Popular Documentary TV Series

20/20

1978

20/20

1978
6.3
20/20 is an American television newsmagazine that has been broadcast on ABC since June 6, 1978. Created by ABC News executive Roone Arledge, the show was designed similarly to CBS's 60 Minutes but focuses more on human interest stories than international and political subjects. The program's name derives from the "20/20" measurement of visual acuity. The hour-long program has been a staple on Friday evenings for much of the time since it moved to that timeslot from Thursdays in September 1987, though special editions of the program occasionally air on other nights.
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.
NOVA

1974

NOVA

1974
7.1
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.
Great Performances

1971

Great Performances

1971
6.1
The 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.
Democracy Now!

2001

Democracy Now!

2001
6.9
A United States daily progressive, nonprofit, independently syndicated program of news, analysis, and opinion.
Fuse

1962

Fuse

1962
7.6
Fitil is a popular Soviet/Russian television satirical/comedy short film series which ran for about 500 episodes. Some of the episodes were aimed at children, and were called Фитилёк, Fitilyok, Little Fuse. Each issue contained from the few short segments: documentary, fictional and animated ones. Directed by various artists, including Leonid Gaidai who presented his famous trio of Nikulin, Vitsin and Morgunov into the cast. It was called in USSR as "the anecdotes from the Soviet government".
Arena

1975

Arena

1975
7.2
Arena is a British television documentary series, made and broadcast by the BBC. Voted by leading TV executives in Broadcast as one of the top 50 most influential programmes of all time, it has run since 1 October 1975 with over five hundred episodes made, directed by the likes of Martin Scorsese, Alan Yentob, Roly Keating, Frederick Baker, Volker Schlondorff and Vikram Jayanti. Arena's subjects are a roll-call of the world's best known cultural figures from the 20th and 21st centuries, from singers Bob Dylan and Amy Winehouse to academics Edward Said and Eric Hobsbawm, from writers Jean Genet and V S Naipaul to artists Francis Bacon and Louise Bourgeois. The current series editor is Anthony Wall.
A Girl's Guide to 21st Century Sex

2006

A Girl's Guide to 21st Century Sex

2006
American Experience

1988

American Experience

1988
6.5
TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.
Bares für Rares

2013

Bares für Rares

2013
7.5
In the show, selected applicants each present a curiosity, rarity or antique they have brought with them. Once they have received their expertise, they will have the opportunity on site to offer their exhibit to a changing five-person podium for sale and, ideally, to sell it to the highest bidder for „Bares“ ("cash").
The South Bank Show

1978

The South Bank Show

1978
5.6
The South Bank Show is a television arts magazine show produced by ITV between 1978 and 2010. A new series began on Sky Arts from 27 May 2012. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, the show aims to bring both high art and popular culture to a mass audience.
A Girl's Guide to 21st Century Sex

2006

A Girl's Guide to 21st Century Sex

2006
4.9
A Girl's Guide to 21st Century Sex is a documentary TV series about sex, which ran in eight episodes on Channel 5 and was presented by Dr Catherine Hood. The 45-minute long episodes were broadcast on Monday nights. The series started on 30 October 2006, with the final programme broadcast on 18 December 2006. Each episode explained a sex position and covered a sexually transmitted disease. Additionally, the following topics were discussed: sex among handicapped and overweight people, penis enlargement devices, penis enlargement surgery, sexual violence against men and penis removal, tantric sex, the g-spot, erectile dysfunction, sex reassignment surgery, cosmetic surgery of the vagina, swinging, lichen sclerosus, the use of recreational drugs during sex, male homosexual sex in public toilets, full body plastic wrap bondage, and sex dolls.
In Search of the Dark Ages

1979

In Search of the Dark Ages

1979
7
In Search of the Dark Ages was a television series, written and presented by Michael Wood, and first shown in 1979. It is also the title of a book written by Wood to support the series, which was published in 1981. The television series consisted of a series of separate programmes, hence the collective title is often written as In Search of ... The Dark Ages. It began with In Search of Offa, recorded in 1978 by BBC Manchester, and shown on 2 January 1979. Subsequent programmes in the first series were on Boadicea, King Arthur and Alfred the Great, shown with a re-run of Offa over successive nights in March 1980. The first series was such a success when shown in an off-peak slot on BBC Two that a second series was broadcast in 1981, with subjects including William the Conqueror, Ethelred the Unready, Athelstan and Eric Bloodaxe.
Panorama

1953

Panorama

1953
6.3
Current affairs programme, featuring interviews and investigative reports on a wide variety of subjects.
Vetenskapens värld

1971

Vetenskapens värld

1971
6.7
Vetenskapens värld is a popular science TV documentary program broadcast on Swedish Television (SVT).
Frontline

1983

Frontline

1983
6.5
Since it began in 1983, Frontline has been airing public-affairs documentaries that explore a wide scope of the complex human experience. Frontline's goal is to extend the impact of the documentary beyond its initial broadcast by serving as a catalyst for change.
Horizon

1964

Horizon

1964
7.5
Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.
Oddity Archive

2012

Oddity Archive

2012
8
The Oddity Archive is a web series that revolves around the "cultural dustbin", especially as it pertains to media. The Archive also functions as an actual archive of sorts, with a modest collection of off-air Betamax and VHS recordings (about 400 total as of June, 2014). There's also a decent collection of ephemeral video, "ripoff" and "drugstore" LP's/cassettes/8-tracks, as well as (working) obsolete technology.
Nature

1982

Nature

1982
7.9
Consistently 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.
Intimate Portrait

1993

Intimate Portrait

1993
4.5
Intimate Portrait is a biographical television series on the Lifetime Television cable network focusing on different celebrities, which includes interviews with each subject. Among the people profiled were Grace Kelly, Natalie Wood, Carly Simon, Jackie Kennedy, Katharine Hepburn, Carol Burnett, Tanya Tucker, and Marla Maples.

Popular Documentary TV Series

1978

1978

2003

2003

1974

1974

1971

1971

2001

2001

1962

1962

1975

1975

2006

2006

1988

1988

2013

2013

1978

1978

2006

2006

1979

1979

1953

1953

1971

1971

1983

1983

1964

1964

2012

2012

1982

1982

1993

1993