Best Documentaries on Netflix

Last updated: September 2, 2024

If you love Documentaries and are looking for your next favorite, then you're in luck. We've compiled a list of the best Documentaries available to watch now on Netflix. Scroll through and find the perfect one for your family. And check back often -- we're updating regularly with new additions. See more best-of lists like this .

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Lover, Stalker, Killer movie poster: Closeup of knife going through a heart on a phone
MOVIE

Lover, Stalker, Killer

age 15+

Disturbing true crime docu has violence, peril, language.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2024)
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Taylor Swift: Miss Americana Poster Image
MOVIE

Taylor Swift: Miss Americana

age 13+

Savvy docu with strong messages for girls; swearing.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2020)
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The Social Dilemma Poster Image
MOVIE

The Social Dilemma

age 13+

Eye-opening docu charts social media dangers, offers advice.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2020)
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Unknown: Cave of Bones movie poster: Hand bones of an early humanoid species is displayed next to a larger bone
MOVIE

Unknown: Cave of Bones

age 10+

Fascinating human origin docu has some peril, language.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2023)
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Take Care of Maya movie poster: Right side profile of Maya Kowalski, who is White and looking into the distance, wearing blond shoulder-length straight hair, baby blue activewear top, a gold necklace, and pink tone lipstick
MOVIE

Take Care of Maya

age 14+

Parents seek proper medical care for their child; language.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2023)
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American Symphony Movie Poster: Above, Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad sit together; below, Batiste faces a large audience
MOVIE

American Symphony

age 13+

Stellar docu on the power of music and perseverance.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2023)
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My Octopus Teacher Poster Image
MOVIE

My Octopus Teacher

age 8+

Octopus befriends troubled diver and teaches him about life.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2020)
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Call Me Kate movie poster: Katharine Hepburn poses
MOVIE

Call Me Kate

age 10+

Hepburn docu adds new footage and audio; mature themes.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2023)
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Camp Courage: Short documentary addresses victims of war.
MOVIE

Camp Courage

age 10+

Uplifting docu tackles trauma of war and its impact on kids.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2023)
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Kangaroo Valley Movie
MOVIE

Kangaroo Valley

age 6+

Absorbing kangaroo docu has peril, predator chases.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2022)
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Ordinary Men: The Forgotten Holocaust Movie Poster: Soldiers with guns and smoke and in groups
MOVIE

Ordinary Men: The "Forgotten Holocaust"

age 16+

Intense, powerful docu on Holocaust has graphic violence.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2022)
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Longest Third Date movie poster: The back view of Matthew Robertson, a White man featured on the left, wearing dark swim trunks, and the back view of Khani Le, a Vietnamese American woman, on the right, wearing a white bikini, take a plunge off a dock into the ocean in Costa Rica at sunset
MOVIE

Longest Third Date

age 14+

New couple faces challenges in online dating docu; language.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2023)
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13th Poster Image
MOVIE

13th

age 16+

Searing docu decries racial bias; intense violence, cursing.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2016)
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Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine movie poster: the James Webb Space Telescope's mirrors center reflect light while a scientist white garb on left looks at it with a flashlight in hand
MOVIE

Unknown: Cosmic Time Machine

age 10+

Inspiring docu explores James Webb Space Telescope launch.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2023)
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Untold: Johnny Football movie poster: close-up of Johnny Manziel center in baseball cap and wearing eye black under one eye
MOVIE

Untold: Johnny Football

age 15+

Sad tale of addiction, downfall of hyped athlete; language.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2023)
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The Devil on Trial movie poster: Left side vertical face profile of a White boy with three dark-colored beaded rosary crosses, one covers the eyes and two cover the mouth, while wearing a dark sportswear top and brunet bowl-style haircut. In the background is a ranch-style home with the lights on during a cloud-filled evening sky, and title and streaming date for the Netflix documentary appears in yellow, red, and white letters
MOVIE

The Devil on Trial

age 14+

Paranormal docu probes demonic acts; language, scares.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2023)
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Secret Lives of Orangutans movie poster: Ape baby face.
MOVIE

Secret Lives of Orangutans

age 8+

Apes hunt, fight, and grow up in absorbing nature docu.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2024)
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Daughters movie poster: A girl on a fence.
MOVIE

Daughters

age 13+

Emotionally intense docu with mature themes; some language.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2024)
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Mon Laferte, te amo Movie poster: Woman with long brown hair surrounded by Spanish words
MOVIE

Mon Laferte, te amo

age 14+

Moving docu about singer has drug use, sexual abuse.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2024)
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Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa movie poster: Image of Lhakpa Sherpa over a mountain.
MOVIE

Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa

age 14+

Violence, trauma, language in story of perseverance.

On DVD/Streaming (Release Year: 2024)
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