Lovers of true stories and historical tales, this selection is for you! Here are ten documentary series to explore dark detective stories, drive at 300 an hour or discover the underside of video games.
It’s now been one of Netflix’s specialties since Making a Murderer in 2015: captivating documentary series at binge in a few hours. The American platform never stops offering programs of all nationalities, on all possible and imaginable subjects. Its catalog is thus always regularly enriched with novelties, in the field of fiction, but also particularly of documentaries.
If you are more of a fan of the second category, this selection of ten series with true stories as bluffing as they are creepy should please you. Video games, cheerleading and occult sect are on the program, so on your Netflix!
Pick up speed with Formula 1: Drive to Survive
If you don’t like car racing, don’t leave just yet! This documentary series may well surprise you despite everything (and it’s a refractory who tells you so). Thanks to its captivating protagonists, its frenetic pace and its stakes that go beyond the world of sport, Formula 1: Drive to Survive can quickly turn into a small addiction. The first episode immediately plunges us into the heart of the action, during the 2018 championship.
From big names like Australian Daniel Ricciardo to small team leaders, no one is left out and every story makes you want to watch the next episode. We then watch with passion the mechanics change the wheels at breakneck speed between two laps and we get scared when a driver makes a dangerous swerve on the circuit. All fueled by fascinating interviews with the main players in this discipline. In short, Formula 1: Drive to Survive is a unique access behind the scenes of a sport of unparalleled speed.
Understand an unexplained criminal case with Gregory
It is one of the most notorious murders in our recent history. On October 12, 1984, little Grégory Villemin was found dead in Vologne, in the heart of the Vosges. The assassination of this 4-year-old child will provoke decades of legal and media battle, the outcome of which is still unknown. There is no shortage of twists and turns in this chilling news item, which will mark the whole of France and will cause a lot of ink to flow in the media.
It was enough for a documentary series to see the light of day, 35 years later. Whether Gregory obviously cannot solve the impossible, namely revealing the identity of the murderer(s) of the child, the program still manages to offer an original and fascinating narration. Gilles Marchand, screenwriter of Harry, a friend who wishes you wellsign this series which brings a new glance on the business. Gregory carries us away thanks to its many archives and unpublished testimonies, but does not manage to overlook a sometimes disturbing sensationalist aspect. The documentary series remains one of the best on the platform, not to be missed.
Explore the underside of your favorite games with High Score
Whether video games are part of your daily life or seem obscure to you, this artistic and technological milieu remains an indispensable facet of today’s pop culture. Netflix has understood this and proves it with this high-flying documentary series. High Score takes us back to the 1970s, when gaming was still in its infancy. In six episodes, this return to the past evokes in turn the success of role-playing games, combat games or RPGs, until the end of the 1990s. You will thus discover the origin of the character of Kirby or the backstage of the game creation AND, still considered one of the worst games of all time.
The strength of this series lies in the diversity of its testimonies, between big names in the field and small intimate but touching stories. And if you are fond of improbable and crisp little anecdotes, you will inevitably find what you are looking for with High Score.
Penetrate the dark corners of the Internet with Don’t F**k With Cats
In 2019, Netflix released one of its best-known documentary series: Don’t F**k With Cats. The program tells the crazy story of the “Montreal skinner”, a serial killer who started by posting videos of kittens being tortured and then killed on the Internet. As these extracts go viral, the murderer will post more and more disturbing content, until he commits a crime, also filmed.
Be warned, Don’t F**k With Cats won’t leave you unscathed. The series dwells long, wide and crosswise on the dark web and its harmful effects, in particular the voyeurism of Internet users. But these three episodes above all evoke the strength of dozens of amateur cyber-detectives, all over the world. These budding investigators have done everything possible to find the killer before it is too late. A disturbing documentary, which has shocked more than one viewer since its release.
Discover Michael Jordan in a new light with The Last Dance
Sport has always fascinated the small screen, from football pitches toOlive and Tom to the benevolent good humor of Ted Lasso, on Apple TV+. But with Tea Last Dance, released in 2020 on Netflix, basketball was finally put in the spotlight. If you lived your youth in the 1990s, it is very likely that the names of Jordan, Pippen or Rodman particularly resonate in your heart.
