44 Best Hulu Documentaries to Stream Now
Why not learn a little something during your next movie night?
Maybe you’re looking for a music doc like Summer of Soul or McCartney 3,2,1. Or, maybe you’re ready to take a nostalgic deep dive with a 90s doc like Kid90 or The Dark Side of the 90s.
Don’t think we forgot about you, true crime junkies. With documentaries like Dead Asleep and God Forbid—Hulu has something for everyone.
Learn something new with the best documentaries on Hulu streaming now.
New Hulu Documentaries
Welcome to Wrexham
Whether you’re an AFC (Association Football Club) fan or not, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s Welcome to Wrexham docuseries gives viewers an introduction to European football and a unique look at the working class town of Wrexham, Wales.
Watch: Welcome to Wrexham
God Forbid
God Forbid is a story about a pool boy in Miami that finds himself caught in a scandalous affair with the Falwells—a prominent family in the Christian community. This exclusive documentary takes a deep dive past the family’s perfect facade and into the hypocritical lives of the infamous Falwells.
God Forbid premieres on Hulu Tuesday, November 1.
Watch: God Forbid
Want more true crime? Check out these must-watch true crime documentaries streaming now on Hulu.
Victoria’s Secret: Angels & Demons
What was once a staple clothing brand has become a relic of the past. Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons is a Hulu Original documentary uncovering the hidden dark side of VS’s light pink illusion that led to the retail giant’s downfall.
Watch: Victoria’s Secret: Angels & Demons
Leave No Trace
For some, the Boy Scouts created a community where they remember feeling safe while making life-long happy memories. For 82,000 others, it was an organization that stripped them of their innocence, forcing them to grow up way too soon.
Leave No Trace tells the heartbreaking stories of these men, exposing the dark secrets of the Boy Scouts of America.
Watch: Leave No Trace
Keep This Between Us
Keep This Between Us is a documentary that exposes a horrifying epidemic of high school teachers grooming their students—told through the lens of a female victim and her relationship with a teacher she once trusted.
Watch: Keep This Between Us
Children of the Underground
Children of the Underground tells the true story of vigilante Faye Yager—a woman who spearheaded an underground network to hide hundreds of mothers and their children from the men who abuse them.
Watch: Children of the Underground
The Deep End
Some of her followers think she’s a miracle worker, others see right through her. The Deep End follows the life, work, and controversy of spiritual influencer, Teal Swan.
Watch: The Deep End
Aftershock
Omari Maynard and Bruce McIntyre are two bereaved fathers with similar stories: their partners died due to preventable childbirth complications. Aftershock shows the real-life heartbreak of these two families as they use their pain to fight the healthcare disparities in the black community.
Watch: Aftershock
Best Documentaries Streaming Now
3212 Un-Redacted
Produced by James Gordon Meek, 3121 Un-Redacted is an ABC News documentary about the dark truth surrounding four fallen American soldiers and the Pentagon’s attempt to cover up what really happened.
Watch: 3212 Un-Redacted
A Glitch in the Matrix
Part sci-fi mind bender, part true crime horror story—A Glitch in the Matrix explores simulation theory in our modern world where the lines between what’s real and what’s digital are blurred beyond comprehension.
Are we living in the Matrix? No matter what you believe, A Glitch in the Matrix will certainly make you think.
Watch: A Glitch in the Matrix
Summer of Soul
Presented by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Summer of Soul is part music film and part Black history documentary. Transport back to the summer of ‘69 in this powerful and important story that celebrates Black music, culture, and fashion at the iconic Harlem Cultural Festival.
Watch: Summer of Soul
Minding the Gap
Directed by Bing Liu, Minding the Gap is an Oscar®-nominated documentary that follows three young men who bond over skateboarding to escape their turbulent home lives in the Rust Belt of America.
Watch: Minding the Gap
The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story
For so many, Nickelodeon is the cornerstone of childhood nostalgia. From Rugrats to Hey, Arnold!, this documentary tells the story of the network’s humble beginnings as a small local TV channel and how it evolved into a cultural phenomenon that shaped an entire generation.
Watch: The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story
Kid 90
Soleil Moon Frye is a former child star, best known for her role as Punky Brewster. Kid 90 is a Hulu documentary that uses behind-the-scenes footage taken by Frye herself to show exactly what it was like growing up in Hollywood in the 90s.
