15 Best Documentaries on Netflix 2026
Top Netflix documentaries: Kaulitz & Kaulitz, Brazil 70 and more — ratings, release years and where to stream these history, music and biography films.
Searching for the best documentaries on netflix 2026? This curated lineup brings together fresh arrivals, critically praised series and deep-dive films to help you pick what to watch next. Standouts include Kaulitz & Kaulitz (2024), Brazil 70 - A saga do Tri (2026), and The Way We Wore (2023), which each offer a distinct take on music, sport and culture. Across biography, history and dramatic nonfiction, every selection was chosen for storytelling, craft and streaming availability. Read on for concise summaries, ratings context and tips on where to stream each pick.
Table of Contents
- Kaulitz & Kaulitz
- Brazil 70 - A saga do Tri
- Navy SEALs: America's Secret Warriors
- The UnXplained
- Roman Empire
- Mardi Gras: Feast Before Fast
- Making of Lord of the Flies
- The Way We Wore
- Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult
- Yiya Murano: Death at Tea Time
- The 43
- American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden
- The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox
- America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys
- Rust Valley Restorers
1. Kaulitz & Kaulitz
Year: 2024 | Rating: 7.1/10 | Type: TV Series
Genres: documentary, biography, music
Twin brothers and superstars Tom and Bill Kaulitz offer a glimpse into their private lives in LA and Germany in this funny and intimate reality series.
Available on: Netflix
Directed by: Michael Schmitt, Annika Blendl, Pablo Ben Yakov
Cast: David Goldstein, Tyler Menjivar, Haley Clair, Eduardo De Los Reyes, Nick Monteleone
2. Brazil 70 - A saga do Tri
Year: 2026 | Rating: 7.4/10 | Type: TV Series
Genres: documentary, drama, history, sport
Soccer icons Pele, Jarzinho, and Carlos Alberto spearhead Brazil's quest for World Cup glory. Their journey blends on-field brilliance with off-field challenges, capturing the spirit of a nation as they aim for soccer's ultimate prize.
Available on: Netflix
3. Navy SEALs: America's Secret Warriors
Year: 2017 | Rating: 7.2/10 | Type: TV Series
Genres: documentary
An in-depth look at the elite fighting force, including the physical, psychological and spiritual process of becoming a SEAL, the training required to become a member of SEAL Team 6 and a history of spectacular SEAL missions.
Available on: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video
Directed by: Paul Epstein, Philip Day
Cast: Maximus Lerois, Edwin Modlin II, Nathan Tetreault, DJ Jenkins, Will Jorgenson
4. The UnXplained
Year: 2019 | Rating: 7.3/10 | Type: TV Series
Genres: documentary
The show will explore the facts behind the world's most fascinating, strange and inexplicable mysteries.
Available on: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney Plus, Freevee
Directed by: Rob O'Brien, Hunter Bartholomew, Mari Johnson
Cast: Mitch Horowitz, Mark Donnelly, William Henry, David Morehouse, Steve Elkins
5. Roman Empire
Year: 2016 | Rating: 7.1/10 | Type: TV Series
Genres: documentary, biography, drama, history, war
This stylish mix of documentary and historical epic chronicles the reign of Commodus, the emperor whose rule marked the beginning of Rome's fall.
Available on: Netflix
Directed by: Richard Lopez, John Ealer, David O'Neill
Cast: Aaron Jakubenko, Edwin Wright, Genevieve Aitken, Jared Turner, Jessica Green
6. Mardi Gras: Feast Before Fast
Year: 2011 | Rating: 5.1/10 | Type: Movie
Genres: documentary
For three college guys, it’s senior year and the co-ed experience has left them high and dry. Their solution: A road trip to Mardi Gras, where beautiful babes are happy to lift their shirts and open containers are always welcome. But after dressing in drag, breaking into Carmen Electra’s hotel room, starring in a scandalous sex show and accidentally exploding a feces bomb in a swank hotel lobby, will the Mardi Gras magic kick in and their wildest fantasies come true?
