Browse documentary series in US
Dive into the world of documentary series in US. From timeless classics to trending hits, explore an exciting collection of titles that define the documentary genre.
Explore critically acclaimed blockbusters, hidden gems, and trending new releases that showcase the diversity and creativity of documentary storytelling. Use our filters to find top-rated titles, recent hits, or beloved classics tailored to your taste.
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Scientific American Frontiers was an American television program primarily focused on informing the public about new technologies and discoveries in science and medicine. It was a companion program to the Scientific American magazine. The show was produced for PBS in the U.S. by The Chedd-Angier Production Company, Watertown, Massachusetts, and typically aired once every two to four weeks. To this day, the shows can be viewed on-line at their website, and continue to air regularly on the national digital channel World. The show first aired in 1990 with MIT professor Woodie Flowers who served as the original host from 1990 to the spring of 1993. Actor Alan Alda became the permanent host starting in the fall season of 1993 and continued until the show ended in 2005. Alda's tenure has been notable for his humble and often humorous approach: in one memorable segment, he became car sick while driving an experimental, virtual reality vehicle. In 2005, Alda published his first round of memoirs, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned, published by Random House; in the book, he recalls his intestines becoming strangulated while on location in Chile for the show, an incident that nearly cost him his life since he was in a remote region and it was difficult to get to a doctor. Finally he found one, who turned out to be a M*A*S*H fan. Further, the treatment was familiar to Alda; the historical development of techniques for vascular anastomosis during the Korean war had featured in the show's scripts.
Scientific American Frontiers (1990 )
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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.
48 Hours (1988 )
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The Power of Myth is a television series originally broadcast on PBS in 1988 as Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth. The documentary comprises six one-hour conversations between mythologist Joseph Campbell and journalist Bill Moyers.
The Power of Myth (1988 )
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TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.
American Experience (1988 )
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Since its 1988 premiere, this critically acclaimed documentary series has presented hundreds of films that put a human face on contemporary social issues by relating a compelling story in an intimate fashion. "POV" has won virtually every major film and broadcasting award available, including 38 Emmys, 22 Peabody Awards and three Oscars.
POV (1988 )
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American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.
American Masters (1986 )
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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.
Nature (1982 )
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This award-winning weekly automotive magazine provides unbiased, consumer-oriented car news with feature stories on related topics.
MotorWeek (1981 )
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Nightline, or ABC News Nightline, is a late-night news program that is broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the program featured Ted Koppel as its main anchor from March 1980 until his retirement from the program in November 2005. Nightline airs weeknights at 12:37 a.m. Eastern Time, after Jimmy Kimmel Live!. It previously ran for 31 minutes, but in 2011, the program was reduced to 25 minutes. When the program moved to 12:37 a.m. ET, the program was expanded to 30 minutes. In 2002, Nightline was ranked 23rd on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
Nightline (1980 )
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Antiques Roadshow is a British television show in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom to appraise antiques brought in by local people. It has been running since 1979. There are also international versions of the programme.
Antiques Roadshow (1979 )
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Time Was... is a documentary television series that premiered on Home Box Office on November 11, 1979. It was hosted by Dick Cavett with each program looking at one decade from the past starting from the 1920s up to the 1970s. The historical program looked at the lifestyles and society during the various periods of time. The series was followed up with two other HBO documentary series hosted by Cavett, Remember When and Yesteryear.
Time Was (1979 )
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TV's original home-improvement show, following one whole-house renovation over several episodes.
This Old House (1979 )
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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.
20/20 (1978 )
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Wildlife on One was, for nearly thirty years, the BBC's flagship natural history programme. First broadcast in 1977, each edition ran for half an hour. The narrator was David Attenborough. When repeated on BBC2, the programmes were retitled Wildlife on Two. The series came to an end in 2005.
Wildlife on One (1977 )
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Now the longest-running music series in American television history, ACL showcases popular music legends and innovators from every genre.
Austin City Limits (1975 )
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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.
NOVA (1974 )
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Gardeners' World is a long-running BBC Television programme about gardening, first broadcast in 1968 and still running as of 2013. Its first episode was presented by Ken Burras and came from Oxford Botanical Gardens. The magazine BBC Gardeners' World is a tie-in to the programme. Most of its episodes have been 30 minutes in length, although there are many specials that last longer. The 2008 and 2009 series used a 60-minute format.
Gardeners' World (1968 )
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Dynamics of Desegregation, which aired in 1962 and 1963, was a 15-part intensive study of race relations in the United States. Harvard psychology professor Thomas F. Pettigrew hosted the series. It looks at the historical, political, psychological, personal and cultural aspects of segregation, with a particular emphasis on the South.
