Whilst we are all stuck indoors, you are probably wondering what you can watch when you’ve watched every series and movie on Netflix. Well next up on your watch list is Documentaries. Here are the top 10 best documentaries available on Netflix for you to watch.
1. Miss Americana
Released earlier this year, Miss Americana tells the story of the career of Pop Princess Taylor Swift and reveals the intimate details of her outstanding career from her perspective.
We gain new insight into Swift’s past and present as we learn what she has dealt with throughout her career, the strong young artist she has become will all that has been thrown at her, and the inspiration that goes into her music that for some of us, provides an anthem to our lives.
Whether you like Taylor Swift or not, as a person or her music, this documentary presents a more sensitive side to her that some of us have never seen before and shows she is a person just like us, with real feelings and opinions.
2. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness
If you haven’t heard of the infamous Tiger King, then where have you been?! This documentary series became an overnight sensation as it retells the story of Joe Exotic, a zookeeper in America who is dedicated to caring for his 176 wild cats. However, in his midst is his sworn enemy Carole Baskin (queue the Tik Tok dances), owner of the Big Cat Rescue which is a sanctuary dedicated to saving big cats from abuse.
Believe it or not, this is a true-crime documentary as it investigates the ongoing rivalry between Exotic and Baskin as Joe was arrested for hiring someone to murder Carole Baskin. When watching the series, you wouldn’t believe it is a crime documentary and more of a reality series, as we even see Joe in music videos as he sets out for a music career (sounding crazy yet?).
Despite this, it’s worth the watch to unveil the “absolutely bonkers” series to know the true rivalry between these two big cat lovers. You’ll be hooked before you know it.
3. Sunderland Till I Die
If you are a keen sports fan, then this documentary is a must-watch for you. This story follows Sunderland Association Football Club as they enter the championship after relegation in the previous season. Loyal fans to the club are tested on their dedication to the club during these tough times as they battle to regain access into the top tier of Football.
Not only can you watch the popular first series but also the more recently released second season, released in April 2020. It lets viewers into the world of a football fan, whether you are one or not, but it shows the pain and celebration a football fan goes through as they watch their team through the triumph and turbulent. In this case for the “Black Cats”, they remain upbeat despite all that has been thrown at them in the past.
4. The Movies that made us
This series unveils the behind the scenes action and secrets of some of your favourite films of all time. Each episode focuses on a specific movie, including Dirty Dancing, Home Alone, Ghostbusters and Die Hard.
Audiences are guided through the origins of the film and why the idea of them came about. We then gain an insight into the in-depth work that went into filming some of our favourite classics and shows even though they still prove popular to audiences around the world today, the journey to produce them wasn’t always plain sailing.
Then, after the film was finally released and unveiled upon the global audiences, we find out the real impact they had on people and what really makes these films so special and deems them as “classics”.
A documentary that is vital viewing for any lover of classic films.
5. The Last Dance
As one of the more recent releases on this list, The Last Dance is another sports documentary that takes us over the pond to America and reveals the career of a well-renowned basketball player (and of course actor in Looney Tunes film Space Jam, what a classic) with a focus on his role in the 1997-1998 Chicago Bulls season.
Viewers get an all-access pass to Michael Jordan’s last season for the Bulls as they make it their mission to win their sixth title in eight seasons. Interviewees within the ten-part documentary series not only sees talks with Jordan himself but also other notable figures such as Barack Obama and Justin Timberlake.
If you are a fan of the legend that is Michael Jordan, a key fan of basketball or just want to find out more about the man himself, then this documentary is a must-watch for you.
6. Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
Directed by Oscar-nominated director Joe Berlinger, he pieces together past footage and audio recordings of Bundy himself whilst he was on death row for the numerous murders he had committed.
Whilst it was released in 2019, this series is still a must-watch and proves popular for fans of crime documentaries and gaining an insight into one of America’s most notorious serial killers.
This hundreds of hours of footage and audio recordings give audiences an exclusive perception into the mind of a serial killer and unveils the twisted person Ted Bundy really was as it reveals what his average life was really like and his motives behind the thirty murders he committed.
7. Planet Earth
Previously broadcast on BBC, much-loved broadcaster and Natural historian Sir David Attenborough guides us through breath-taking footage of some of the world’s natural wonders all from the comfort of the sofa.
We see a wide range of footage from hot deserts to the freezing (yet melting) polar ice caps. Like many of Attenborough’s documentaries, he exposes his astounding depth of knowledge of the animals and the world, allowing us to not only enjoy and experience the world we are missing out on, but gain some in-depth knowledge into the world around us.
If you are an admirer of animals, an admirer of the world or even an admirer of the legend that is David Attenborough and his previous work as he has explored the world then this documentary is a must-watch for you to gain an extra nugget of knowledge.
8. Trixie Mattel: Moving parts
For fans of RuPaul’s Drag Race then you will be familiar with Trixie Mattel, the drag persona of Brian Michael Firkus. This documentary divulges into the life of Firkus’s relationship with drag itself and why it is so special to him and what makes Trixie so special.
Even though we see all the glitz and glam Brian experiences of being Trixie, this film follows Mattel’s rise to fame as well as emerging as a country music star and includes the struggles Trixie experiences whilst performing and touring.
It shows us as audiences the bittersweet reality that comes with success and shows, even though these celebrities we see in all the papers and magazines are happy and loving life, they are still people like us, and experience everyday struggle just like us.
9. Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez
This brings sport and crime together as viewers follow the interviews of friends, family, players and insiders related to the NFL star Aaron Hernandez who went on to become a convicted murderer.
On 26 June 2013, Hernandez was charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd after he was shot and killed at an industrial parker by the former New England Patriots player. He was also linked to other murder cases as a suspect, but this three-part documentary series unveils the factors that made him go from hero in the NFL uniform to zero as a cold-blooded killer.
If you are not familiar with the story of this sports star and the crime he committed, then the documentary is a must-watch to find out about the real story of Hernandez’s life through the people that knew him best.
10. The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann
It is a disappearance that shook Britain back in May 2007 when three-year-old Madeleine McCann went missing in Praia da Luz, Portugal whilst on holiday with her family. It is a mystery that still remains unsolved today, but this eight-part documentary series looks at the story behind her disappearance, what happened on the night leading to her disappearance, her parents’ desperate plea to the public and the police to help find their daughter and conspiracy theories that lay behind her disappearance.
The McCann’s themselves did not take part in the series about their daughter but it is one of the conspiracy theories that it was, in fact, her parents who killed their daughter and covered it up as a disappearance, however this is one of many conspiracy theories.
Whether you are like me and was close to the age Madeleine McCann went missing and this is a case you have been bought up with, whether you are a fan of mysteries or even conspiracy theories, then this documentary is a must-watch for you as it will open your mind up to the endless possibilities that lay behind her disappearance and questions your own previous theories.
