Best European documentary series

Get ready to binge. We've found a collection of must-watch documentary shows from Europe, now streaming on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Prime Video, and other top services!

  • Poster for Planet Earth

    Planet Earth 2006

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

    91
  • Poster for Formula 1: Drive to Survive

    Formula 1: Drive to Survive 2019

    Drivers, managers and team owners live life in the fast lane - both on and off the track - during one cutthroat season of Formula 1 racing.

    79
  • Poster for Planet Earth II

    Planet Earth II 2016

    David Attenborough presents a documentary series exploring how animals meet the challenges of surviving in the most iconic habitats on earth.

    91
  • Poster for Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer

    Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer 2019

    A twisted criminal's gruesome videos drive a group of amateur online sleuths to launch a risky manhunt that pulls them into a dark underworld.

    75
  • Poster for An Idiot Abroad

    An Idiot Abroad 2010

    An Idiot Abroad is a British travel documentary television series broadcast on Sky1 and Science, as well as spin-off books published by Canongate Books, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and starring Karl Pilkington. The ongoing theme of both the television series and the books is that Pilkington has no interest in global travel, so Merchant and Gervais make him travel while they stay in the United Kingdom and monitor his progress.

    81
  • Poster for Our Planet

    Our Planet 2019

    Experience our planet's natural beauty and examine how climate change impacts all living creatures in this ambitious documentary of spectacular scope.

    87
  • Poster for Blue Planet II

    Blue Planet II 2017

    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.

    90
  • Poster for American Nightmare

    American Nightmare 2024

    After a harrowing home invasion and kidnapping in 2015, a couple is accused of staging the ordeal when the woman reappears in this true-crime docuseries.

    76
  • