15 Excellent Documentaries and Docuseries You Should Watch (2023)

Documentary TV shows and specials have been a part of television almost from its early beginnings. There is no question, though, that streaming has been a boon for this category of programming.

Whether it’s an intimate portrait of a pop culture icon, a thoughtful exploration of history, or a frank conversation about some of today’s thorniest cultural issues, viewers have more opportunities than ever to explore the world through moving images.

As is often the case with streaming, however, it’s nearly impossible to keep up with the explosion of content.

Not to worry, though. We’ve got you covered. We’ve put together a list of great documentaries and docuseries available to stream from the last five years.

Here, in no particular order, are 15 documentaries and docuseries you should definitely watch.

1. Lincoln’s Dilemma (Apple TV+)
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Despite volumes of material about Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln’s Dilemma manages to offer a fresh perspective on the 16th president.

It tells the story of a flawed politician shaped by his time. But also a man moved by his empathy to evolve while in office. It deconstructs the near-perfect myth of Abraham Lincoln and presents a more compelling and aspirational figure than we grew up learning about.

Just as importantly, the series re-examines the Civil War and the push for emancipation. It centers Black people- free and enslaved-as pivotal and active participants in both.

It’s a re-centering that not only expands our understanding of how the end of slavery came about but also speaks to the long bottom-up process of social movements and cultural change in general.

Lincoln’s Dilemma isn’t the story of Lincoln and his generals. It is the story of the people who pushed a leader to do better and embrace the ideals of democracy and freedom. Or, to paraphrase the man himself, to listen to his better angels.

2. The Rebellious Life of Rosa Parks (Peacock)
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Her name and face are among the most recognizable from the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Still, Rosa Parks’s full story remains largely unknown.

Co-opted to fit a particular narrative about the movement and U.S. history, much of Mrs. Park’s life and legacy gets flattened into a single moment. Peacock’s, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks looks to rectify that.

Produced by Soledad O’Brien and adapted from Jeanne Theoharis’s excellent biography of the same name, the film gives viewers a much fuller picture of Rosa Parks’s life, activism, and political philosophy.

It paints the portrait of a woman with radical politics who was intentional in her actions and devoted a lifetime to fighting injustice. It’s a candid and provocative account of a woman whose full story has never been more needed or inspirational.

3. The U.S and The Holocaust (PBS.org and the PBS Streaming app)
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The U.S. and The Holocaust is a three-part series by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein. It examines the U.S. response to the Holocaust.

The series contextualizes the Holocaust and the rise of Hitler as part of a history of global antisemitism and racism. A history that includes the eugenics movement and Jim Crow laws in the United States.

It celebrates the actions of individual Americans who protested, boycotted, and performed heroic feats to save the people they could. However, it also exposes how U.S. policies and politics failed those fleeing one of the greatest humanitarian crises in history.

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“During the Second World War, millions of Americans fought and sacrificed to defeat fascism, but even after we began to understand the scope and scale of what was happening to the Jewish people of Europe, our response was inadequate and deeply flawed,” said Novick.

Adding, “This is a story with enormous relevance today, as we are still dealing with questions about immigration, refugees, and who should be welcomed into the United States.”

4. Disclosure (Netflix)
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Disclosure is a moving look at the depiction of trans people in TV and film. It shows how popular culture has reflected and generated fears and biases about gender. Fears that often contribute to the real-world harm of trans people.

Looking as far back as the silent era, the film traces the long, largely unexamined history of trans representation. It is a history that dehumanizes and vilifies trans people but has evolved as trans activists and creators push back and advocate for better representation.

More than just a review of history, the film also explains why it matters. Through interviews with people such as Laverne Cox (who is also a producer on the film), Lilly Wachowski, Yance Ford, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Jamie Clayton, and Chaz Bono, the film connects what we see on the screen to the experiences of trans people.

Disclosure changes how we understand some of our most familiar characters and stories. It challenges us to re-examine our assumptions and better understand the trans community.

5. The Last Movie Stars (Max)
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Ethan Hawke takes a raw and intimate look at the lives, careers, and romance of two of Hollywood’s most celebrated stars, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.

