20 Best Docuseries Movies to Watch

The latest addition to the murder mini-series genre is the incredible thriller “The Staircase.” It originally aired in 2004, but the producers took the same director and allowed him to add new episodes in 2018 to complete the story. 

The plot: A famous American novelist’s wife is found dead, and he is accused of killing her. His life comes under scrutiny as everyone asks whether she died in an accident or was murdered. If you liked their other hit, “Making a Murderer,” you will love this. You should also definitely check out “The Keepers” or Netflix’s binge-worthy crime documentary, “Evil Genius.”

Genre: Mystery

Actor: Jean-Xavier de Lestrade

Director: Jean-Xavier de Lestrade

Rating: TV-MA

There’s no point denying it: Michael Jordan is one of, if not the greatest of all time. What he did to place the Chicago Bulls on the map, to inspire his teammates to a three-peat championship, and to constantly reinvent himself and grow his name as a currency—all that continues to be a template for NBA stars across generations. The Last Dance is a fittingly grand docuseries that captures Jordan’s once-in-a-lifetime shine. 

Even if you know little to nothing about basketball, the miniseries does an impressive job of making every detail about Jordan and his game compelling. We follow him from his early days in college basketball up to his nonstop rise in the Bulls to his stint in baseball, and we end at a dramatic high, as the title suggests, during the Bull’s triumphant 1997-1998 series—Jordan’s final season with the team. 

But the series isn't all Jordan. In clever and comprehensive ways, we get to learn more about his teammates (especially defense rockstar Dennis Rodman and reliable ally Scottie Pippen), his coaches, and his closest friends, all of which makes for a well-rounded and truly riveting watch.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Dennis Rodman, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Steve Kerr

Director: Jason Hehir

Rating: TV-MA

For three years, the makers of this docuseries gained in-depth access to ICE and other government agencies to document the current state of the U.S. immigration system.

Immigration Nation looks at how ICE functions from within, but it also focuses on the human toll of its methods. When a migrant freezes to death, an officer calls his distraught father to notify him. It quickly becomes apparent that the officer is using the same call to try to establish if the father is in the U.S. legally or if he should be deported.

The show also makes an important point of noting that the harshness of the U.S. immigration system didn’t start with the current administration. “Prevention through deterrence” Clinton-era policies, for example, forced migrants towards desert routes, killing around 10,000 people from dehydration.

Genre: Documentary

Rating: TV-MA

It’s a great concept because the influence of the media does create a lot of complications and sensationalism with regard to trials. It’s hard to say whether people and court cases are exploited by the media, or if it’s the reverse. Of course, the law is the law, but stupid TV is stupid. The series does a great job presenting a spectrum of truth, as the power of influence — of mass branding and storytelling — has to count for something. This is a parade of high profile cases where the court of public opinion has set people free, for better or for worse, in stories where the good guys and bad guys oscillate and merge.

Genre: Crime, Documentary

Rating: TV-MA

Mazher Mahmood’s true story is so rich, improbable, and dramatic, that it almost seems like a movie. It’s certainly edited like one. The Fake Sheikh is filled with quotable one-liners and thrilling reenactments, and at the center of it all is the compelling anti-hero, Mahmood. Director Ceri Isfryn does a commendable job of balancing the facts about her controversial subject, interviewing both Mahmood’s champions and critics, colleagues and victims, while also interweaving narratives of race and class into his story. After all, this is a man who was initially denied the chance to cover anything other than race and immigration, and so he carved his own (warped) path as a celebrity journalist. There are times when it seems like Isfryn tips the scales a bit to favor Mahmood, but it all falls in line with her movie narrative. The Fake Sheikh is just as enthralling as any good fictional thriller out there.

Genre: Documentary

Director: Ceri Isfryn

It’s refreshing to watch stories about queer people in the Global South unfold with this much joy and love and excitement. Many films and TV shows will have you believe that it’s all tragedy, and while the queer experience is certainly without its struggles, it seems unfair to hyperfocus on that aspect alone when there’s a lot of tenderness to go around. Rainbow Rishta finds the perfect balance between realism and romance, between strife and pride, in delivering the stories of its subjects. In doing so, it deepens our understanding of the global LGBTQ community. 

Genre: Drama, Reality

Actor: Ayushmaan AIshwarya, Daniella Mendonca, Sadam Hanjabam, Soham Sengupta, Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju

Director: Hridaye Nagpal, Jaydeep Sarkar, Shubhra Chaterjee

Released just a few weeks after Amazon Prime’s three-parter on the same subject, Netflix’s Escaping Twin Flames focuses on the victims of the cult, their recovery, and how some of them are making amends for the harmful things they’ve done while part of the cult. Director Cecilia Peck is a careful storyteller, balancing cold hard facts with heavy emotion so that the overall tone is respectful and never overly sentimental or sensational. Notably, Peck doesn’t shine too much light on the perpetrators themselves, Jeff and Shaleia Ayan, but this leaves plenty of room for the victims to share their manifold stories. The three hours pass by swiftly, and the build-up to its heartbreaking end feels very much earned. 

Genre: Documentary

Director: Cecilia Peck

Rating: TV-MA