Dynamics of Desegregation (1962 )
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The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards (Chinese: 台北金馬影展; pinyin: Táiběi Jīnmǎ Yǐngzhǎn; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-pak Kim-má iáⁿ-tián) is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is usually held in November or December in Taipei, although the event has also been held in other locations in Taiwan in recent times
Golden Horse Awards (1962 )
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Xtreme 4x4 is a half hour series airing on Spike TV that began in January 2005 as part of Spike's weekend Powerblock line up. The show uses a how-to format, where the hosts build or modify vehicles in order to turn them into off-road-oriented rigs. They also periodically show various forms of off-road racing from across the United States. These include such events as rock crawling, desert racing, sand drags, mud racing, and trail riding adventures. The hosts, Ian Johnson and Jessi Combs, were selected as part of a publicized, nationwide search for hosts where viewers were encouraged to send in their videos and resumes to Spike TV executives. Both hosts have appeared on other automotive shows including Discovery Channel's Monster Garage and TLC's Overhaulin'.
Xtreme 4x4
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The Naked Archaeologist is a television show produced for VisionTV in Canada and History International in the US that is hosted and prepared by the Emmy Award–winning journalist Simcha Jacobovici together with Avri Gilad. The show ultimately reviews Biblical stories, then tries to find proof for them by exploring the Holy Land looking for archaeological evidence, personal inferences, deductions, and interviews with scholars and experts. Subsequent to its original run on VisionTV, it was picked up in the U.S. by The History Channel and its sister network, History International. The third season began airing on Vision TV on March 22, 2010 and on History International on November 8, 2010.
The Naked Archaeologist
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Janice & Abbey is a short-lived reality-television series following the attempt by British model Abigail Clancy to break into the American modeling market under the guidance of American supermodel Janice Dickinson. The show premiered in the United Kingdom on May 14, 2007, under the title Abbey & Janice: Beauty & The Best and had its American debut on the Oxygen television channel on February 19, 2008.
Janice & Abbey
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This series features interesting crimes stories where forensic science played critical role in solving.
Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science
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A look at how Irish gangsters changed the face of organized crime in the US.
The Irish Mob
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Hitler and the Nazis
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How does Israel survive against all odds? Modern-day Israel is truly a divine wonder of the current age. How has it triumphed through four major wars and survived relentless terrorist attacks? Meet the actual people who lived through what can only be described as miracles of Biblical proportions, and share their remarkable stories.
Against All Odds: Israel Survives
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The Way of The Wildcard
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Gypsy Sisters is an American reality television series on TLC. The series debuted on February 10, 2013. It follows the daily life of four Romanichal sisters located in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The series serves as a spin-off to its sister show My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding.
Gypsy Sisters
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License to Gril is a show hosted by Rob Rainford and can be seen on Food Network Canada, Asian Food Channel and downloaded at MoboVivo. The show is produced by Knight Enterprises. The show was formerly carried in the United States on the Discovery Networks channel Discovery Home, but was dropped from the schedule when the channel was flipped to the ecology-themed Planet Green. The episode "Bike Ride BBQ" was the last one to air in the USA. License to Grill is a series that explores the enjoyment of backyard cooking, entertaining, and the barbecue. Each episode takes place over a day or two, but mainly on Saturdays. The host and chef Rob Rainford prepares a meal for the evening when guests will arrive. The central theme is barbecue and with that, Rainford shows us tips and tricks for cooking on a barbecue. The recipes range from the typical barbecue fare, such as hamburgers, steaks, kebabs, to more ambitious meals such as leg of lamb, hot smoking sides of fish, grilled desserts. Rainford has a philosophy when it comes to the barbecue: "It's pretty simple. Just start with the freshest ingredients you can find and then you've got two choices: long slow cooking over low indirect heat, or red hot and smokin' for fast grilling. If you cook low and slow then you can use all sorts of rubs and smoking agents to infuse the food with a depth of flavour you just can’t get out of an oven. As for high heat grilling, your barbecue puts out way more heat than your stovetop so you can get that wonderful charring and searing, just like in a restaurant."
Licence to Grill
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With no previous experience, Andi Rive abandoned her old city life and devoted herself to tending a pride of lions and raising awareness about a species that is facing extinction.
The Lion Queen
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A documentary split into two episodes about the contemporary art scene in Milan, through various themes: museums and private galleries; famous artists, gallerists, and collectors; institutional places and the underground scene.
Giants in Milan Contemporary Art
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Animal Rescue is a TV series hosted and produced by Alex Paen. The series is about people trying to save animals from danger. Animal control officers try to assist animals in unsafe environments and respond other animal related emergencies. It is an eight-time Daytime Emmy nominated show.
Animal Rescue
