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Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1900s

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Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1900s

Tags Search My ratings Sign in

Best Documentary TV Series

Top 500 most popular Documentary series, ranked by votes

Filter & sort

Genres

Genres as assigned by IMDb. Selecting several means a show must match all of them.

Action 87 Adult 7 Adventure 336 Animation 100 Biography 810 Comedy 494 Crime 1402 Documentary 17995 Drama 400 Family 323 Fantasy 20 Game-Show 57 History 1894 Horror 98 Music 516 Musical 17 Mystery 198 News 217 Reality-TV 822 Romance 24 Sci-Fi 60 Short 108 Sport 578 Talk-Show 173 Thriller 21 War 419 Western 14

Decades

By first-air year. Several selections widen the range; a specific year narrows within its decade.

2020s 6241 2010s 6789 2000s 3216 1990s 1037 1980s 361 1970s 168 1960s 123 1950s 45 1940s 5 1930s 2 1920s 0 1900s 0

Specific year

2026 333 2025 783 2024 946 2023 998 2022 1128 2021 1075 2020 978 2019 897 2018 849 2017 809 2016 752 2015 715 2014 612 2013 612 2012 574 2011 536 2010 433 2009 389 2008 388 2007 385 2006 369 2005 361 2004 360 2003 305 2002 250 2001 228 2000 181 1999 177 1998 157 1997 117 1996 116 1995 102 1994 83 1993 88 1992 76 1991 74 1990 47 1989 49 1988 55 1987 37 1986 32 1985 34 1984 32 1983 42 1982 39 1981 17 1980 24 1979 16 1978 29 1977 16 1976 23 1975 15 1974 14 1973 15 1972 18 1971 16 1970 6 1969 16 1968 14 1967 13 1966 10 1965 12 1964 17 1963 12 1962 4 1961 13 1960 12 1959 8 1958 4 1957 4 1956 5 1955 8 1954 7 1953 4 1952 2 1951 2 1950 1 1949 1 1948 1 1947 1 1941 1 1940 1 1939 1 1937 1

Tags

Rating patterns, computed from IMDb episode-rating trajectories. Deliberately strict: only shows with an unmistakable pattern carry one, so expect small numbers.

Rating patterns

Fumbled the Finale 0 Stuck the Landing 0 Grew the Beard 0 Rock Solid 0 Past Its Prime 0 Roller Coaster 0

Taste tags, judged by our AI taste model. They cover the 5,000 most-rated shows.

Tone & mood

Bleak 25 Gritty 14 Dark tone 66 Feel-good 14 Cozy 6 Wholesome 6 Melancholic 2 Tense 21 Unsettling 24 Whimsical 0 Campy 3 Cynical 15 Hopeful 4 Sentimental 1 Nostalgic 18 Bittersweet 4 Chaotic energy 8 Deadpan cool 5

Pacing & structure

Slow burn 2 Fast-paced 2 Episodic 72 Serialized 1 Procedural 6 Mystery box 9 Anthology 13 Cliffhanger-driven 0 Sprawling saga 0 Tight limited run 61 Puzzle plot 0 Vignette style 3

Humor style

Dry humor 11 Absurdist 4 Satirical 5 Cringe comedy 2 Slapstick 4 Witty banter 2 Dark comedy 2 Warm humor 5 Raunchy 4 Parody 0 Ironic & meta 2

Themes & subject matter

Criminal underworld 5 Detective mystery 7 True crime 113 Heists & cons 4 Legal 7 Medical 1 Political intrigue 14 Espionage 1 War & military 22 Family saga 1 Coming of age 0 Workplace 2 School & campus 1 Love story 1 Friendship 2 Found family 1 Survival 8 Post-apocalyptic 0 Dystopia 0 Supernatural 1 Space & sci-fi 2 Near-future tech 0 Time travel 0 High fantasy 0 Urban fantasy 0 Monster horror 0 Psychological horror 0 Addiction & vice 5 Mental health 6 Faith & religion 16 Sports 32 Music scene 12 Food & cooking 11 Nature & science 55 Real history 56 Royalty & aristocracy 6 Small town 1 Big city life 2 Rural & frontier 4 Suburban underbelly 0 Class divide 3 Immigrant experience 0 Queer stories 1 Female perspective 8 Social commentary 40 Philosophical 10 Existential dread 1 Revenge 0 Redemption 3 Secrets & lies 31

