery is so wild it’s easy to forget it actually happened. After spending two decades behind bars, he was exonerated for a crime he didn’t commit only to find himself accused of another murder. Intrigued? So was the entire nation in 2015, when this documentary series first premiered.
Courtesy of Parkwood Entertainment29/47Homecoming
Beyoncé’s Coachella set in 2018 was iconic (even more so that she did not one but two performances). Now she has gifted the Beyhive with an empowering, emotional documentary that shows viewers what it was like to prepare for the performance of a lifetime. If you’re a Bey fan—even a casual one—consider this a must-watch.
Courtesy of Netflix30/47Knock Down the House
This incredible documentary follows four women’s grassroots campaigns during the 2018 midterms, including that of Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Director Rachel Lears—who says she picked each woman in part because each had a “seemingly unbeatable” opponent—has her cameras follow the action along the campaign trail, from rallies to election night. With two awards from Sundance, plenty of critical acclaim, and these four inspiring women as its main subject, this isn’t your average political doc.
Courtesy of Netflix31/47The Keepers
“Who killed Sister Cathy?” is the central question of this riveting documentary series from Netflix, which follows the life and mysterious death of a popular nun who taught at a high school in Baltimore. This is one of the best documentaries on Netflix right now, hands down.
Netflix32/47Wild Wild Country
Wild Wild Country centers on Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho), who started a large community of followers in Wasco County, Oregon, deeply upsetting the local ranchers in the area. The show became a phenomenon when it premiered on Netflix in March 2018, so much so that it inspired Mandy Moore’s birthday getaway trip.
Netflix33/47The Confession Tapes
If you haven’t seen it already, the 2017 Netflix true-crime docuseries The Confession Tapes is worth a rewatch. The series holds the criminal justice system in the US up to scrutiny by revisiting cases in which law enforcement officials used “devious psychological tactics during interrogation” in order to elicit a confession from suspects. You’ll have to judge for yourself whether the suspects were guilty or set up by the cops.
Paul Morigi/Getty Images34/47The Black Godfather
The Black Godfather tells the fascinating story of music executive Clarence Avant’s life, during which he played a crucial role in the careers of people like Bill Withers, Quincy Jones, Muhammad Ali, Hank Aaron, and presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Another great, moving music doc in Netflix’s expansive library.
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection35/47Disclosure
Laverne Cox, MJ Rodriguez, and more leading trans thinkers and stars appear in this eye-opening documentary about transgender depictions in film and television in everything from Boys Don’t Cry to Pose.
Jamie McPherson / Silverback/Netflix36/47Our Planet
Yes, there are plenty of ridiculously adorable penguins in this documentary—but more than that, it’s a feat of filmmaking that showcases the biodiversity of this wonderful planet. It was created through the efforts of a 600-member crew that worked for more than 3,500 filming days across 50 countries. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough (you might recognize him from Blue Planet), this documentary will make you not just appreciate the magnificent world we live in but be inspired to preserve it as well.
Courtesy of Netflix37/47Icarus
Icarus is a fascinating documentary that investigates the biggest scandals in sporting history. Filmmaker Byan Fogel sets out to expose the truth about doping and how athletes like Lance Armstrong could cheat and never fail a single drug test.
- VINCENT LAFORET38/47
The Last Dance
You don't have to be a sports fan to be captivated by The Last Dance. The miniseries focuses on the final season of Michael Jordan for the Chicago Bulls and includes never-before-seen footage, interviews with famous players like Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, and a lot of drama.
Netflix39/47Mercury 13
Just as the award-winning film Hidden Figures highlighted the female mathematicians who played a major role at NASA, Mercury 13 gives us an inspiring look at the 13 forgotten female pilots who tested for spaceflight in 1961 but were denied the opportunity to take a step on the moon because they were women.
Courtsey of Netflix40/47Unsolved Mysteries
If you loved the long-running series hosted by Robert Stack, don’t sleep on the 2020 reboot. Created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer, who were behind the original Unsolved Mysteries, this docuseries takes a look at strange and unexplainable cases of missing persons, UFO encounters, and more baffling real-life tales.
Francois Duhamel/Netflix41/47Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond explores Jim Carrey’s transformation into legendary comedian Andy Kaufman for the 1999 biopic Man on the Moon—and follows how Carey didn’t break out of character once while he was filming it. The doc gives viewers an inside look into Carrey’s mind and how he took his acting process too far, ultimately losing himself in his role.
Jisang Chung/Netflix42/47Street Food
Street food is the best food, and this series-style documentary takes viewers around the world to explore this incredibly diverse gastronomic culture. Season one focuses on Asia, with vendors from India to Singapore showing off their food artistry. By the end of this, you’ll be absolutely starving. So be warned!
Netflix43/47Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
The great Martin Scorsese directed this project about another great, Bob Dylan. It’s part documentary and part concert film featuring one of the most iconic storytellers in modern American history. It also gives a unique perspective on what the US culture looked like in 1975. One of the best documentaries on Netflix I’ve seen in recent memory.
Netflix44/47Abducted in Plain Sight
This chilling documentary explores the mind-boggling story of Jan Broberg Felt, a teenager who was abducted by her neighbor in the 1970s. Wildly disturbing, Abducted in Plain Sight demonstrates how easy it is for people to be deceived by those they trust the most.
45/47The Social Dilemma
If Black Mirror is too much for you, maybe skip The Social Dilemma. For everyone else: This documentary explores the dangerous side of social media, courtesy of the tech geniuses who created the monster.
Netflix46/47The Great Hack
The Great Hack explores the world of data breaches via a number of people involved with or affected by the Cambridge Analytica–Facebook scandal. This sort of situation is something we should all be paying attention to and learning about, so add it to your queue ASAP if you haven’t yet.
Netflix47/47Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel
You may have read about the strange disappearance and death of Elisa Lam—but did you know the hotel where it all happened has an incredibly dark past?
