Popular Documentary TV Series 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.
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.
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.
This Old House

1979

This Old House

1979
5.7
TV's original home-improvement show, following one whole-house renovation over several episodes.
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.
Forensic Files

1996

Forensic Files

1996
7.9
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.
48 Hours

1988

48 Hours

1988
7.2
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
6.5
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.
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.
Finding Your Roots

2012

Finding Your Roots

2012
6.2
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.
Planet Earth

2006

Planet Earth

2006
8.6
David Attenborough celebrates the amazing variety of the natural world in this epic documentary series, filmed over four years across 64 different countries.
The World from Above

2010

The World from Above

2010
10
The World from Above is a unique continuing series of aerial programmes offering an entirely different view of the world. From 10,000ft, down to just a few feet the stabilised high definition aerial camera seeks out the beautiful, as well as the dramatic, on journeys across very different parts of the world including Europe, Africa and the United States.
The Gadget Show

2004

The Gadget Show

2004
6.7
The Gadget Show is a British television series which focuses on consumer technology. The show, which is broadcast on Channel 5 is currently presented by Jason Bradbury and Rachel Riley with Jon Bentley and Pollyanna Woodward. Originally a thirty-minute show, it was extended to forty-five minutes, then later to sixty minutes. Repeats have also aired on the digital channel 5*, syndicated broadcasts on Discovery Science and Dave, and Channel 5's Internet on-demand service Demand 5. In Australia, it is aired on The Lifestyle Channel.
History's Greatest Mysteries

2020

History's Greatest Mysteries

2020
7.8
Investigates a wide range of historically compelling topics and the mysteries surrounding each including the Titanic, D.B. Cooper, Roswell, John Wilkes Booth, and more. Fresh, new evidence and perspectives will be showcased, such as never-before-released documents, personal diaries and DNA evidence.
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.
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.
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

2013

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

2013
7.7
Bourdain travels across the globe to uncover little-known areas of the world and celebrate diverse cultures by exploring food and dining rituals. Known for his curiosity, candor, and acerbic wit, Bourdain takes viewers off the beaten path of tourist destinations – including some war-torn parts of the world – and meets with a variety of local citizens to offer a window into their lifestyles, and occasionally communes with an internationally lauded chef on his journeys.
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.
I (Almost) Got Away With It

2010

I (Almost) Got Away With It

2010
6.4
Murders, drug dealers, bank robbers or jail escapees. The stories are different, but the motive is always the same: to stay out of prison. See what pushed these fugitives to their crimes, how they changed their identities, evaded the law and - almost - got away with it.