Characters & perspective

Antihero lead 0 Morally gray 3 Villain's POV 0 Ensemble cast 1 Central duo 3 Strong female lead 2 Child's perspective 0 Outsider lead 3 Genius lead 1 Working class 5 Elites & privilege 11 Unreliable narrator 4 Character study 12 Banter chemistry 1

Emotional payoff

Tearjerker 3 Adrenaline 4 Intellectual challenge 8 Comfort rewatch 9 Romantic yearning 0 Cathartic 0 Wonder & awe 49 Mounting dread 1 Warm glow 5 Gut punch 17

Craft & style

Dialogue-driven 5 Visually striking 42 Stylized direction 2 Naturalistic 5 Big-budget spectacle 27 Lo-fi charm 2 Atmospheric 39 Distinctive score 9 Experimental 1 Deep worldbuilding 0 Tight writing 0

Format & audience

Sitcom 0 Adult animation 0 Anime 0 Kids & family 7 Young adult 0 Soap & telenovela 0 Event miniseries 6 Reality competition 4 Lifestyle reality 19 Docuseries 331 Sketch & variety 0 Game & quiz show 0 Talk & panel 3 Period piece 18 Contemporary life 3 Long-runner 15 Built to binge 2

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 20 Nordic noir 0 K-drama 0 Turkish drama 0 Indian TV 5

Intensity & content character

Graphic violence 4 Disturbing 57 Sexually explicit 1 Family-safe 57 Emotionally heavy 59 Easy watching 45

Sort

500 series (top 500 shown)

The Life of Mammals

4K 10 2002–2003

Nature & science · Wonder & awe

Brainiac: Science Abuse

4K 58 2003–2008

Episodic · Nature & science

The Family

4K 5 2019–2019

Docuseries · Faith & religion

Light & Magic

4K 9 2022–2025

Docuseries · Nostalgic

Flint Town

4K 8 2018–2018

Docuseries · Social commentary

Surviving Black Hawk Down

4K 3 2025–2025

War & military · Docuseries

Mr. Scorsese

4K 5 2025–2025

Docuseries · Character study

Good Eats

4K 252 1999–2012

Food & cooking · Episodic

Rotten

4K 12 2018–2019

Food & cooking · Docuseries

Chimp Empire

4K 4 2023–2023

Nature & science · Docuseries

Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos

4K 2 2024–2024

Docuseries · Real history

Rafa

4K 4 2026–2026

Documentary · Sport

November 13: Attack on Paris

4K 3 2018–2018

Docuseries · Emotionally heavy

Uninterrupted's Top Class: The Life and Times of the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers

4K 26 2021–present

Sports · Docuseries

Till Murder Do Us Part: Soering vs. Haysom

4K 4 2023–2023

True crime · Docuseries

Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser

4K 3 2025–2025

Docuseries · Social commentary

Homicide Hunter

4K 147 2011–2023

True crime · Docuseries

How to Fix a Drug Scandal

4K 4 2020–2020

Docuseries · True crime

American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders

4K 4 2024–2024

True crime · Docuseries

Phoenix Rising

4K 2 2022–2022

True crime · Docuseries

Dateline NBC

4K 1482 1992–present

True crime · Long-runner

Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy

4K 14 2021–2022

Food & cooking · Docuseries

Hoarders

4K 182 2009–present

Mental health · Lifestyle reality

Ice Road Truckers

4K 154 2007–2025

Lifestyle reality

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Action Adult Adventure Animation Biography Comedy Crime Documentary Drama Family Fantasy Game-Show History Horror Music Musical Mystery News Reality-TV Romance Sci-Fi Short Sport Talk-Show Thriller War Western

This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Rating data from IMDb Non-Commercial Datasets.

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