It's about to be 1 June soon, but many of us will still be doing our part by staying home as much as possible. With all this time indoors, it’s a good thing we have Netflix. But there's only so many new dramas and movies we can watch before getting bored. Want something stimulating and based in reality? Here are some of the best Netflix documentaries you can watch right now!
Explained
An enlightening series produced by Vox, Explained digs into a wide range of topics such as the rise of cryptocurrency, why diets fail, extraterrestrial life, and even an episode on the "!" punctuation. Each episode is bite-sized at just 20 minutes, and it provides scientific backings into both positive and negative aspects of the subjects. The history of the topic is typically included as well, making it a rounded, easy to follow and well put together program. This is definitely a docuseries that will expand your worldview!
Rotten
Have you ever wondered where your food came from? Before it arrives on your plate, it can take a tumultuous journey. Rotten seeks to bring light to the backstory of imported food. Each episode delves into one type of food such as chicken, avocados and milk, exploring the process from production, packaging, transportation and distribution.
The Great Hack
Have you ever seen an advertisement on your phone that made you question if your microphone is listening in on your conversations? How much do you really know about the Cambridge Analytica scandal? The Great Hack digs into the origin of the political and data science consulting firm and how personal data belonging to millions of people were harvested through Facebook. It offers a shocking deep-dive of how data is now the most valuable resource on the planet, and how it is used to target users with ads and “viral videos” and news stories to swing major elections.
Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened
It was supposed to be the greatest music festival of the year with celebrities, influencers and musicians due to appear. What was supposed to be a luxurious experience on the island of Great Exuma in the Bahamas, became a nightmare as attendees were met with mattresses on rain-soaked floors, cold cheese sandwiches and luggages thrown out of a shipping container. The documentary tells the inside story of Fyre Festival and the eventual sentencing of its organizer Billy McFarland.
Catwalk: Tales from the Cat Show Circuit
Calling all the crazy cat ladies! Meet the fascinating felines and the people who pamper them in this whimsical look at the ins and outs of Canada's competitive cat show circuit. Oh La La the fluffy Red Persian and Bobby the white Turkish Angora face off to take home the national award for the year's Best Cat.
Tiger King
Murder, mayhem and madness. Tiger King follows the trials and tribulations of Joe Exotic, a flamboyant and extremely confident big cat zoo owner in Oklahoma. Sure, it’s a show about lions and tigers, but it's also about feuds, lies, guns, polygamy, a bid for the US presidency, legal battles and murder. Each episode of the seven-part docuseries will leave you wondering, "can things get any crazier than this?" Yes. Yes they can.
Dogs
About time someone mentioned a documentary about dogs! This docuseries is a heartwarming look into six stories and emotional bonds between a person and their canine companions. From Syria to New York, to Japanese groomers, to an Italian fisherman who relies on his labrador as emotional support as he contemplates losing his job. Dogs is something that's bound to tug at your heartstrings.
Dirty Money
We take a darker turn with Dirty Money. As the title suggests, it's all about money in the billions and trillions, and focuses on corruption, greed and fraud. Each episode features a familiar story of a corporation, political party or person leaving morality behind in the pursuit of money and evading justice. One episode in season two hits close to home: the infamous scandal of Malaysia’s previous PM Najib Razak.
Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes
Ted Bundy was a charismatic, charming American guy before he was known as a serial killer. The four-part docuseries pulls from a series of interviews where Bundy agreed to speak in the third person, analyzing the kind of person who may have committed the crimes attributed to him. Archived footage and interviews from his friends, family and surviving victims juxtaposes with the lies Bundy often told about himself and his upbringing, unmasking the facade of the notorious murderer and how he managed to evade authorities.
Ugly Delicious
Food is culture. That’s the central premise of Ugly Delicious, which is part food show, part travelogue, and part documentary. It follows host/executive producer/world-renowned chef David Chang as he delves deep into foods like pizza, barbecue, and fried chicken and questions what makes a pizza a pizza? How did a traditional pizza in Naples become a Domino’s pizza? Ugly Delicious explores not just how the food changes from place to place, but who the people are in each place, and why they eat the food they eat.