How popular are documentaries on Netflix? Two of the most recent Netflix original documentaries, What Jennifer Did and The Antisocial Network: Memes To Mayhem, were among the most popular movies on Netflix when they debuted. In fact, What Jennifer Did reached the No. 1 slot for a period of time.
Netflix has also recently added two prominent documentaries that were not produced by Netflix itself: Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel and Blackfish. Between the four new additions, you’ll have a lot to sink your teeth into even before you dive into the rest of the best documentaries on Netflix right now.
We’ve also rounded up the best documentaries on Amazon Prime Video and the best documentaries on Hulu if Netflix doesn’t have what you’re looking for.
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- What Jennifer Did2024
- Blackfish2013
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Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel (2022) new
Few composers in Hollywood have had the kind of success that Hans Zimmer has enjoyed over the last four decades. He’s scored the soundtracks for numerous blockbuster films including The Dark Knight trilogy, Pirates of The Caribbean, No Time To Die, and more.
Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel pulls the curtain back on the composer and allows Zimmer’s personal story to unfold. Zimmer wasn’t an overnight sensation, but he’s earned his place in cinema history thanks to his endlessly entertaining scores.
What Jennifer Did (2024) new
The title of What Jennifer Did may give the game away, but it’s not as if it’s a secret that Jennifer Pan hired men to kill her parents, Huei Hann Pan and Bich Ha Panin, in 2010. And this documentary has already proven to be a sensation on Netflix.
What Jennifer Did features actual police footage of Pan’s interviews with investigators following the attack on her parents. The doc also fills in some details about Pan’s life to understand why she made these plans. Would she have gotten away with her crime if one of her parents hadn’t survived? Hopefully not. Because despite Pan’s propensity for deception, she doesn’t seem to have been a very good liar.
Blackfish (2013) new
Whenever anyone claims that films can’t change the world, point to Blackfish. This exposé on Sea World’s handling of orcas in captivity helped bring about the end of whales being used as live performers in the theme parks. It also brought questions about the treatment of the orcas to the forefront in a way that animal rights activists hadn’t been able to do by themselves.
Blackfish also examines the case of Tilikum, an orca who killed three people during his decades of captivity. It paints a disturbing picture of the way this creature and his fellow orcas were treated, which may explain why he was so aggressive.
The Antisocial Network: Memes to Mayhem (2024) new
The Greatest Night in Pop (2024)
Imagine being in the same room as Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Joel, and Ray Charles. In 1985, at the peak of their stardom, these performers and more came together for a chaotic session to record the charity single, We Are the World.
The Greatest Night In Pop features footage from the all-night session, including the times when the whole thing could have fallen apart. Many of the surviving musicians also share their thoughts about the experience nearly four decades later. And there are even some moments of levity that were sorely needed as egos clashed.
American Nightmare (2024)
American Nightmare lives up to its name for Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn, the couple who were at the center of one. During a home invasion in 2015, Huskins was kidnapped, and Quinn was ordered to remain quiet about it by the kidnapper in order to protect her. The local cops in Vallejo, California, responded by accusing Quinn of killing Huskins.
When Quinn was released, the cops piled on the couple’s ordeal by accusing her of faking the kidnapping. The media even called her “the real Gone Girl.” But that’s because the news accepted everything the police said at face value. Fortunately, not all of the cops subscribed to that narrative on their way to breaking the case.
Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife (2023)
If Dr. Paolo Macchiarini’s claims about his esophageal transplants were true then he would have been famous in the medical industry. Instead, he’s infamous for overpromising about his “groundbreaking” procedure that left many of the patients who trusted him dead. The title Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife undersells the full extent of Macchiarini’s crimes, especially for the men and women who lost their lives to his medical malpractice.
Macchiarini’s ex-fiancée, Benita Alexander, is a TV journalist and a direct participant in this documentary series, recounting how she was fooled into believing his lies. Once Alexander realized the truth, her life was already entangled with his.
Chimp Empire (2023)
Predators (2022)
Netflix’s Predators nature documentary series showcases five of the top apex predators in the world: cheetahs, lions, pumas, polar bears, and wild dogs. But just because they’re at the top of the food chain doesn’t mean that these animals don’t struggle to survive.
