shadini walbee sampson
Jordan Tucker
It's why the humble documentary is more important than ever, unearthing truths, offering different perspectives, and introducing you to stories you might not have come across in your short time on this planet.
Netflix's documentary offerings are strong stuff, with many of the streaming service's films and series proving some the most talked about watches of certain times in our lives and others flying under the radar despite their excellence. From Ava DuVernay's examination of the mass imprisonment of Black people in the U.S. to a Sundance favourite about an inclusive summer camp for young people with disabilities, from a true crime (but not as you know it) essential to the Michael Jordan documentary even non-sports fans will love, there's something for everyone to learn in this list.
We've rounded up the very best documentary films and TV series on Netflix, so you can load up on some of the strangest, most enraging, most uplifting true stories, all crafted by those determined documentary makers who spend hours and hours editing their findings into a compelling path.
Ava DuVernay's 13th should be compulsory viewing, a powerful documentary that examines mass incarceration and wrongful imprisonment of Black people in America and the long, sinister, racist history that has enabled this discriminatory system to continue.
It turns out that Chris Smith, the director of revered 1999 doc American Movie (with its riotously funny and surprisingly touching take on the indie-indie-indie Milwaukee movie scene), was the perfect filmmaker to tackle a documentary about the last days of legendary indie director Robert Downey Sr. The man behind classic alt-comedies of the '60s and '70s like Putney Swope and Greaser's Palace was a perfect character himself, so much so that Smith sometimes turns the camera over to Downey Sr. so he can tell some of his own story with his signature humor.
"Now it's upon us. The beginning of his disappearance. And we're not accepting it. He's a psychiatrist. I'm a cameraperson. I suggested we make a movie about him dying. He said yes." Filmmaker Kirsten Johnson makes this bold pitch as her father, Dick, moves toward the end of his life with dementia. In this surreal, darkly comedic, and deeply moving documentary, the Johnsons stage various "deaths" for Dick onscreen to help them cope with the looming, inevitable end.
Film historian, culture critic, and writer Elvis Mitchell delves into Black cinema from its early days but focuses on the significant era of 1968 to 1978 and the power of representation in Is That Black Enough for You?!?. Written, narrated, and directed by Mitchell, the documentary is essentially a love letter to Black cinema, the films made during a time when representations of Black people onscreen were often racist stereotypes, and when Black directors, writers, and actors were denied access to Hollywood but still made groundbreaking independent movies.
"The Black filmmakers of that era were hustling, driven cinema-lovers who worked an early version of independent film," says Mitchell in the doc. "Back in this day, 'independent film' didn't mean being a cool, desirable outsider whose success got you access to incredible resources. It meant you were locked out of the theaters by the studios who owned them. You were left to invent ways to get your product to audiences.
"For most of the history of the movies, studios have been content to leave Black money on the table, and Black enterprise has responded, creating, as it always has, a de facto underground economy and culture."
Bollywood and the romance genre are arguably synonymous, and there's one storyteller who cemented the fact with his extensive, beloved body of work. Yash Chopra and his eponymous studio, Yash Raj Films, are behind some of the most recognized romantic movies in the last 50 years. These movies have captivated audiences within India and internationally, whether with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (a movie so iconic that it's still playing in a Mumbai theatre 27 years later), other '90s classics like Dil To Pagal Hai and Lamhe, or modern hits like Veer-Zaara and Jab Tak Hai Jaan.
The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal hit the headlines in 2018, as details emerged over the widespread data collection breached user privacy and impacted both the 2016 presidential election and Brexit campaigns. The Great Hack delves into how this happened, the major players, and how we should feel about our own role in this mess.
One of those athletes, Maggie Nichols, reported the abuse to the national governing body for gymnastics in 2015 and no action was taken. Nothing. Then, she was denied entry to the 2016 Olympic team. Nichols was anonymously dubbed Athlete A at the time, and forms the core of this enraging documentary streaming on Netflix. Centering the stories of the survivors, directors Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk conducted interviews with gymnasts who came forward against Nassar, including Nichols, Rachael Denhollander, and Jamie Dantzscher, alongside interviews with the investigative reporters and editors from the Indianapolis Star, which broke the story.
