The greatest documentary series that changed how we understand crime, nature, culture, and society.
HBO's Allen v. Farrow presents the Dylan Farrow sexual abuse allegations against Woody Allen with extensive access to previously unseen evidence, home movies, and new testimony. The series forces serious reckoning with how celebrity and institutional protection can silence accusers.
Netflix's Abstract profiles leading designers across multiple disciplines — from graphic design and illustration to architecture and stage design — revealing the creative processes and philosophies behind influential visual work in the modern world.
Netflix's examination of Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints documents religious extremism and systematic abuse through survivor testimonies, showing how institutional secrecy enabled exploitation for decades.
David Gelb's Chef's Table series profiles the world's most influential chefs through cinematic, contemplative documentary filmmaking that explores food as philosophy, culture, and personal expression. The series elevated food documentary to genuine art form and introduced audiences to revolutionary culinary thinking.
Netflix's Wild Wild Country is a fascinating, balanced account of the Rajneesh cult's attempt to build a utopian city in rural Oregon in the 1980s. Its refusal to render simple moral judgments while presenting extraordinary archival footage makes it a masterclass in documentary storytelling.
HBO's The Jinx follows real estate heir Robert Durst across three murders spanning four decades, culminating in one of documentary television's most astonishing moments — a subject apparently confessing to murder on camera. Andrew Jarecki's investigation changed how filmmakers approach true crime.
BBC's Planet Earth series, narrated by David Attenborough, set new standards for nature documentary filmmaking with never-before-seen wildlife footage captured across every ecosystem on Earth. Its combination of scientific rigor, extraordinary photography, and Attenborough's narration made it one of the most watched documentary series ever.
Netflix's Tiger King became a pandemic-era obsession by documenting the bizarre, criminally-entangled world of big cat owners in America. While its subject matter is genuinely weird, the series sparked important conversations about exotic animal ownership and exploitation.
Netflix's Our Planet updates the Planet Earth formula with explicit environmental messaging, using David Attenborough's authority to confront climate change's impact on wildlife directly. Its production quality matches the BBC's finest work while carrying an urgent conservationist mission.
Netflix's Making a Murderer ignited the true crime documentary boom by following Steven Avery's prosecution following exoneration from a wrongful conviction. It sparked national debate about the criminal justice system's fairness and demonstrated the transformative power of long-form documentary storytelling.
Netflix's The Keepers investigates the unsolved 1969 murder of a Baltimore nun and its connection to institutional sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, demonstrating documentary's power to resurface buried injustice. The determination of ordinary women to seek truth makes it both inspiring and heartbreaking.
ESPN's The Last Dance documents the Chicago Bulls' 1997-98 championship season while weaving in Michael Jordan's complete story through extraordinary archival footage and interviews. It became a global cultural event during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period, introducing Jordan to a new generation.
“Allen v. Farrow”
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