Available on: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video
Directed by: Shereen Jerrett
Cast: Birgir Robertsson, Shack Brown, Georgie Manuel
7. Making of Lord of the Flies
Year: 2026 | Rating: 7.8/10 | Type: TV Series
Genres: documentary
A trippy tale capturing the creative vision of writer Jack Thorne and director Marc Munden, as a British crew and young cast film this timely adaptation on the remote islands of Malaysia during monsoon season. The crew battle twisters, torrential rain and scary insects to create this hallucinatory fever dream, featuring behind-the-scenes interviews and mesmerising performances by the newbie cast.
Available on: Netflix
Directed by: Lisa Marie Russo
Cast: Alfie Kiely
8. The Way We Wore
Year: 2023 | Rating: 7.9/10 | Type: TV Series
Genres: documentary
A colorful journey through Australia's fashion landscape reveals cultural identity and heritage, showcasing how personal style has shaped the nation's sartorial evolution.
Available on: Netflix
9. Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult
Year: 2024 | Rating: 6.1/10 | Type: TV Series
Genres: documentary, crime
After TikTok dancers join a management company and its associated church, unsettling details about the founder and their dark realities come to light.
Available on: Netflix
Directed by: Derek Doneen
Cast: Kylie Douglas, Aubrey Fisher, Kevin Davis, Kailea Gray
10. Yiya Murano: Death at Tea Time
Year: 2026 | Rating: 5.8/10 | Type: Movie
Genres: documentary
Yiya Murano poisoned her friends to cover up scams in 1970s Argentina and became a dark figure in popular culture. Freed in the 1990s, she reappeared as a pop icon. Today, her son Martín seeks to reveal her true face.
Available on: Netflix
Directed by: Alejandro Hartmann
Cast: Gonzalo Abadie, Gabriela Bocalandro, Benjamin S. Bruni, Patricia Calisaya, Mia F. Campagna
11. The 43
Year: 2019 | Rating: 7/10 | Type: TV Series
Genres: documentary
This docuseries disputes the Mexican government's account of how and why 43 students from Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College vanished in Iguala in 2014.
Available on: Netflix
Directed by: Matías Gueilburt
12. American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden
Year: 2025 | Rating: 7.7/10 | Type: TV Series
Genres: documentary, crime, history
Featuring rare footage and interviews with CIA insiders, this edge-of-your-seat documentary series traces the epic hunt for Osama bin Laden.
Available on: Netflix
Directed by: Mor Loushy, Daniel Sivan
Cast: John Miller
13. The Clubhouse: A Year with the Red Sox
Year: 2025 | Rating: 7.8/10 | Type: TV Series
Genres: documentary, sport
This immersive documentary series goes inside the dugout and gets up close and personal with the 2024 Boston Red Sox during their roller-coaster season.
Available on: Netflix
Directed by: Daniel George McDonald, Greg Whiteley
Cast: Josh Golombek
14. America's Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys
Year: 2025 | Rating: 8.2/10 | Type: TV Series
Genres: documentary, sport
Team owner Jerry Jones' journey transforming the Cowboys. Leading players/coaches to 3 NFL titles in '90s, becoming innovative sports leader with world's most valuable franchise.
Available on: Netflix
Directed by: Chapman Way, Maclain Way
Cast: Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman
15. Rust Valley Restorers
Year: 2018 | Rating: 7.7/10 | Type: TV Series
Genres: documentary, reality-tv
A crew of car lovers at a garage in the Rocky Mountains transforms abandoned heaps of rust into collectible classics.
Available on: Netflix
Directed by: Adam Naugler, Matthew Shewchuk, Tyson Hepburn, Jereme Watt, Michael Bodnarchuk
Cast: Michael Daingerfield
Wrapping Up
This roundup covers documentary, biography, music, drama and history, blending recent premieres with time-tested favorites so you can choose between current cultural moments and enduring nonfiction work. Whether you prefer intimate artist profiles, broad national narratives or stylish cultural studies, entries like Kaulitz & Kaulitz, Brazil 70 and The Way We Wore showcase strong direction, compelling subjects and critical buzz. Save this guide to your bookmarks and revisit it often — we refresh the recommendations regularly as new titles land on Netflix and availability shifts. We also track ratings and editorial notes so the list stays practical; check back for updated summaries and viewing tips.
Last updated: July 26, 2026