Drawing on unpublished interview transcripts for Newman’s abandoned memoir and conversations with Newman and Woodward’s friends, family, and colleagues, The Last Movie Stars gives viewers insight beyond the public personas and seemingly effortless charisma.

It examines the insecurities, personal demons, and flaws fans rarely saw with honesty and compassion. As a result, the series also becomes an engaging inquiry into celebrity, art, and relationships.

What makes The Last Movie Stars stand out so brightly is how Hawke brings viewers into the process of making the series itself.

Some of the series’ best moments are the peeks into the Zoom conversations Hawke had with contributors. Even more interesting is watching Hawke puzzle out what the series’ thesis ultimately is.

The Last Movie Stars is both a deep dive into the lives of Hollywood royalty and an up-close look at the process of making meaning through storytelling.

6. Descendant (Netflix)
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Returning to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama, documentary filmmaker Margaret Brown (The Order of Myths andThe Great Invisible) tells the story of the discovery of The Clotilda, the last known ship to arrive in the United States illegally carrying enslaved Africans.

As Brown documents the efforts to find the ship and the eventual success of those efforts, she turns the spotlight onto the community of descendants still living in the area known as Africatown.

Brown shows the community grappling with what their past means to them and what justice should look like. She also highlights their fight to preserve their heritage and protect their community from modern industrial threats.

Michelle and Barack Obama’s production company Higher Ground backed Descendant. It premiered to critical acclaim, including winning a special jury prize at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

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7. The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)
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Peter Jackson takes viewers into the creative process of one of the most influential bands in history with The Beatles: Get Back.

The series uses nearly 60 hours of unseen footage and over 150 hours of unheard audio. It brings viewers into the studio with the Beatles as they try to record 14 new songs in anticipation of their first live show in nearly two years.

Filmed shortly before the band broke up, the series underscores the tensions and stresses straining the Fab Four’s relationships. At the same time, it shows the bond they shared despite the cracks that had formed. It illustrates the creative spark of their collaboration, even during such a volatile time.

Along with the look behind the scenes, The Beatles: Get Back offers fans another incredibly cool treat. Included with the recording session footage, the series features the group’s last live performance for the first time in its entirety.

The Beatles: Get Back is a journey through time and an up-close look at the messy process of collaboration and creativity.

8. We Need to Talk About Cosby. (Showtime)

The uncomfortable and, at times, polarizing subject of Bill Cosby’s fall from “America’s Dad” to a notorious sexual predator is the topic of writer/director W. Kamau Bell’s docuseries, We Need to Talk About Cosby.

Through candid interviews with comedians, journalists, and Cosby survivors, Bell unpacks the complicated legacy of Cosby’s career and the impact of his crimes.

He grapples with how to think about Cosby’s undeniable influence on popular culture and, specifically, what he meant to the Black community (a debated topic even before his crimes became front-page news).

Bell leans into the discomfort and asks hard questions about what Cosby’s story says about society, celebrity, and what it means when our heroes become villains.

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9. Girl in the Picture (Netflix)
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Every good list of documentaries and docuseries needs at least one good true-crime story. One of the most well-received in this category is Netflix’s The Girl in the Picture.

Directed by Skye Borgman, no stranger to the true crime genre, the film is based on the books A Beautiful Child and Finding Sharon by Matt Birkbeck.

At the center of the story is a woman known as Sharon Marshall. Marshall was abducted as a child, sexually abused, and forced to marry her kidnapper. She eventually died in a suspicious hit-and-run accident.

What sets The Girl in the Picture apart from many other true crime entries is its focus on the victim rather than the perpetrator. The story is gruesome, and the film doesn’t shy away from the more sensational details of the crime. However, the film focuses on Birkbeck’s years-long effort to figure out Sharon’s true identity.

The focus on Sharon makes the film all the more heartbreaking, but it’s an important deviation from many other true crime films and shows.

Ultimately, the film is more about giving voice to the victim than the evil that happened to her. The Girl in the Picture is a rare true crime story where the villain doesn’t define the story, and it is all the better for it.

10. Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults (Max)
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One of the most popular topics for TV documentaries and docuseries in recent years is cults. Over the last few years, a flurry of cult documentaries and docuseries hit streaming channels. Some cults even have more than one film or series about them.

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In 2020, Clay Tweel took on one of the most infamous cults in recent history, The Heaven’s Gate cult.

The four-part series examines the history of the cult from its beginning in the 1970s to its shocking end in 1997.

Using first-hand accounts from former members and never-before-seen footage, Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults is an insightful look at the group’s bizarre beliefs that never loses sight of the human tragedy at the center of the story.

11. My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
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My Octopus Teacher is the heartwarming story of the bond between filmmaker Craig Foster and a small octopus.

During a low point in Foster’s life, when he was depressed and burned out, he returned to his hometown of Cape Town. He began documenting his daily cold-water free dives in a kelp forest in False Bay.

There, he encountered a young octopus which he followed for nearly a year. In a remarkable turn of events, the octopus took a shine to Foster. The octopus brought Foster into her domain for months, granting him rare access to her world.

The film chronicles the impact Foster’s interactions with the octopus had on him, sharing the lessons he took from their relationship and the ways it changed his outlook on life.

My Octopus Teacher gives viewers an up-close look at one of the world’s most mysterious animals through a poignant story about transcendent friendship.

12. Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix)
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Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution is another entry on this list from Michelle and Barack Obama’s production company, Higher Ground.

The film is an origin story of sorts. At its center is a summer camp named Camp Jered.

Described as a “loose, free-spirited camp designed for teens with disabilities,” it is largely unknown to most people today. Yet, even if people don’t know the camp’s name, they have felt the ripple effects of its existence.

In the 1970s, the camp hosted a group of teens. A group that included Judith Heumann, who would later become a disability rights pioneer. It was a transformative experience for Heumann and others.

Their experience at Camp Jared was a vital spark that helped lead to the disability rights movement. A movement that led to things like the Americans with Disability Act and shaped our understanding of what equal access means for millions of disabled Americans.

Crip Camp is an uplifting and joyful look at a moment that helped launch something that fundamentally changed society and continues to reverberate today.

13. The Janes (Max)
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Oscar-nominee Tia Lessin (Trouble the Water) and Emmy-nominee Emma Pildes (Jane Fonda in Five Acts) bring the story of the Jane Collective to the screen for HBO’s film The Janes.

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The Jane Collective was an underground network of women who risked their personal and professional lives to provide over 11,000 abortions to women in need during the pre-Roe era.

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Speaking for the first time about their work, the surviving members of the Collective recount how they defied the law to give women access to free and safe abortions.

The Janes became even more relevant as it was released just a month after the leak of the draft Dobbs v. Jackson opinion, which reversed the court’s decision on Roe v. Wade when it later became official. A decision that made abortion legal across the country and ended the need for the Collective more than 50 years ago.

The context in which The Janes premiered amplifies its weight and resonance. At its heart, however, the film is an empowering story of seven women’s activism and audacious resistance.

14. Minding the Gap (Hulu)
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In his 2018 debut documentary, Minding the Gap, filmmaker Bing Liu takes us on a personal journey. Through the film, Liu explores the lives and the friendship between himself and two other young men brought together by a love of skateboarding.

With over 12 years of footage, Liu captures how these young men’s lives diverge. He exposes unseen connections between all three that illuminate harsh truths about masculinity, generational divides, and the journey from childhood to adulthood.

“The heart of the film, which had been exploring how skateboarders deal with masculinity and child abuse, suddenly became much more immediate and personal… Eventually, I realized that I had to become an active and vulnerable participant for a more honest story,” Liu said of the film.

“In the course of completing the film, I realized that Zack, Keire, and I were all harboring toxic experiences buried under the weight of years of not processing the past… The film has given me a sense of clarity about myself and how, while there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, some ways of coping aren’t sustainable.”

Minding the Gap was nominated for multiple awards following its release, including an Academy Award. President Obama also listed it as one of his favorite films of 2018.