Watch: Kid 90
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years
The band you know, and the story you don’t. Even if you’re not a fan of The Beatles, this must-see documentary produced by Ron Howard will have you hooked. The Beatles: Eight Days a Week takes a never-before-seen look into the world’s most beloved band during the height of their career.
Watch: The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years
The First Wave
Do you remember where you were when the world shut down in March 2020? Take a harrowing yet healing look back at The First Wave of the pandemic—a testament to the power of bravery and human connection.
Watch: The First Wave
The Curse of Von Dutch: A Brand to Die For
Nothing says early 2000’s fashion like a Von Dutch trucker hat. From Paris Hilton to Jay-Z, the biggest celebrities of that time more than likely have a Von Dutch-clad paparazzi photo hidden away in the depths of the internet.
The Curse of Von Dutch: A Brand to Die For is a documentary that chronicles the unbelievable dark story behind the rise and fall of the once iconic brand.
Watch: The Curse of Von Dutch: A Brand to Die For
Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie
Very few pop culture phenomenons have stood the test of time or have made a societal impact quite like Barbie. This documentary features never-before-seen footage to tell women’s stories over the last 60 years through the lens of the most popular plastic doll on the planet.
Watch: Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie
1990s: The Deadliest Decade
Many of us look back on the 1990s with fond memories and nostalgia—a longing for the “good old days.” 1990s: The Deadliest Decade takes viewers back in time and provides a brief snapshot of the time, including the deadliest murders of our time that you may have forgotten about.
Watch: 1990s: The Deadliest Decade
Untouchable
Untouchable is the horrifying story of Harvey Weinstein’s abuse of power, told by the women who suffered physical and mental abuse caused at his hand.
Watch: Untouchable
Spaceship Earth
Using a combination of archived videos from 1991 and current day interviews, Spaceship Earth presents the world with a behind the scenes look at a ground-breaking and controversial science experiment that happened 31 years ago.
Watch: Spaceship Earth
Batman & Bill
When you think of the creator of Batman, you probably think of Bob Kane. But, did you know that the beloved comic character may have another originator? Batman & Bill is a documentary set out to bring justice to Bill Finger, the uncredited creator of Batman.
Watch: Batman & Bill
Enemies of the State
In 2009, Matt DeHart was persecuted by the American government for possessing child pornography, but DeHart claims he was framed—by the government. DeHart was a “hacktivist” with a connection to the hacker group, Anonymous. With sensitive information and connections to the Wikileaks scandal, DeHart and his family became Enemies of the State. This documentary tells their story.
Watch: Enemies of the State
Love true crime? Check out these true crime documentaries streaming now on Hulu.
Jawline
Austyn Tester is a 16-year-old internet sensation, longing to escape his “dead-end” life in rural Tennessee. This surprisingly inspiring documentary takes a deeper look into the double-edged sword that is social media.
Watch: Jawline
Stray
Stray is a truly unique documentary that uses three stray dogs roaming the streets of Istanbul to tell stories of the city through their eyes and innocent point of view.
Watch: Stray
Wrinkles the Clown
How do you handle your children when they’re misbehaving? In 2015, parents in Naples, Flordia, started hysteria when they hired Wrinkles the Clown to scare their children straight. What started as a viral YouTube video quickly turned an entire community inside out. Learn more about the man inside the clown suit in the documentary, Wrinkles the Clown.
Watch: Wrinkles the Clown
Slay the Dragon
Gerrymandering—what exactly is it and what impact does it have on the American political system? Slay the Dragon follows political activists fighting to terminate gerrymandering from the United States election process.
Watch: Slay the Dragon
Some Kind of Heaven
The Villages is a Florida retirement community advertised as a place where residents can enjoy paradise on Earth. However, community members Anne, Reggie, Barbra, and Dennis aren’t falling for the propaganda. Follow along as the group struggles to find meaning and enjoyment while everyone around them has bought into the community’s manufactured happiness.
Watch: Some Kind of Heaven
Too Funny to Fail
You would think that a TV cast and crew containing comedy geniuses like Dana Carvey, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, and Robert Smigel would be too funny to fail, right? In this documentary, Carvey reflects on his short-lived project, The Dana Carvey Show.
