15 Best Documentaries On Netflix 2026

Explore our hand-picked selection of 15 titles. Ratings, reviews, and streaming options included.

If you're searching for the best documentaries on netflix 2026, this curated list highlights the must-see nonfiction films and series streaming right now. From true-crime investigations like Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart (2026) to high-adrenaline documentaries such as Free Solo (2018) and recent narrative-driven pieces like The Perfect Neighbor (2025), the selection spans crime, drama, and thriller tones. Consider this your go-to for the top best documentaries on netflix 2026, with quick notes on what each film covers, runtime, and viewing intensity. You'll find festival favorites and mainstream hits including All the Empty Rooms (2025), Cover-Up (2025), and Sean Combs: The Reckoning (2025), plus shorts like Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025). Read on for concise verdicts, who will enjoy each pick, and links to check current streaming availability.

Table of Contents

1. The Perfect Neighbor
2. Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart
3. All the Empty Rooms
4. Free Solo
5. Meru
6. Cover-Up
7. Sean Combs: The Reckoning
8. Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story
9. One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5
10. WWE: Unreal
11. Becoming Led Zeppelin
12. aka Charlie Sheen
13. Unknown Number: The High School Catfish
14. Unlocked: A Jail Experiment
15. Amy

1. The Perfect Neighbor

Year: 2025 | Rating: 7.1/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary, crime, drama, thriller

Police bodycam footage reveals how a long-running neighborhood dispute turned fatal in this documentary about fear, prejudice and Stand Your Ground laws.

Available on: Netflix

Directed by: Geeta Gandbhir

2. Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart

Year: 2026 | Rating: 6.7/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary, crime

Elizabeth Smart's harrowing abduction at 14 from her family's Utah home unfolds through her own words and never-before-seen material.

Available on: Netflix

Directed by: Benedict Sanderson

3. All the Empty Rooms

Year: 2025 | Rating: 9.6/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary, short

A journalist and a photographer set out to memorialize the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings.

Available on: Netflix

Directed by: Joshua Seftel

4. Free Solo

Year: 2018 | Rating: 8.1/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary, adventure, sport

Follow Alex Honnold as he attempts to become the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite's 3,000 foot high El Capitan wall. With no ropes or safety gear, this would arguably be the greatest feat in rock climbing history.

Available on: Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus

Directed by: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

5. Meru

Year: 2015 | Rating: 7.7/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary, sport

Meru is the electrifying story of three elite American climbers—Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk—bent on achieving the impossible.

Available on: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Freevee

Directed by: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

6. Cover-Up

Year: 2025 | Rating: 7.5/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary

Seymour Hersh has been at the front lines of political journalism in the United States. Hersh's breakthrough reportage has brought to the public's attention many of the most damning constitutional wrongdoings and cover-ups.

Available on: Netflix

Directed by: Mark Obenhaus, Laura Poitras

7. Sean Combs: The Reckoning

Year: 2025 | Rating: 7.4/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary, crime

A revealing look at Sean 'Diddy' Combs' journey from music mogul to high-profile sexual offender, featuring footage and insider accounts that expose both his groundbreaking success with Bad Boy Entertainment and the troubling shadows behind his empire.

Available on: Netflix

Directed by: Alex Stapleton

8. Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story

Year: 2025 | Rating: 6.1/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary, crime

Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting Youtuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.

Available on: Netflix

Directed by: Skye Borgman

9. One Last Adventure: The Making of Stranger Things 5

Year: 2026 | Rating: 7.2/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary

An inside look at the years of effort and craft that went into the final installment of the Duffer Brothers' generation-defining series.

Available on: Netflix

Directed by: Martina Radwan

10. WWE: Unreal

Year: 2025 | Rating: 8/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary, reality-tv, sport

From Monday Night RAW to WrestleMania, this series goes backstage with WWE Superstars and staff as they bring the company's biggest spectacles to life.

Available on: Netflix

Directed by: Terrell Riley, Steve Trout, Chris Weaver

11. Becoming Led Zeppelin

Year: 2025 | Rating: 7.5/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary, music

The individual journeys of the four members of the band, as they move through the music scene of the 1960s, playing small clubs throughout Britain and performing some of the biggest hits of the era, until their meeting in the summer of 1968 for a rehearsal that changes their lives forever.

Available on: Netflix

Directed by: Bernard MacMahon

12. aka Charlie Sheen

Year: 2025 | Rating: 7.5/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary, biography

Actor Charlie Sheen tells his story in this candid two-part documentary tracing his dazzling Hollywood rise, tabloid-topping fall and road to recovery.

Available on: Netflix

Directed by: Andrew Renzi

13. Unknown Number: The High School Catfish

Year: 2025 | Rating: 6.7/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary, crime

Vulgar, taunting texts blow up the phones of a teen and her boyfriend. Who's sending them — and why? This twisty documentary reveals the shocking answer.

Available on: Netflix

Directed by: Skye Borgman

14. Unlocked: A Jail Experiment

Year: 2024 | Rating: 7.1/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary, reality-tv

At an Arkansas detention facility, a sheriff implements a radical social experiment to grant men who are incarcerated more agency.

Available on: Netflix

15. Amy

Year: 2015 | Rating: 7.8/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary, biography, music

A documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse, the immensely talented yet doomed songstress. We see her from her teen years, where she already showed her singing abilities, to her finding success and then her downward spiral into alcoholism and drugs.

Available on: Netflix

Directed by: Asif Kapadia

Wrapping Up

This roundup delivers a diverse mix — documentary, crime, drama, thriller and short formats — so you can choose by mood, critical standing, or urgency of the story. Whether you're comparing festival standouts like Meru (2015) and Free Solo with newer investigative films such as Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, the list filters titles by quality, pacing, and viewer appeal. If you want the best documentaries on netflix 2026 in a single running list, bookmark this page and share it with friends who love nonfiction storytelling. We update the selection regularly as Netflix adds or removes titles, so return often for fresh recommendations and availability checks. Explore more entries below or click through to verify current streaming status and viewer ratings.

Last updated: January 25, 2026