On January 28, 1986, NASA's Challenger space shuttle exploded, killing all seven crew members on board. Executive produced by J.J. Abrams and Glen Zipper, four-part documentary Challenger: The Final Flight reminds us of those lost in the tragedy, and examines the technical process that led up to the moment of disaster.
When Wild Wild Country dropped on Netflix in 2018, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone with the streaming service who wasn't chomping at the bit to talk about it. Created by Chapman Way and Maclain Way, the six-part documentary follows the true tale of Rajneeshpuram, a commune built in Oregon by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in the '80s, and how its followers' clash with the local nearby town (steered by formidable spokesperson Ma Anand Sheela) provides just the beginning of a tale that ends in, well, biological warfare.
It was the cheese sandwich seen 'round the world, and the beginning of the end of aspiring impresario's Billy McFarland's biggest scheme. If you believed the sponsored content posted by celebs on Instagram, the first Fyre Festival was poised to be a party paradise, full of kick-ass music, haute cuisine, and bikini-clad models frolicking on gorgeous beaches. Then guests, who shelled out big bucks for an island oasis vacation, arrived to find rusty buses and urine-soaked tents. The backlash and schadenfreude came fast and hilarious.
Whether you're a fan of Taylor Swift or just curious about her meteoric rise to fame, Miss Americana allows you a rare peek into the pop superstar's life. Director Lana Wilson crafts an intimate portrait of Swift, through plenty of interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, taking you into the songwriting sessions of her album Lover, backstage on the spectacular Reputation tour, through her relatively short journey from teen country singer to global superstar, through the sexual assault lawsuit she won against radio host David Mueller, and the breaking of her political silence.
Quincy Jones has been busy for the last 70 years. Co-directed by his daughter Rashida Jones and Alan Hicks, Quincy examines the immense impact the record producer, arranger, and musician has had on music over the last seven decades. It's mostly narrated by Quincy himself, with archival audio from famous friends like Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra, alongside a treasure trove of home footage and new material.
You don't have to be a football fan to appreciate the cultural impact of David Beckham, especially after watching Succession star Fisher Stevens' documentary on him. Over four parts, this limited series delves into Beckham's football career all while scrutinising the toxic media obsession with the sports star. Spice Girls fans will relish how much of Victoria Beckham's story is interwoven here, and how much this celebrity couple has weathered from the press and football fans. But beyond anything, you might come away from this documentary shocked at the incessant harassment and hate from fans and the British media after the 1998 World Cup.
You couldn't make a list of the most important documentaries ever crafted (much less just those streaming on Netflix) without including Errol Morris' 1988 masterpiece The Thin Blue Line. It not only revolutionized the medium, but it resulted in the exoneration of an innocent man on death row. Tackling the conviction of Randall Dale Adams for the shooting death of a Dallas police officer a decade earlier, Morris managed to uncover damning evidence about the actual shooter, saving Adams' life in the process.
It never seems right typing out the full name of Fred Rogers. That man earned his "Mister" by presiding over 31 seasons of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood on PBS, permanently etching his steadfast belief in kindness and generosity (and puppets!) into every generation of kids who took that trolley ride with him off into the kingdom of Make-Believe.
Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about everything (but not anything) across entertainment, tech, social good, science, and culture.
Jason Adams is a freelance entertainment writer at Mashable. He lives in New York City and is a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic who also writes for Pajiba, The Film Experience, AwardsWatch, and his own personal site My New Plaid Pants. He's extensively covered several film festivals including Sundance, Toronto, New York, SXSW, Fantasia, and Tribeca. He's a member of the LGBTQ critics guild GALECA. He loves slasher movies and Fassbinder and you can follow him on Twitter at @JAMNPP.
Documentaries connect us all. Even in cases where the film's overall focus is narrowed to fit a pre-conceived narrative, there's an unmistakable feeling of intimacy, of being let into a filmmaker's brain for a quick flash. In using snippets of the real world, in a variety of forms, great documentaries use images of universal, familiar existence to impart something tremendously personal. Netflix has a bounty of great documentaries that cover a diverse range of subjects, from true crime to sports to even filmmaking. Below, we've assembled a list of what we believe are the best documentaries on Netflix right now.
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