Popular Documentary TV Shows on The Roku Channel

Mayday

2003

Mayday

2003
8.2
Major real-life air disasters are depicted in this series. Each episode features a detailed dramatized reconstruction of the incident based on cockpit voice recorders and air traffic control transcripts, as well as eyewitnesses recounts and interviews with aviation experts.
MythBusters

2003

MythBusters

2003
7.8
MythBusters is a science entertainment television program created and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The show's hosts, special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, use elements of the scientific method to test the validity of rumors, myths, movie scenes, adages, Internet videos, and news stories.
Ancient Aliens

2010

Ancient Aliens

2010
7
Did intelligent beings from outer space visit Earth thousands of years ago? From the age of the dinosaurs to ancient Egypt, from early cave drawings to continued mass sightings in the US, each episode gives historic depth to the questions, speculations, provocative controversies, first-hand accounts and grounded theories surrounding this age old debate.
Modern Marvels

1993

Modern Marvels

1993
8.1
HISTORY’s longest-running series moves to H2. Modern Marvels celebrates the ingenuity, invention and imagination found in the world around us. From commonplace items like ink and coffee to architectural masterpieces and engineering disasters, the hit series goes beyond the basics to provide insight and history into things we wonder about and that impact our lives. This series tells fascinating stories of the doers, the dreamers and sometime-schemers that create everyday items, technological breakthroughs and manmade wonders. The hit series goes deep to explore the leading edge of human inspiration and ambition.
This Old House

1979

This Old House

1979
5.6
TV's original home-improvement show, following one whole-house renovation over several episodes.
Life Below Zero

2013

Life Below Zero

2013
7.3
Viewers go deep into an Alaskan winter to meet six tough and resilient residents as they try to stay one step ahead of storms and man-eating beasts to make it through to spring. The closest neighbor to Sue Aikens is more than 300 miles away. Eric Salitan subsists solely on what he hunts and forages. Chip and Agnes Hailstone catch fish for currency in bartering for supplies, and Andy and Kate Bassich use their pack of sled dogs for transportation.
Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction

1997

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction

1997
7.2
Can you tell the difference between fact and fiction? Several stories of strange, mysterious and incredible occurrences are chronicled during each episode. It is up to the viewer to decide which stories actually happened and which were completely fabricated by the show’s writers. The answer is revealed by Jonathan Frakes at the conclusion of each episode.
Finding Your Roots

2012

Finding Your Roots

2012
6.4
Noted 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.
48 Hours

1988

48 Hours

1988
7.3
This newsmagazine series investigates intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all aspects of the human experience. Over its long run, the show has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, driven the reopening — and resolution — of cold cases, and changed numerous lives. CBS News correspondents offer an in-depth look into each story, with the emphasis on solving the mystery at its heart.
Dateline

1992

Dateline

1992
6.4
Dateline NBC, or simply Dateline, is a weekly American television newsmagazine series. It was previously the network's flagship newsmagazine, but now focuses mainly on true crime stories with only occasional editions that focus on other topics.
Forensic Files

1996

Forensic Files

1996
7.8
Real crimes, disease outbreaks and accidents around the world are solved by experts using scientific laboratory analysis which helps them find previously undetectable evidence. Brilliant scientific work helps convict the guilty and free the innocent.
How It's Made

2001

How It's Made

2001
7.6
Have you ever wondered how the products you use every day are made? How It's Made leads you through the process of how everyday products, such as apple juice, skateboards, engines, contact lenses, and many more objects are manufactured.
The First 48

2004

The First 48

2004
7.9
The First 48 follows detectives from around the country during these first critical hours as they race against time to find the suspect. Gritty and fast-paced, it takes viewers behind the scenes of real-life investigations with unprecedented access to crime scenes, autopsies, forensic processing, and interrogations.
Salvage Hunters

2011

Salvage Hunters

2011
6.6
Meet modern-day treasure hunter Drew Pritchard. With demanding customers, high turnover, and one of the biggest decorative salvage yards in the UK, Drew is constantly on the road, crisscrossing the country in search of derelict gems and forgotten remnants. Drew loves the thrill of the hunt and while he gets his hands dirty in the country's architectural backwaters, his crack team of restorers is back at the shop giving old and rare finds a new lease on life.
Fatal Attraction

2013

Fatal Attraction

2013
7.2
Each pulse-pounding hour-long episode centers around an incredible and dangerous romance. Shocking crime, kidnapping or even murder is only half of the story! In the end, the “true love” that draws these couples together isn’t the kind that celebrates silver anniversaries – instead it leads to cross-country manhunts, bizarre cover-ups and dramatic trials. Driven by powerful, real-life stories, Fatal Attraction weaves together intimate, first-person interviews, exclusive interrogation footage and rare archival material. Along the way, it gives you a glimpse into the dark heart of a dangerous romance. Listen as the key players, family of the survivors and those that investigated the horrific crimes reveal the secrets to each sordid tale. Fatal Attraction… because love doesn’t just hurt, it can kill!
The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch

2020

The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch

2020
8.1
The investigation of the world’s most mysterious hot spot for UFO and “High Strangeness” phenomena with astrophysicist Dr. Travis Taylor who joins real estate tycoon Brandon Fugal, along with his team of scientists and researchers on Utah’s notorious Skinwalker Ranch. The team utilizes cutting edge technology to investigate the 512-acre property to uncover the possibly “otherworldly” perpetrators behind it all. With everything from mysterious animal deaths to hidden underground workings and possible gateways that open to other dimensions, witness the close encounters that go beyond conventional explanation, as the team risks everything to finally reveal the ultimate secret of Skinwalker Ranch.
Mountain Men

2012

Mountain Men

2012
6.5
Profiles of some of the men who choose to live off the grid in the unspoiled wilderness, where dangers like mudslides, falling trees and bears are all part of everyday life.
The Hotel Inspector

2005

The Hotel Inspector

2005
8.8
A celebrated hotelier visits a struggling British hotel and tries to turn its fortunes by giving advice and suggestions to the owner.
This Is Your Life

1952

This Is Your Life

1952
6.4
This Is Your Life is an American television documentary series broadcast on NBC, originally hosted by its producer, Ralph Edwards from 1952 to 1961. In the show, the host surprises a guest, and proceeds to take them through their life in front of an audience, including special guest appearances by colleagues, friends and family. Edwards revived the show in 1971-72, while Joseph Campanella hosted a version in 1983. Edwards returned for some specials in the late 1980s, before his death in 2005. The show originated as a radio show on NBC Radio airing from 1948 to 1952.
Lockup

2005

Lockup

2005
7.3
Lockup explore prison facilities throughout the United States, profiling notable inmates, incidents, and prison operations.