The 50 Best Documentaries on Netflix to Watch Now
Basketball GOATS, murder, and yes, food. So much food.
It’s no secret that we’re living in the golden age of the documentary. (Which, by the way, will absolutely continue in 2024.) If you’re looking to enjoy the best of what the genre has to offer, Netflix has a stellar catalog. To make the selection process easier—since navigating the streamer’s swelling library is damn near impossible nowadays—we rounded up 50 of our favorites.
Below, you’ll find gripping crime thrillers, such as Why Did You Kill Me?, Unsolved Mysteries, and Fear City: New York vs. the Mafia. Want to see what it takes to become one of the greatest athletes in the world? Check out Beckham and Formula 1: Drive to Survive. We even have selections for our fellow melomaniacs, who will enjoy the hell out of The Greatest Night in Pop and The Sparks Brothers.
Whether you want to brush up on world history, relive the glory days, or simply learn something new, this list has a film for you. Happy streaming.
Beckham
In Beckham, the great David Beckham breaks down his career—from his early days with Manchester United to his stint with PSG (Paris Saint-Germain). Along the way, we learn about his courtship of Victoria Beckham and how international fame has shaped their lives.
The Greatest Night in Pop
The Greatest Night in Pop brilliantly details the historic recording of “We Are the World.” One night in 1985, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, Willie Nelson, and many more teamed up to record the anthem as a fundraiser to fight starvation in Africa. The Greatest Night in Pop takes you behind the scenes and into the studio where it all happened. Come for the music history—and stay for the vintage footage of your favorite artists.
World War II: From the Front Lines
World War II: From the Front Lines uses colorized archival footage to tell the story of World War II, as described by people who lived it. All sides of the conflict are presented in this stunning documentary, painting a full picture of one of the most devastating eras in world history.
Sr.
Don’t sleep on the deeply personal Sr., in which Robert Downey Jr. explores the life of his father—who was a well-regarded indie film director—during his final days. As Downey Jr. told Esquire in an interview about the film, “There’s a little bit of God’s grace in here.”
Bill Russell: Legend
What more is there to say about Bill Russell, who won about a zillion rings with the Boston Celtics, than “legend”? A lot, apparently. In Bill Russell: Legend, filmmaker Sam Pollard explores the life and legacy of one of basketball’s first true stars.
Stutz
In Stutz, the great Jonah Hill profiles his also great therapist, Phil Stutz. If you’re currently in therapy, you’ll find Stutz to be a pretty fascinating exploration of some unconventional methods of psychotherapy. If not? Maybe you’ll finally be inspired to give it a try.
Formula 1: Drive to Survive
Here at Esquire, we’ve finally joined the cult, fandom, mass obsession, bandwagon—whatever you want to call it—of Formula 1. Featuring the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, the series captures honesty, beef, and emotion in a way we’ll never see from our ultra-guarded athletes stateside.
White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch
The saga of the once-exclusive retailer Abercrombie & Fitch is so captivating that you’ll swear you smell the inside of the store while you watch it. (Or is that Hollister?)
Our Father
Our Father is Netflix-branded true-crime batshittery at its best. Or worst, really. In the film, a woman takes an at-home DNA test and finds out that she has multiple half siblings. Could a scheming fertility doctor be at the bottom of it all?
Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King
The Internet is rife with scams, and Netflix seems determined to expose every single one. In Trust No One, a Canadian crypto-exchange founder mysteriously dies, leaving $215 million of customer cash missing. The story gets more complicated when conspiracy theorists and online sleuths suggest he faked his own death and ran away with the stash.
Downfall: The Case Against Boeing
The Boeing 737 Max incidents shook the world back in 2019, when two of the massive planes crashed within months of each other, killing 346 people. This investigation into the role played by Boeing’s alleged emphasis on profit over safety seriously sullied the company’s reputation and is, sadly, still timely in 2024.
Dancing with the Birds
Deep in exotic forests around the planet, birds of paradise dance, shake their feathers, and collect the prettiest rocks they can get their beaks on to attract a mate. Dancing with the Birds, produced by the creators of Our Planet, gets up close to capture these beautiful performances from some of nature’s most bizarrely captivating creatures.
The Sparks Brothers
They’re a band and they’re brothers. That’s how Ron (keyboards) and Russell Mael (vocals) describe themselves at the start of The Sparks Brothers, a documentary about the quirky Los Angeles pop/rock duo. Across more than 50 years and 25 studio albums, they developed a cult following in the U.S. and recently experienced a boost in popularity after writing the score to the (polarizing) film Annette.
14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible
Six months and six days. That’s how long it took Nims Purja to climb the world’s 14 tallest mountains, all above 8,000 meters. The journey is brilliantly documented in 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible. After you’ve watched the film, make sure to read our interview with Purja.
The Tinder Swindler
Pelé
Early in 2021, we saw the definitive portrait of arguably the greatest footballer of all time: Pelé. The film is both a celebration of the electric Brazilian and an unflinching look at the mistakes he made during his career.
Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami
Throughout the 1980s, Willie Falcon and Sal Magluta controlled the largest cocaine smuggling organization on the East Coast and one of the biggest in the world, making more than $2 billion in cash by bringing cocaine into the U.S. from Colombia via Miami. Through interviews with their close friends and co-conspirators, this docuseries details everything from the early days of their operation to the various murders, bribes, trials, convictions, and escapes in this notorious case.
Schumacher
This German sports documentary on the life of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher is an inside look at his early years, his rise to prominence, and his current rehabilitation at the family’s home following his 2013 skiing accident.
Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed
When you think of Bob Ross, you probably recall his calming voice, his joyful landscapes, maybe even his signature Afro. But this doc paints a sinister portrait of the beloved painter’s legacy, examining the complicated legal battles that ensued over the use of Ross’s name following his 1995 death.
My Octopus Teacher
The 2020 Oscar winner for best documentary, My Octopus Teacher follows one man on his journey to develop a relationship with an octopus off the Cape Town coast. It’s as strange as it sounds, but also a fascinating and utterly unique look at nature.
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