15. Summer of Soul (… Or When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Hulu)
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Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson transports viewers back in time for his debut film, Summer of Soul (… Or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised).

Using never-before and little-seen footage, Thompson recounts the history of The Harlem Cultural Festival, which took place over six weeks in 1969.

Viewers are treated to rare performances from some of the most influential musicians in music history, including Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Sly and the Family Stone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, B.B. King, and The 5th Dimension.

It is a precious collection of footage that, until now, was mostly unavailable to the public.

Summer of Soul celebrates Black history, culture, fashion, and art. It is a testament to the power of music, particularly in contentious political times.

What are some of your favorite TV documentaries and docuseries? Let us know in the comments below!

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Sarah Fields

15 Excellent Documentaries and Docuseries You Should Watch (18)

Sarah is an obsessive geek who likes to get into the weeds and over think things. She is passionate about Sci-Fi and comics and is a giant classic film nerd. Sarah cares deeply about media representation and the power of telling diverse stories. When she's not writing or watching her favorite shows she spends her days working in the non-profit world trying to make life a little better for those that need some extra help.

FAQs

15 Excellent Documentaries and Docuseries You Should Watch? ›

A documentary is a film or television program that showcases real people, places, and events. It uses interviews, archival footage, and other visual elements to tell the story of a certain subject matter. A docuseries is similar but in series format (think Netflix's Making a Murderer).

What is the biggest documentary ever? ›

All Time Worldwide Box Office for Documentary Movies
RankReleasedMovie
12009Michael Jackson's This Is It
21984Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets
32004Fahrenheit 9/11
42010Jackass 3D
69 more rows

Are there any good documentaries on Netflix? ›

The best new documentaries on Netflix
  • Netflix. Pepsi, Where's My Jet? ...
  • Netflix. Pamela, A Love Story. ...
  • Netflix. Our Father (2022) ...
  • Netflix. Break Point. ...
  • Netflix. FIFA Uncovered. ...
  • Netflix. Untold (2022) ...
  • Netflix. Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey (2022) ...
  • Netflix. Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story (2022)

What is the difference between Docuseries and documentary? ›

A documentary is a film or television program that showcases real people, places, and events. It uses interviews, archival footage, and other visual elements to tell the story of a certain subject matter. A docuseries is similar but in series format (think Netflix's Making a Murderer).

What is the deep end documentary? ›

The Deep End is an American four-part documentary series about the life and work of spiritual influencer and author Teal Swan. The docu-series was developed for Freeform by director Jon Kasbe, producer Bits Sola, and executive producers Tom Yellin and Gabrielle Tenenbaum.

What is the #1 biggest film ever? ›

Highest-grossing films adjusted for inflation
RankTitleYear
1Gone with the Wind1939
2Avatar2009
3Titanic1997
4Star Wars1977
6 more rows

What is the number 1 thing on Netflix? ›

Most Popular TV (English)
#TV (English)Hours viewed in first 28 days
1Stranger Things 41,352,090,000
2Wednesday: Season 11,237,150,000
3DAHMER: Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story856,270,000
4Bridgerton: Season 2656,260,000
6 more rows

What is the #1 movie on Netflix? ›

Global Top 10
#Films (English)Weeks in Top 10
1The Mother2
2Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me1
3Ted1
4A Man Called Otto3
6 more rows

What is considered a good documentary? ›

1 - A good documentary goes beyond a topic and tells a story. While every film is about some topic in general, the best ones are about more than just that. Think of the topic of a documentary as what connects the film to the world and its history. But a story is what connects a documentary to the heart of its audience.

What was the first docuseries? ›

Nanook of the North - by American filmmaker, Robert Flaherty (1922) - Considered the first "original" documentary, this film profiles the lives of a real Eskimo family. 1926 - the first recorded mention of the term "documentary" (by Scottish-born filmmaker John Grierson) to describe a non-fiction film.

What are the 3 types of documentary? ›

In this VOD we examine 3 different types of documentaries: Observational, Expository and Participatory. You will see examples of films that have used each of the 3 types of genre successfully.

Which documentaries are probably closest to what most people consider documentaries? ›

Expository documentaries are probably the closest to what people think of documentaries. Expository documentaries aim to inform and persuade - often through omnipresent "Voice of God" narration and by using stock footage, archival footage, b-roll, or re-enactments.

What company makes the best documentaries? ›

List of the Top Documentary Video Agencies
  • King Toledo. REAL PEOPLE. ...
  • Gardner Productions. Toronto Video Production Company. ...
  • Signature Video Group. Make Your Mark. ...
  • Need help selecting a company? Let our team create a custom shortlist for you. ...
  • Dorst MediaWorks. ...
  • Zero One Digital Media. ...
  • Bottle Rocket Media. ...
  • Skalawag Productions.

What is the most popular type of documentary? ›

One of the most familiar and popular types of documentary is Expository Documentaries. These are designed to help convince, inform or persuade viewers.

What is the deep on Netflix? ›

The Nektons are a family of underwater explorers who discover the hidden secrets of the oceans, including sunken cities, sea creatures and pirates. Watch all you want.

Where can I watch the deep end Docuseries? ›

The Deep End, a documentary series is available to stream now. Watch it on Hulu, ABC: Watch New Shows & Live TV or Prime Video on your Roku device.

Is Into the Deep on Netflix a real documentary? ›

When journalist Kim Wall disappears after boarding inventor Peter Madsen's submarine, his changing story about her fate masks a terrifying truth. Watch all you want. This documentary that began as a film about an eccentric inventor was directed by Emma Sullivan.

What is the number 1 Hollywood movie of all time? ›

IMDb Top 250 Movies
  • The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 9.2.
  • The Godfather (1972) 9.2.
  • The Dark Knight (2008) 9.0.
  • The Godfather Part II (1974) 9.0.
  • 12 Angry Men (1957) 9.0.
  • Schindler's List (1993) 8.9.
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 8.9.
  • Pulp Fiction (1994) 8.8.

What are the top 3 biggest movies in the US? ›

All Time Domestic Box Office
RankYearMovie
12015Star Wars Ep. VII: The Force Awakens
22019Avengers: Endgame
32021Spider-Man: No Way Home
42009Avatar
56 more rows

What was the first billion dollar movie? ›

Titanic became the first movie to gross over $1 billion worldwide on March 1, 1998, in 74 days of release. The list below is restricted to the 10 movies that reached the milestone the fastest.

What is the most watched series on Amazon Prime? ›

Answer: The highest rated Amazon Prime Video shows on IMDb include Sherlock, The Office and Clarkson's Farm. Question: Which is the most watched series on Amazon Prime? Answer: As of February 2023, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is the most-watched series on Amazon Prime Video.

What is the most watched show of all time? ›

Most watched broadcasts of all time
RankBroadcastAverage viewers (in millions)
1Apollo 11 Moon landing125–150
2Super Bowl LVII115.1
3Super Bowl XLIX114.4
4Super Bowl LVI112.3
26 more rows

What is the most watched series on Netflix 2023? ›

As of February 2023, the most popular English-language Netflix TV show of all time was the fourth season of American science-fiction series "Stranger Things," with over 1.3 billion hours viewed in the show's first 28 days on the platform.

What is the most viewed movie? ›

Most Watched Movies Of All Time
  • Titanic (1997) ...
  • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) ...
  • The Wizard of Oz (1939) ...
  • Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) ...
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) ...
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) ...
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) ...
  • The Lion King (1994)

What are the top 10 movies right now? ›

30 MOST POPULAR MOVIES RIGHT NOW
  • Don't Look Up (2021) R | 138 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi. ...
  • The Lost Daughter (2021) R | 121 min | Drama. ...
  • The 355 (2022) ...
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) ...
  • The Matrix Resurrections (I) (2021) ...
  • The Power of the Dog (2021) ...
  • The Tender Bar (2021) ...
  • The King's Man (2021)

Who is the world best movie? ›

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

What is a most beautiful thing documentary about? ›

Why are documentaries the best? ›

Documentaries can preserve important events or parts of history – sometimes stories or archival footage that other people would rather bury. This gives the world not only a better understanding of events in the past but also a glimpse of what we might face in the future. And we can better deal with it.

