If, like us, you’d like to emerge from your pandemic hibernation a little more educated than when you started, choose from our list of the best documentaries on Netflix instead of worrying about things you can’t control. These documentaries are entertaining, but also edifying. For your convenience, we’ve broken them up into categories below.
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We’ve also made a roundup of the best Netflix movies and Netflix shows for 2022 if you’re looking for more things to watch on the platform.
Food and Travel
Down to Earth with Zac Efron (2020)
If you’re looking for a new-ish travel show on Netflix, Down to Earth is exactly what you need. Zac Efron travels around the world with wellness expert Darin Olien to highlight different sustainable ways of living. By shining a light on solutions to problems rather than the problems themselves, this docuseries has an overall positive message. And Zac’s bro-like presence only makes it more enjoyable.
Rotten (2018)
Rotten explores the rotten and delicious side of food production. In the first season, you can find explorations of garlic, honey, milk, and more. Season 2 tackles a new set of topics, including avocados and sugar. You’ll feel disgusted at times and most likely you’ll not ever look at the foods you eat the same ever again, but it’s definitely worth a watch.
Salt Fat Acid Heat (2018)
This four-part series is based on chef Samin Nosrat’s book of the same name and sees the host travel to California mainstay restaurant Chez Panisse as well as eateries in Japan, Mexico, and Italy. In each episode, Nosrat explores what good cooking is through a lens that investigates the fundamentals needed to create a good meal. This is the first process-based cooking show on Netflix, and it’s quickly becoming a favorite among the food-minded. It’s also, hands down, one of the best food shows you’ll find on Netflix right now.
The Manual streaming roundup
The Chef Show (2019)
The beginnings of The Chef Show stretch back to 2014, when Jon Favreau met Roy Choi during the filming of Favreau’s movie Chef (Choi was a consultant). This meeting, we can assume, created a lasting friendship based on a mutual love of food. In The Chef Show, Favreau and Choi explore just how much fun it can be to cook with friends. From celebrity chefs (pitmaster Aaron Franklin) to film celebrities (Bill Burr), the duo behind the show cook, eat, and in the process learn more about how food brings people together.
Tales by Light (2015)
Tales By Light, which began as a short series from Canon and evolved into a partnership with National Geographic, introduces us to a new and amazing photographer in each episode as they journey to capture moments. The almost metaphysical look through the lens at another person looking through a lens encourages you to see the subject matter in a slightly different light.
Politics and Wrongdoing
Dirty Money (2018)
This docuseries examines some of the most flagrant examples of corporate corruption in the last several decades. Martin Shkreli, Scott Tucker, even former US President Donald Trump are put under the microscope, their movements examined, and their motivations analyzed. Each episode of Dirty Money is helmed by a different director, infusing the series with an intriguing range of voices and styles. This keeps the stories fresh and engaging, where they could otherwise just pile up and harden like a lead ball in the pit of your stomach. It’s fascinating — and a little nauseating — to see how those at the top of the capitalist food chain look at the law as just another hurdle on the way to the next big payday. It’s satisfying to see justice fall heavy on those guilty of such extreme greed … that is, when it does.
The Social Dilemma (2020)
What are the effects of social networks on the human psyche? This Netflix documentary is a terrifying look at how and why tech giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Google operate the way they do. You get to hear from tech experts in different fields discussing the negative impact and polarizing nature of the attention-grabbing algorithms they’ve created. While the “dramatizations” are a bit over the top, The Social Dilemma remains one of the most popular documentaries on Netflix right now.
13th (2016)
A searing work from Ava DuVernay, 13th shines a Klieg light on a twisted interpretation of the Constitution’s 13th Amendment. Turns out that the amendment that abolished slavery included a little loophole that actually permits the practice of slavery in certain contexts, including — ready for this? — prison confinement. Taken together with the fact that American prisons are overwhelmingly populated by Black men, it may be a good idea to have a notepad and a rag next to you as you watch this film: one to take down choice phrases for inclusion in a strongly worded letter to your congressman, the other to chew on as the injustice gets your blood boiling. Don’t just take our word for it, however: The National Review called 13th “politically correct” and “cowardly,” which may be all the endorsement this film needs.
The Bleeding Edge (2018)
You know those class action lawsuit commercials that play between The View segments? This documentary will give you a new respect for them. The Bleeding Edge exposes the sordid underbelly of the medical device market that convinces about 70 million Americans per year that they need some kind of apparatus implanted into their bodies. This multibillion-dollar industry does some good, but a whole lot of harm, shilling products, and procedures that, in many cases, haven’t even been properly tested. Revealing the complicity between the medical device industry and the community of health care practitioners and even the FDA, who refused to be interviewed for this film, The Bleeding Edge offers, if nothing else, a good reason to take better care of yourself.
History
Wild Wild Country (2018)
This Emmy-winning Wild Wild Country traces the growth of a happy little cult in India into a manipulative juggernaut based in rural Oregon. You have to keep reminding yourself while watching that no, this group doesn’t end up taking over the world … because it definitely seems like they could. The weirdest part is that life in this cult doesn’t seem half bad — at the same time, it’s hard to square the organic farming and the free love with an attempt to poison Oregon’s municipal water supply. Perfectly described by the New Yorker as “a tabloid epic,” this one will keep you up way past your bedtime for just one more episode.
One of Us (2017)
It should be noted that One of Us is not exactly sympathetic to the culture of Hasidim, the branch of Orthodox Judaism known best among the outside world for its round beaver hats and its ubiquity around Williamsburg. Another major feature of Hasidism, according to this film, is its insistence that those within the community stay there. The documentary follows three defectors from the religion — one a housewife, one a would-be actor, one a teenager — with special attention to the discoveries they make (cheeseburgers, cocaine, the Bee Gees) and the things they leave behind (families, personal history, legal rights).
Ancient Aliens (2010)
As a History Channel original, Ancient Aliens dives into a potential conspiracy theory through the lens of archaeology and old texts. The theory put forth by this intriguing documentary is that, perhaps, ancient astronauts could have influenced myth and culture throughout human history. If you’re looking for something that is part sci-fi series and part historical documentary, this is a good place to start — but bring a healthy dose of skepticism with you when you stream it.
True Crime
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness (2020)
Ready for one of the most interesting documentaries on Netflix to come out of 2020? If you haven’t heard of Joe Exotic yet, then we don’t know what to tell you. In fact, we don’t want to spoil anything. Just soak in the full name of this docuseries (Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness), it’s setting (Oklahoma), and hit play. We’ve also found more true crime series on Netflix like this if you need more options.
Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer (2019)
Don’t F**k with Cats is a docuseries that looks at the crimes and eventual capture of Canadian serial killer and all-around trash person Luka Magnotta, who first became known on the internet for posting a video of himself killing cats. His crimes escalate, and the video itself sets off a firestorm as people around the world set out to try and find him and bring him to justice.
An American Murder Mystery: The Staircase (2018)
This 2001 docuseries may be the original from which springs the panoply of true crime stories we enjoy today. The Staircase centers upon Michael Peterson, a novelist who called the police to report the sudden death of his wife, Kathleen. Suspicion almost immediately settles on Peterson himself, and the resulting investigation only makes the whole case weirder. But rather than simply dwell on sordid speculation while we wait for a resolution, the series focuses on the meticulous work of Peterson’s defense team. Imagine the suspense film What Lies Beneath crossed with a chess match between two masters of the game, and you’ll have an idea of what you’re in for. You’ll finish the series understanding a lot more about how murder trials work, even if the issues of guilt and innocence end up seeming a lot murkier.
Making a Murderer (2015)
Arguably, this is one of the most influential true crime documentaries from Netflix. This doc looks at the imprisonment, exoneration, re-arrest, and subsequent trial of Steven Avery, who was charged with (and convicted of) the murder of Teresa Halbach. Since the first season’s premiere, countless articles have been written about the documentary and the case as a whole, but if you’re new to true crime documentaries, this is the best place to start down the rabbit hole.
