Popular Documentary TV Shows 2020 | Top Documentary TV Series from ideaflicks.com

NOVA (1974)
Documentary
PBS' 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.
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NOVA

Mayday (2003)
Drama, Documentary
Revealing the dark truth that aviation safety improves one crash at a time, Mayday investigates legendary aviation disasters to find out what went wrong and why. Based on cockpit voice recorders, accident reports and eyewitness accounts, every episode also features interviews, state-of-the-art CGI and gripping reenactments.
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Mayday

Cosmos (2014)
Documentary
Famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson provides clarity for the vision of the cosmos as he voyages across the universe with never-before-told stories that delve into the scientific concepts of the laws of gravity and the origins of space and time.
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Cosmos

Top Gear (2002)
Documentary
The hosts talk about the latest cars and its specifications. They review the performance of the car and also find out if it is as good as the manufacturers claim. The current hosts are Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc with The Stig.
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Top Gear

MythBusters (2003)
Documentary
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.
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MythBusters

Ancient Aliens (2010)
Documentary, Mystery
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.
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Ancient Aliens

This Old House (1979)
Documentary
TV's original home-improvement show, following one whole-house renovation over several episodes.
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This Old House

Horizon (1974)
Documentary
Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
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Horizon

Life (2009)
Documentary
David Attenborough looks at the extraordinary ends to which animals and plants go in order to survive. Featuring epic spectacles, amazing TV firsts and examples of new wildlife behaviour.
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Life

Into the Unknown: Making Frozen II (2020)
Documentary
The team behind Frozen II open their doors to cameras for a six-part documentary series to reveal the hard work, heart, and collaboration it takes to create one of the most highly-anticipated films in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ near-century of moviemaking. Cameras were there to capture an eye-opening - and at times jaw-dropping - view of the challenges and the breakthroughs, the artistry, creativity and the complexity of creating the #1 animated feature of all time.
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Into the Unknown: Making Frozen II

American Pickers (2010)
Comedy, Documentary, Reality
Pickers like Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz are on a mission to recycle America, even if it means diving into countless piles of grimy junk or getting chased off a gun-wielding homeowner’s land. Hitting back roads from coast to coast, the two men earn a living by restoring forgotten relics to their former glory, transforming one person’s trash into another’s treasure.
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American Pickers

Planet Earth (2006)
Documentary
David Attenborough celebrates the amazing variety of the natural world in this epic documentary series, filmed over four years across 64 different countries.
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Planet Earth

Planet Earth II (2016)
Documentary
David Attenborough presents a documentary series exploring how animals meet the challenges of surviving in the most iconic habitats on earth.
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Planet Earth II

Ghost Adventures (2008)
Documentary, Mystery, Reality, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Paranormal investigator Zak Bagans and his crew, Nick Groff and Aaron Goodwin, search for haunted locations both domestically and internationally. During their investigations, Zak and crew acquaint themselves with the general area; interview locals about the hauntings; and go face-to-face with the evil spirits who reportedly haunt these locations.
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Ghost Adventures

Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980)
Documentary
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is a thirteen-part television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter. It was executive-produced by Adrian Malone, produced by David Kennard, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles and Gregory Andorfer, and directed by the producers, David Oyster, Richard Wells, Tom Weidlinger, and others. It covered a wide range of scientific subjects, including the origin of life and a perspective of our place in the universe.
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Cosmos: A Personal Voyage

Home Away from Home (2019)
Documentary
Filmmaker Benji Sandergaard goes on vacation to his home away from home, "Hollywood, California" in this vlog series.
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Home Away from Home

The Grand Tour (2016)
Documentary, Talk
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are back with a show about adventure, excitement and friendship... as long as you accept that the people you call friends are also the ones you find extremely annoying. Sometimes it's even a show about cars. Follow them on their global adventure.
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The Grand Tour

Australian Story (1996)
Documentary, News
Putting the "real" back into reality television, Australian Story is an award-winning documentary series with no narrator and no agendas — just authentic stories told entirely in people's own words.
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Australian Story