Each of these animals faces challenges from rival predators, ecological disasters, and even climate change as they struggle to adapt and endure. It’s a battle that never ends, but we can’t take our eyes off of these magnificent beasts. Actor Tom Hardy narrates the series.
Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul (2023)
The Juul electronic cigarette debuted just over eight years ago, which was more than enough time for Juul’s fortunes to dramatically change. Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul chronicles the origin story of the company and its founders, Adam Bowen and James Monsees.
When they first started, Bowen and Monsees claimed that their e-cigarettes could help people stop smoking. Instead of chasing that lofty goal, Juul helped kick-start an era of vaping that proved to be more even popular with teenagers than actual cigarettes. Juul even created more potent forms of nicotine and the company was once worth billions. Once you watch this series, it’s a lot easier to understand how Juul fell so far from its peak.
How to Become a Mob Boss (2023)
If your dream job was to become an organized crime leader, then you should know that How To Become as a Mob Boss is not an instructional series that’s going to land you a prime spot on the FBI’s most wanted list. But it is a look at the history of famous mafia bosses including Al Capone, Frank Lucas, Salvatore “Totò” Riina, John Gotti, and Pablo Escobar.
There are spoilers ahead if you haven’t heard, but the common denominator between these men was either a lengthy incarceration or a violent death. The show does offer some facetious lessons about where they went wrong, but all of these stories tend to end in the same place.
Beckham (2023)
During his long career in football (soccer), David Beckham was one of the most famous celebrities in the world. And while looking back over his career in Beckham, even Beckham admits that some of his decisions were very selfish, especially when it came to putting himself before his wife, Victoria Beckham.
Both of the Beckhams are extensively interviewed in Fisher Stevens’ four-part documentary series. Beckham isn’t a full warts-and-all approach to a sports icon, but it is surprisingly earnest when dealing with most of his shortcomings while also celebrating a legacy that few will ever match.
Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga (2022)
Thanks to the new movie Dumb Money, the GameStop short squeeze of 2021 is back in the zeitgeist. Netflix’s three-part documentary, Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga, isn’t necessarily the definitive word on what went down. But it will give viewers more insight into how a group of amateur investors briefly drove GameStop stock far beyond its actual value, which led to hedge funds and professional stock traders losing millions because they had bet their own money that the stock would fall.
Unfortunately, GameStop’s inflated value was a bubble. And like all bubbles, this one burst. By the end of this story, there were very few winners.
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (2018)
Far too few people remember who Hedy Lamarr was, and for those who do know her name, it’s probably because she was a movie star during the golden age of Hollywood. In the late ‘30s, Lamarr was even billed as “the most beautiful woman in the world.” But she was far more than just an ordinary actress.
Bombshell; The Hedy Lamarr Story looks back at the life of the Hollywood starlet and her escape from Nazi Germany, as well as her rise to stardom. More importantly, it examines Lamarr’s history as a self-taught inventor including her groundbreaking work on frequency hopping.
Untold: Johnny Football (2023)
The NFL is full of cautionary tales about players who didn’t pan out despite being high draft picks. But there aren’t many players who flamed out harder and faster than Johnny Manziel. Netflix’s Untold: Johnny Football looks at the fall and even further decline of the one-time college football star as he squandered his chances in the NFL through a complete lack of discipline and self-control.
Manziel is one of the commentators for this documentary, and he doesn’t deny that his own choices led him to be drummed out of the NFL after only two seasons with barely any playing time. This was a fate of his own making.
The Saint of Second Chances (2023)
At some point in our lives, everyone screws up. Few more spectacularly than Mike Veeck, the son of former White Sox owner Bill Veeck. In 1979, the younger Veeck organized one of the most infamous promotions in baseball history: Disco Demolition Night. Before the second game of a doubleheader, Veeck and company arranged for a large pile of Disco records to be blown up in front of a rowdy crowd. It quickly led to a riot that forced the White Sox to forfeit the second game.
Netflix’s The Saint of Second Chances is about Mike Veeck’s attempt to reinvent himself and redeem his family legacy after Disco Demolition Night. This is not a baseball story, this is a tale of family and finding a second act in life.
Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine (2023)
At first glance, the title of Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine may seem a bit exaggerated. But it is an accurate description of the way that light travels to Earth over the eons. So when we look into the night sky, we really are looking into the past. Unknown focuses on the James Webb Telescope, one of the most powerful telescopes of its kind, and the window it provides us to the history of the universe.
This documentary follows the scientists and engineers as they prepare to launch the telescope into orbit and then reassemble it in space. From there, you’ll get a front-row seat as the telescope begins delivering cosmic visuals that have to be seen to be believed.
Quarterback (2023)
If the only thing that Quarterback did was follow Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, then it would already be must-see TV for NFL fans. Mahomes is literally at the top of his game, and the first season of Quarterback chronicles his march toward his second Super Bowl win. Mahomes may be the best player in the game now that Tom Brady has retired.
However, Quarterback also follows two other players at the position, Kirk Cousins of the Minnesota Vikings and Marcus Mariota of the Atlanta Falcons, respectively. Cousins and Mariota are skilled quarterbacks in their own ways, but both of them feel the pressure to deliver as their careers reach critical junctions.
Wham! (2023)
If you’ve ever tried to escape hearing Last Christmas during the holiday season, you probably know that it’s almost impossible to avoid being “Whamed.” The duo behind Wham! — George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley — met as youngsters and their story is finally told in Netflix’s documentary, Wham!.
Through the use of previously recorded interviews, both Michael and Ridgeley share their accounts of how they met and how they became pop sensations in the 1980s. It’s an intimate look at the friendship and the bond between the duo, and a reminder of why Wham! made such a huge impact.
The Deepest Breath (2023)
Netflix and A24 teamed up for The Deepest Breath, which chronicles the story of freediver Alessia Zecchini and safety diver Stephen Keenan. Zecchini wanted to break a world record, and she hired Keenan to help prepare her for that pivotal moment. Along the way, it’s clear that Zecchini and Keenan fell deeply in love with each other.
Unfortunately, the story of Zecchini and Keenan does not have a happy ending, and the documentary doesn’t hide the fact that their paths converge in tragedy. But it also celebrates their lives and everything that they stood for while paying tribute to their indomitable spirits.
Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me (2023)
If you lived through the ‘90s, it was next to impossible to miss Anna Nicole Smith. The ex-stripper turned model and actress was everywhere, even if she was never a big Hollywood star. She also married an elderly billionaire named J. Howard Marshall, and had a lengthy court battle to hang on to his money.
The most shocking thing about Netflix’s documentary, Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me, is how much pity and sorrow you’ll feel for Smith herself. This is the story of how the woman who was born Vickie Lynn Hogan got nearly everything she wanted in life, only to lose it all to addiction and self-inflicted tragedies. Anna Nicole Smith’s story is a cautionary tale, but this film shows extraordinary empathy for its subject and her trials. The documentary has already rocketed to the top 10 most popular movies on Netflix, so be sure to check it out.
Amanda Knox (2016)
Much like Anna Nicole Smith, Amanda Knox’s story exposes the dark side of fame. Knox never set out to be notable or famous, but she became infamous when she was accused and convicted of murdering her college roommate, Meredith Kercher, by the Italian courts until she was ultimately acquitted after spending four years in prison.
In the documentary that shares her name, Knox talks about her side of the story and how she lives with the stigma of being accused of a murder that took place nearly two decades ago. Whether you believe Knox or not, this will always be what she is remembered for. But within this film, Knox attempts to take control of her own narrative and she speaks out about being wrongly convicted of a heinous crime.
Victim/Suspect (2023)
The police are meant to protect us … at least that’s what we want to believe. But director Nancy Schwartzman’s documentary, Victim/Suspect, offers up an unsettling look at a disturbing pattern as women who come forward with accounts of rape or sexual assault find themselves charged with making false accusations and even facing prison time.
Journalist Rachel de Leon looks into each case and finds instances of the police using criminal interrogation techniques to get the women to recant their stories while failing to properly investigate the alleged sexual crimes. It’s a disquieting look at the way the law enforcement officers failed these women and ended up protecting the sexual predators instead of their prey.