Sports
The Last Dance (2020)
Following the rise of the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s with unaired footage, The Last Dance has quickly become one of the best sports documentaries you’ll find. With commentary from Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, Scotty Pippen, and many others, it’s worth watching. You can also check out our list of the best documentaries on Netflix for more options.
Icarus (2017)
Many of the best sports documentaries detail the darkest — and sometimes unknown — sides of greatness. Bryan Fogel’s Icarus explores the vast abyss of an international performance-enhancing drug scandal in the world of cycling through the director’s lens. Fogel, the American cyclist and filmmaker, details his involvement in the scandal and illuminates the depths of the Russian government’s state-sponsored Olympic doping program.
Last Chance U (2016)
This Netflix original series follows college football teams that don’t get the same national attention as the major programs do. The documentary features several collegiate athletes that have had trouble in their lives and are required to perform at the junior-college level to prove they can return to Division 1.
Feel Good
Quincy (2018)
With his legend refreshed by a series of scandalous pull quotes circulated around the internet, the time was just right for a documentary on iconic musician and producer Quincy Jones. Despite a running time of two hours, this film barely manages to pack in Jones’ full curriculum vitae. Watching a workaholic in action has never been so compelling, nor so joy-inducing.
Studio 54 (2018)
If you like looks behind the curtain, there’s no curtain more tantalizing than the epicenter of 1970s hedonism. Framed by interviews of club co-owner Ian Schrager, speaking about his club for the first time ever, and featuring never-before-seen footage from inside the notoriously exclusive club, there’s one thing prominently missing from this otherwise comprehensive history of the storied disco club: disco music. Thank goodness. While not a “feel-good” in the strictest sense, this doc is the guiltiest of guilty pleasures. You can also check out our list of the best fashion documentaries for more options.
Expedition Happiness (2017)
Determined cynics need not apply. Expedition Happiness follows the journey of an artsy young couple and their dog across North America in a refurbished school bus. Best watched during a cold winter morning while eating brunch under an afghan with your significant other, the doc leads viewers through breathtaking natural settings from Banff National Park to Death Valley, but the real heart of the story centers around Rudi, the dog, whose story arc shapes what would otherwise be just a millennial couple’s vacation vlog.
The Toys That Made Us (2017)
While this docuseries will most definitely revive some beloved memories of playing with Legos, G.I. Joes and My Little Pony, The Toys That Made Us builds some very non-schmaltzy nuance around those memories by telling you how, why, and by whom those toys were made. (He-Man and Battle Cat were invented by a marketing team on the verge of a breakdown; Barbie was based on a German comic strip.) It’s a great way to beef up your nostalgia with some meaningful nerdery. It’s like watching Saturday morning cartoons, except it makes you feel smarter.
Biographical
The Trader (Sovdagari) (2018)
Clocking in under the half-an-hour mark, this portrait of daily life in the Republic of Georgia might be the shortest distance between entitlement and gratitude you’ll encounter all year. The Trader follows Gela, an old man who scavenges his neighborhood for potatoes, the principal currency of this poverty-stricken community, and trades them for other necessities. (A woman offers him money for potatoes; he turns her down.) Winner of Sundance’s short film jury award, this documentary will at least get your mind off all the things you don’t have; at best, it may inspire you to share with those in need.
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond - Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton (2017)
If you’ve been wondering what the hell happened to Jim Carrey movies over the last 10 years or so (the beard! the incomprehensible ideology!), you obviously haven’t seen Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond. What happened to him is that he played surreal 1970s comic Andy Kaufman in Milos Forman’s 1999 film Man On the Moon, and it seems to have irrevocably altered his state of mind. Perhaps aware of the effect this role was having on his psyche, Carrey commissioned a film crew to take some behind-the-scenes footage during shooting. That footage was discovered by yet another filmmaker (it’s starting to feel like a hall of mirrors in here) and turned into a documentary that features interviews with the cast and crew of Man On the Moon, including Carrey himself, whose meticulous explanation of his own madness reads as simultaneously creepy and pitiful.
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