Why are documentaries great? ›

Documentary's ability to use intimate and compelling visual storytelling, often focusing on personal experiences and micro-environments to tell grander societal stories, uncover criminal acts and hold those in power to account, is one of the reasons we have seen a veritable boom in the audience for documentary films in ...

What is the oldest documentary? ›

The earliest documentary listed is Fred Ott's Sneeze (1894), which is also the first motion picture ever copyrighted in North America. The term documentary was first used in 1926 by filmmaker John Grierson as a term to describe films that document reality.

What was the first fake documentary? ›

Examples emerged during the 1950s when archival film footage became available. A very early example was a short piece on the "Swiss Spaghetti Harvest" that appeared as an April Fools' prank on the British television program Panorama in 1957.

When were documentaries most popular? ›

In the early 1950s attention once again focused on the documentary in the British free cinema movement, led by a group of young filmmakers concerned with the individual and his everyday experience. Documentaries also became popular in television programming, especially in the late 1960s and the early 1970s.

What are the 5 modes of documentaries? ›

They are the expository, participatory, observational, performative, reflexive and poetic modes.

What are the 3 aims of a documentary? ›

A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record".

What are 4 functions of documentaries? ›

Renov (1993) in his theorizing about documentary forms makes a distinction between four fundamental functions of documentary films: to record, reveal, and preserve; to persuade or promote; to analyze and interrogate; and to express.

What is a self documentary called? ›

Reflexive Documentary: Self-conscious or self-reflexive style addresses the process of representation.

How many documentary styles are there? ›

What Are Documentary Modes? In 1991, American film critic and theoretician Bill Nichols proposed that there were six different modes of documentary—poetic, expository, reflexive, observational, performative, and participatory—each containing its own specific characteristics.

What are the different types of observational documentaries? ›

American film critic Bill Nichols defined these documentaries as expository mode, participatory mode, observational mode, performative mode, poetic mode, and reflexive mode.

What are the US most in demand documentary subgenres? ›

Research firm Parrot Analytics recently quantified consumer demand for six documentary sub-genres. The highest ranked was True Crime, followed by Science, History, Social Issue, Nature and Sports. Parrot compared 2019-20 with 2020-21, revealing a big jump in demand across all genres, led by True Crime (+60%).

Do people still watch documentaries? ›

The majority of viewers watch for the most part at least two or more documentaries each month, on all platforms. Overall, participants in this study say they are watching more documentaries today than they were three years ago.

What are the people who talk in documentaries called? ›

Documentarian Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster.

What's a good documentary to watch on HBO? ›

With HBO Documentary Films (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)
  • Moonage Daydream (2022) ...
  • The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015) ...
  • Being Mary Tyler Moore (2023) ...
  • Love to Love You, Donna Summer (2023) ...
  • All That Breathes (2022) ...
  • The Vow (2020–2022) ...
  • I'll Be Gone in the Dark (2020–2021)

Has a documentary ever been nominated Best Picture? ›

No documentary feature has yet been nominated for Best Picture, although Chang was nominated in the "Unique and Artistic Production" category at the 1927/28 awards.

What is the highest grossing biographical documentary? ›

'Won't You Be My Neighbor? ' Is Top-Grossing Biodoc Of All Time – The Hollywood Reporter.

What is the difference between a Docuseries and a documentary? ›

A documentary is a film or television program that showcases real people, places, and events. It uses interviews, archival footage, and other visual elements to tell the story of a certain subject matter. A docuseries is similar but in series format (think Netflix's Making a Murderer).

What is the longest running documentary? ›

The Up series is a British documentary strand which returns to the same set of individuals at seven year intervals to see how their lives have developed. The series began on the 5th May 1964 with Seven UP!

