Best Netflix documentaries to watch now (December 2021)

When it comes to documentaries, you can never go wrong with Netflix, which boasts a vast collection of fascinating non-fiction content. From headline-making titles like Tiger King and The Last Dance to true-crime shows like Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey, The Tinder Swindler and Should I Marry a Murderer?, there are docuseries to suit everyone’s tastes.

A recent addition to the streamer is Michael Jackson: the Verdict, which revisits the 2005 criminal trial of the global superstar. The series features jurors, attorneys, and pivotal witnesses recounting proceedings that cameras never captured, using archival footage to reconstruct the case and its lasting controversy.

Sticking with the music theme, there’s also intimate three-part documentary Kylie, which traces Kylie Minogue’s journey from Neighbours star to international pop princess, using archive footage and candid interviews. With contributions from Dannii Minogue and Nick Cave, it’s an absorbing look at fame, reinvention and personal resilience.

As the World Cup nears its finale, two Netflix docs deliver perfect nostalgia: USA ’94: Brazil’s Return to Glory revisits the country’s 1994 title win through never-before-seen player footage, while Ronaldinho: the One and Only traces his journey from prodigy to icon, with contributions from Messi and Neymar.

A recent addition to the service is A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough, a moving documentary that revisits the naturalist’s first encounter with a baby gorilla in 1970s Rwanda, following the animal’s descendants today in a moving, conservation-led story of family, legacy and survival.

There’s also Louis Theroux’s latest documentary, Inside the Manosphere; thought-provoking film MH370: the Plane That Disappeared, which looks into the theories surrounding the vanishing of the Malaysian flight in 2014 and stranger-than-fiction tale Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare, which tells the story of Kirat Assi, a woman who lost a decade of her life to a catfishing ordeal.

If those don’t appeal, you could try Homicide: New York, the series that follows detectives and prosecutors as they revisit their most challenging homicide cases? Or how about Can I Tell You a Secret?, a chilling three-part series about the UK’s worst cyber-stalking case? Or if natural history is more your thing, then Our Universe narrated by Morgan Freeman should hit the spot.

Whatever you’re after, there are so many great documentaries to choose from on Netflix and we’ve listed our favourites below for you to start watching.

Meanwhile, for those wanting something a bit different, we’ve also created lists of the best Netflix movies and the best Netflix series, as well as the best Netflix comedies.