Top 100 Netflix Documentaries to Watch Right Now (#35 to #31)

98% on RT. Making a Murderer. Secret Mall Apartment. Wild Wild Country. We are in rarefied air now. These are the docs that defined Netflix’s documentary ambitions.

Netflix Documentary #35 — Making a Murderer

2015 | Series | Directed by Laura Ricciardi & Moira Demos

98% from critics and 93% from audiences. Steven Avery spent 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Then, two years after being exonerated, he was charged with murder. Is the justice system framing him again, or did he actually do it? This series launched the true crime documentary renaissance and sparked nationwide debate about criminal justice reform. If you haven’t seen it, where have you been?

Netflix Documentary #34 — Secret Mall Apartment

2024 | Film | Directed by Jeremy Workman

98% on RT. THIS ONE BETTER BE ON THE LIST — and obviously it is. A group of artists secretly built a fully furnished apartment inside a Providence mall and lived in it for four years. FOUR YEARS. Without anyone knowing. The ingenuity, the audacity, the sheer absurdity of it — this is one of the most brilliant, delightful documentaries I’ve ever seen. It’s proof that truth is way stranger than fiction.

Netflix Documentary #33 — The Greatest Night in Pop

2024 | Film | Directed by Bao Nguyen

98% from critics and 90% from audiences. The behind-the-scenes story of recording ‘We Are the World’ in a single night in 1985. Getting Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, and dozens of other legends into one room and actually producing a song? The personality clashes, the egos, the logistics — it’s a miracle it happened at all. Pure joy to watch.

Netflix Documentary #32 — What Happened, Miss Simone?

2015 | Film | Directed by Liz Garbus

98% on RT. Nina Simone was a genius, a revolutionary, and a deeply troubled human being. Liz Garbus (who also directed Dynasty: The Murdochs on this list) crafts an intimate, sometimes painful portrait that doesn’t sanitize Simone’s life. Her music, her activism, her rage, her mental health struggles — it’s all here. The archival performance footage alone is worth the watch.

Netflix Documentary #31 — Wild Wild Country

2018 | Series | Directed by Maclain & Chapman Way

98% from critics and 93% from audiences. The Rajneeshees build a utopian city in rural Oregon and things go… sideways. Bioterrorism, attempted murder, immigration fraud — this cult documentary has EVERYTHING. Sheela is one of the most compelling documentary subjects in history. Six episodes that will leave you questioning everything you think you know about cults, freedom, and the American Dream.

The Complete Top 100 Netflix Documentary Countdown

98%. The air is thin up here. These are the docs that made Netflix a documentary powerhouse. If you haven’t started working through this list yet, these five are an excellent entry point.

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