What is the longest documentary filmed? ›

The longest film documentary runs for a total length of 48 hr 10 min, and was achieved by Blessy Ipe Thomas (India) and released on 19 April 2019. The documentary 100 Years of Chrysostom (2019), which follows the life of the longest ruling bishop of the Marthoma church, Dr Phillippose Mar Chrysostom.

What is Netflix biggest documentary debut? ›

Netflix's documentary series about Britain's Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has become the streaming platform's biggest documentary debut yet. “Harry & Meghan” racked up 81.55 million viewing hours globally within its first four days of release, Netflix said Tuesday.

What is Netflix biggest film? ›

Global Top 10
#Films (English)Hours viewed
1The Mother94,420,000
2Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me15,650,000
3Ted11,210,000
4A Man Called Otto10,640,000
6 more rows

What true crime show is the longest running? ›

FORENSIC FILES is the longest-running true crime series in television history. Real crimes, disease outbreaks and accidents around the world are solved by experts using scientific laboratory analysis which helps them find previously undetectable evidence.

What is the oldest TV series? ›

In the experimental days of television, the very first full-length program broadcast in the US was a drama in one act called The Queen's Messenger by J. Harley Manners. The WGY radio station in Schenectady, New York first aired the drama on September 11, 1928.

What film took 10 years to make? ›

Overview of films with long production times
FilmRelease yearNumber of years
Five Nights at Freddy's20238
A Tree of Palme200210
The Act of Killing20128
The Adventures of Chatran19864
95 more rows

What movie took 30 years to make? ›

The Wild Story of How Terry Gilliam's Don Quixote Movie Took 30 Years to Make.

What movie took 7 years to make? ›

Boyhood is a 2014 American epic coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Richard Linklater, and starring Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater, and Ethan Hawke. Filmed from 2002 to 2013, Boyhood depicts the childhood and adolescence of Mason Evans Jr.

What is the longest popular Netflix show? ›

10 Best Netflix Shows That Are Longer Than 5 Seasons
  • 8 'Peaky Blinders' ...
  • 7 'BoJack Horseman' ...
  • 6 'Better Call Saul' ...
  • 5 'Grace and Frankie' ...
  • 4 'Orange is the New Black' 7 Seasons (2013 - 2019) ...
  • 3 'The Blacklist' 10 Seasons (2013 - ) ...
  • 2 'The Walking Dead' 11 Seasons (2010 - 2022) ...
  • 1 'Grey's Anatomy' 19 Seasons (2005 - )
Apr 20, 2023

What was the first successful Netflix series? ›

The first Netflix Original was Lilyhammer. The show with the most MyList Adds is Money Heist.

What was the first successful documentary? ›

Nanook of the North - by American filmmaker, Robert Flaherty (1922) - Considered the first "original" documentary, this film profiles the lives of a real Eskimo family.

What is number 1 on Netflix now? ›

Netflix Top 10 in the United States
RankYDTitle
1(1)The Lincoln Lawyer
2(4)Wrong Side of the Tracks
3(5)Jackass 4.5
4(2)Ozark
6 more rows

What is the most viewed film in the world? ›

Millions of movies can proudly dominate the industry as of now. Among them, the most-watched movie of all time has to be Titanic which needs no introduction. It is a historical film that is based on a real-life incident signifying the sinking of a big-sized ship.

What is the most viewed movie on Netflix 2023? ›

Action comedy film "Red Notice" was the most popular English-language Netflix movie of all time as of April 2023, based on the number of hours viewed in its first 28 days on Netflix. The film counted around 364 million hours viewed.

Videos

1. Young father murdered by millionaire party boy; Police seek college student's killer - Full Episode
(True Crime Daily)
2. This Documentary Was Banned For 15 Years: Juvenile Liaison | Absolute Documentaries
(Absolute Documentaries)
3. 15 Cold Cases FINALLY Solved In 2023 | Documentary | Mysterious Hook
(Mysterious Hook)
4. "The 15 Greatest Rounds of all Times" (NBC Documentary, 1990)
(ibhof2)
5. The Documentary so Disturbing, They tried to Destroy it
(STYNET)
6. I Held A Secret Comedy Show. (FULL DOCUMENTARY).
(TommyOutit)

References

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