Watch: Too Funny to Fail
Flee
Amin Nawabi is an Afghan refugee with a heavy secret he has kept to himself for over 20 years. Flee tells Nawabi’s story through animation and voiceovers to uncover the painful truth that could set back everything he’s worked so hard to achieve in his new life.
Watch: Flee
Homeroom
2020 was an unprecedented year for students all over the world. Homeroom is a documentary that focuses on an Oakland area high school, bringing student’s real-life struggles to light and how the pandemic has only made them worse.
Watch: Homeroom
Dead Asleep
Can a murder committed while sleepwalking be criminally charged? Dead Asleep is a true-crime documentary surrounding Randy Herman, Jr. and the murder he committed while he was fast asleep—or so he claims.
Watch: Dead Asleep
MLK/FBI
MLK/FBI is the first documentary to break down the newly declassified government documents regarding the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Directed by Sam Pollard, this film explores the government’s history of targeting Black activists and its involvement in MLK’s murder.
Watch: MLK/FBI
Fyre Fraud
What do you get when you combine a greedy mogul, deceptive marketing, and an ill-planned event promised to be larger-than-life? None other than the infamous 2017 Fyre Festival failure. This tell-all documentary shows what can happen while chasing money and social media influence at all costs.
Watch: Fyre Fraud
WeWork: Or The Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn
Is a scam with good intentions still a scam? Take a deep dive into the chaotic rise and fall of Adam Naumann’s company, WeWork — a series of co-working spaces he believed would change the world. WeWork: Or The Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn is an original Hulu documentary available to stream now.
Watch: WeWork: Or The Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn
Three Identical Strangers
A set of triplets were separated at birth and adopted by different families. At 19 years old, the brothers learned of each other for the first time, uncovering the harrowing truth behind their separation.
Watch: Three Identical Strangers
Rewind
Rewind is a true-crime documentary solved by dissecting a family’s extensive home video collection and putting the pieces together to bring a generational pattern of abuse to light. Watch along as seemingly normal video clips become important pieces of evidence in Sasha Joseph Neulinger’s fight to heal from the childhood trauma he endured at the hands of extended family members.
Watch: Rewind
Collective
Director Alexander Nanau follows a team of newspaper investigators as they work to expose a case of extreme health care fraud in Romania that has been lining the pockets of business executives and politicians while killing innocent civilians.
Watch: Collective
Best Docuseries on Hulu
McCartney 3,2,1
All you need is love and a music documentary. In this six-part Hulu Original docuseries, music fans go on a deep dive of 50+ years of music through the eyes of Paul McCartney and Rick Rubin.
And for Beatles fans? Discover never-before-seen in-depth interviews with McCartney where he discusses creation and inspiration for his music that became the soundtrack of our generation.
Watch: McCartney: 3,2,1
Mormon No More
Mormon No More is a TV docuseries about two former Mormon wives who found the courage to leave the church and their husbands so they can live a life true to themselves. Learn the heartbreaking but inspiring stories of Sal and Lena as they escape the only lives they’ve ever known to build a new life together.
Watch: Mormon No More
Dark Side of the 90’s
Dark Side of the 90’s is a 10-part docuseries that digs deep into some of the darker trends and pop-culture moments of the decade. From the controversial start of reality TV to the birth of the internet, this eye-opening yet nostalgic documentary series will transport you back in time.
Watch: Dark Side of the 90’s
The New York Times Presents
The New York Times Presents is a docuseries that uses unparalleled journalism to take viewers deep into the topics of the biggest news and pop culture stories of our lifetime. From Britney Spears’ conservatorship and Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl scandal to social media influencers and even the popularity of vaping—this documentary series covers it all.
Watch: The New York Times Presents
Inside the College Football Playoff
Do you love sports documentaries? This four-part ESPN series gives fans an all-access pass into the top four college football teams of 2018 as they prepare for the semi-finals and national championship.
Watch: Inside the College Football Playoff*
*Access ESPN+ content via Hulu and ESPN+; select content only available via the ESPN app and ESPN.com.
The Big Scary “S” Word
Socialism, or in this case, The Big Scary “S” Word, has been a taboo word in American culture for decades. How did that come to be? This documentary delves deep into the history of socialism and the modern socialist movement through interviews with prominent political figures including Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Watch: The Big Scary “S” Word
Can’t get enough of these real-life stories? There’s plenty more where that came from. Check out our list of these movies and shows based on true stories streaming now on Hulu.