These proud representatives of the golden age of the Chicago Bulls, one of the most famous basketball teams in the world, are the focus of the series. The ten episodes return to the 1997-1998 season, the last great year for this legendary team. Ingenious flashbacks feed our understanding of the situation, while shedding new light on superstar Michael Jordan. In short, do not miss The Last Dancean immersion that is as exciting as it is engaging.
Meet unlikely protagonists with Tiger King
Released at the right time during the confinement of 2020, this documentary series fascinated the crowds with its totally crazy story. Tiger King immerses us alongside zoo owners in love with “big cats”, tigers, lions and other huge beasts. Setting aside American law, they manage to raise them as pets. Among them is the eccentric Joe Exotic, a slightly nerdy country singer. An unusual character, ready to do anything to destroy her eternal rival, Carole Baskin, fervent defender of animals.
Tiger King is a succession of completely surreal scenes, mixing drugs, murders, sects and even magic, in an explosive cocktail. A true story, bizarre, but above all absolutely incredible to devour in two seasons, of eight and five episodes respectively.
Go back to childhood with The Movies That Made Us
If you liked The Toys That Made Us, which told the crazy story of our childhood toys, you should hang on to this ever so successful spin-off around the cinema. The principle is always the same: give a voice to the small hands behind the great pop culture hits of recent decades. And the concept still works like a charm. The 1980s and 1990s are particularly honored, with the filming secrets behind Dirty Dancing, Die Hard, Alien, Pretty Woman Where Jurassic Park.
The Movies That Made Us has the intelligence to leave plenty of room for testimonials, while analyzing the impact that these masterpieces have left in the imagination of entire generations. A very soft and sweet nostalgic cocktail, to sip with unlimited popcorn.
regain hope with November 13: Fluctuat Nec Mergitur
Dealing with such recent and shocking events with delicacy and sensitivity can be a real headache. Jules Naudet and Gédéon nevertheless risked this perilous exercise and finally won their bet brilliantly. This documentary series in three poignant episodes retraces the attacks of November 13, 2015 by giving a voice to those who lived through them.
Survivors, firefighters, police forces and members of the government follow one another in front of the camera, revealing their testimonies of this night of horror. November 13: Fluctuat Nec Megitur, whose name refers to the motto of Paris, is a formidable documentary, of great subtlety. Without ever falling into pathos or inappropriate sensationalism, these three chapters will certainly make you shed a lot of tears, but above all they allow you to glimpse a glimmer of hope in the midst of the chaos. A balm with a heartbreaking, but luminous, must-see.
Reveal the mechanics of a cult with Wild Wild Country
The Americans definitely have no equal when it comes to telling crazy stories. Wild Wild Country is the ultimate proof of this, with its story set in the Oregon desert in the 1980s. This is where a utopian and hippie city will take place, under the leadership of Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, also known as Osho’s name. This installation marks the beginning of a national scandal, while the conservative inhabitants rebel against this new sect.
Thanks to ultra-detailed archival work and testimonies from key protagonists, Wild Wild Country takes us by the hand without ever letting go, until the outcome of this incredible, but true affair. If the six episodes can sometimes seem a little dense, the series is still a great success for Netflix.
Go behind the scenes of college sports with Cheer
In 2016, Greg Whiteley was interested in the daily life of American football teams, with Last Chance U. Two years later, the director made his comeback with Cheer, which follows one of the best college cheerleading teams, based in a small town in Texas. The documentary series in two seasons reveals the intensive preparation of these top athletes, passionate about their discipline.
Trained by Monica Aldama, a very demanding coach, these students hope to win a national title during a decisive competition in Daytona, Florida. Far from the usual clichés about cheerleaders, Cheer shows on the contrary the phenomenal investment that this intensive sport requires, while lingering on the intimate life of these athletes. The documentary series manages to intrigue even viewers furthest from cheerleading at first glance. Bright.
