Popular Documentary TV Shows on PBS
All Services
Free Services
Netflix
Amazon Prime Video
Apple iTunes
Apple TV Plus
Disney Plus
Google Play Movies
Paramount Plus
Hulu
HBO Max
YouTube
fuboTV
Peacock
Peacock Premium
Amazon Video
The Roku Channel
AMC+
AMC on Demand
Kocowa
Hoopla
The CW
Vudu
Starz
Showtime
PBS
Pantaflix
FXNow
Tubi TV
Kanopy
Comedy Central
Crunchyroll
Microsoft Store
Redbox
Sun Nxt
ABC
DIRECTV
Crackle
Fandor
Plex
Netflix
Amazon Prime Video
Apple iTunes
Apple TV Plus
Disney Plus
Google Play Movies
Paramount Plus
Hulu
HBO Max
YouTube
fuboTV
Peacock
Peacock Premium
Amazon Video
The Roku Channel
AMC+
AMC on Demand
Kocowa
Hoopla
The CW
Vudu
Starz
Showtime
PBS
Pantaflix
FXNow
Tubi TV
Kanopy
Comedy Central
Crunchyroll
Microsoft Store
Redbox
Sun Nxt
ABC
DIRECTV
Crackle
Fandor
Plex
The Boys from Brazil: Rise of the Bolsonaros
2022
star 7The remarkable rise of one of the world’s most controversial leaders, Jair Bolsonaro, from obscurity to the presidency of Brazil.NOVA
1974
NOVA
1974
star 7PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.Great Performances
1971
Great Performances
1971
star 5.8The best in the performing arts from across America and around the world including a diverse programming portfolio of classical music, opera, popular song, musical theater, dance, drama, and performance documentaries.Nature
1982
Nature
1982
star 7.8Consistently stunning documentaries transport viewers to far-flung locations ranging from the torrid African plains to the chilly splendours of icy Antarctica. The show's primary focus is on animals and ecosystems around the world. A comic book based on the show, meant to be used an as educational tool for kids, was briefly distributed to museums and schools at no cost in the mid-2000s.American Experience
1988
American Experience
1988
star 6.9TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.American Masters
1986
American Masters
1986
star 7.4American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.Finding Your Roots
2012
Finding Your Roots
2012
star 6.4Noted Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. has been helping people discover long-lost relatives hidden for generations within the branches of their family trees. Professor Gates utilizes a team of genealogists to reconstruct the paper trail left behind by our ancestors and the world’s leading geneticists to decode our DNA and help us travel thousands of years into the past to discover the origins of our earliest forebears.Independent Lens
1999
Independent Lens
1999
star 6.5This acclaimed Emmy Award-winning anthology series features documentaries and a limited number of fiction films united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement and unflinching visions of their independent producers and featuring unforgettable stories about a unique individual, community or moment in history.The American Revolution
2025
star 5.2The American Revolution was at once a war for independence, a war of conquest, a civil war, and a world war, fought by neighbors on American farms and between global powers an ocean or more away. It impacted millions from Vermont’s Green Mountains to the swamps of South Carolina, from Indian Country to the Iberian Peninsula. In defeating the British Empire and giving birth to a new nation, the American Revolution turned the world upside-down. Thirteen colonies on the Atlantic Coast united in rebellion, won their independence, and established a republic that still endures. The American Revolution will present the story of the men and women of the Revolutionary generation, their humanity in victory and defeat, and the crisis that they lived through.MotorWeek
1981
MotorWeek
1981
star 4.4This award-winning weekly automotive magazine provides unbiased, consumer-oriented car news with feature stories on related topics.Secrets of the Dead
2000
Secrets of the Dead
2000
star 6.3Part detective story, part true-life drama, long-running series explores some of the most iconic moments in history to debunk myths and shed new light on past events. Using the latest investigative techniques, forensic science and historical examination, it shatters accepted wisdom, challenges prevailing ideas, overturns existing hypotheses, spotlights forgotten mysteries, and ultimately rewrites history.Rick Steves' Europe
2000
Rick Steves' Europe
2000
star 8.6Rick Steves, America's leading authority on European travel, returns to transport viewers to the continent's bustling cities, quaint villages and picturesque countryside.Texas Parks and Wildlife
0000
A weekly outdoors/nature series focusing on the incredible diversity of wildlife, scenic locations and fascinating characters that make Texas unique.Nazi Megastructures
2013
Nazi Megastructures
2013
star 7.6In a quest for world domination, the Nazis built some of the biggest and deadliest pieces of military hardware and malevolent technology in history. This is the stories of the engineers who designed them and how these structures sparked a technological revolution that changed warfare forever.Eons
2017
Eons
2017
Join hosts Hank Green, Kallie Moore, and Blake de Pastino as they take you on a journey through the history of life on Earth. From the dawn of life in the Archaean Eon through the Mesozoic Era — the so-called “Age of Dinosaurs” -- right up to the end of the most recent Ice Age. The evolutionary history of mammals including humans and other modern species is explored with these amazing paleontology experts.The U.S. and the Holocaust
2022
star 8.3Inspired in part by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s “Americans and the Holocaust” exhibition and supported by its historical resources, this documentary series examines the rise of Hitler and Nazism in Germany in the context of global antisemitism and racism, the eugenics movement in the United States, and race laws in the American south.Christopher Kimball's Milk Street Television
2017
star 7.8Let’s stop doing things in the kitchen that made sense in the 19th century but not in the 21st. Milk Street travels the world to bring you the very best ideas and techniques with no lists of hard-to-find ingredients, strange cookware, or all-day methods to slow you down.Country Music
2019
Country Music
2019
star 7.3Explore the history of a uniquely American art form: country music. From its deep and tangled roots in ballads, blues and hymns performed in small settings, to its worldwide popularity, learn how country music evolved over the course of the 20th century, as it eventually emerged to become America’s music.Perspectives
2011
Perspectives
2011
A British TV documentary series for ITV. Each hour long program sees well-known celebrities travel to various parts of the world to explore more about a person who has inspired them.The Mind of a Chef
2012
The Mind of a Chef
2012
star 8.5Go inside the minds of some of the world's top chefs. Narrated by Executive Producer Anthony Bourdain, The Mind of a Chef is that rare and beautiful thing: an intelligent show about cooking.