Austin City Limits (1975)
Documentary
Now the longest-running music series in American television history, ACL showcases popular music legends and innovators from every genre.
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Austin City Limits

Down to Earth with Zac Efron (2020)
Documentary
Actor Zac Efron journeys around the world with wellness expert Darin Olien in a travel show that explores healthy, sustainable ways to live.
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Down to Earth with Zac Efron

Mars (2016)
Documentary, Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
The maiden crew of the Daedalus spacecraft must push itself to the brink of human capability in order to successfully establish the first sustainable colony on Mars. Set both in the future and in the present day, this series blends scripted elements set in the future with documentary vérité interviews with today’s best and brightest minds in modern science and innovation, illuminating how research and development is creating the space technology that will enable our first attempt at a mission to Mars.
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Mars

POV (1988)
Documentary
POV is a Public Broadcasting Service public television series which features independent nonfiction films. POV is an initialism for point of view. POV is the longest-running showcase on television for independent documentary films. PBS presents 14-16 POV programs each year, and the series has premiered over 300 films to U.S. television audiences since 1988. POV's films have a strong first-person, social-issue focus. Many established directors, including Michael Moore, Jonathan Demme, Terry Zwigoff, Errol Morris, Albert and David Maysles, Michael Apted, Frederick Wiseman, Marlon Riggs, and Ross McElwee have had work screened as part of the POV series. The series has garnered both critical and industry acclaim over its 20-plus years on television. POV programs have also won major industry awards including three Oscars, 32 Emmys, 36 Cine Golden Eagles, 15 Peabody Awards, 11 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Awards, the Prix Italia and the Webby Award.
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POV

The Last Dance (2020)
Documentary
A 10-part documentary chronicling the untold story of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls dynasty with rare, never-before-seen footage and sound from the 1997-98 championship season – plus over 100 interviews with famous figures and basketball’s biggest names.
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The Last Dance

Democracy Now! (2001)
Documentary, News
A United States daily progressive, nonprofit, independently syndicated program of news, analysis, and opinion.
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Democracy Now!

Greatness Code (2020)
Documentary
Seven iconic athletes pull back the curtain on a pivotal career moment when they touched greatness. A stylized hybrid of live action and visual effects, this short-form docuseries sheds new light on the sports legends you thought you knew.
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Greatness Code

The Curse of Oak Island (2014)
Documentary, Mystery
Follows brothers Marty and Rick Lagina through their effort to find the speculated - and as of yet undiscovered - buried treasure believed to have been concealed through extraordinary means on Oak Island.
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The Curse of Oak Island

On the Case with Paula Zahn (2009)
Crime, Documentary
Award winning journalist Paula Zahn unravels shocking crimes interviewing those closest to the case including lawyers, the victim's family, detectives and the convicted murderer themselves.
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On the Case with Paula Zahn

The Vietnam War (2017)
Documentary, War & Politics
An immersive 360-degree narrative telling the epic story of the Vietnam War as it has never before been told on film. Featuring testimony from nearly 80 witnesses, including many Americans who fought in the war and others who opposed it, as well as Vietnamese combatants and civilians from both the winning and losing sides.
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The Vietnam War

Blue Planet II (2017)
Documentary
There is nowhere more powerful and unforgiving yet more beautiful and compelling than the ocean. Join us and explore the greatest yet least known parts of our planet.
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Blue Planet II

Jackass (2000)
Comedy, Documentary, Reality
Jackass is an American reality series, originally shown on MTV from 2000 to 2002, featuring people performing various dangerous, crude self-injuring stunts and pranks. The show served as a launchpad for the television and acting careers of Bam Margera, Steve-O, and also Johnny Knoxville, who previously had only a few minor acting roles. Since 2002, three Jackass films have been produced and released by MTV corporate sibling Paramount Pictures, continuing the franchise after its run on television. The show sparked several spin-offs including Viva La Bam, Wildboyz, Homewrecker, Dr. Steve-O and Blastazoid. The show placed #68 on Entertainment Weekly's "New TV Classics" list.
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Jackass

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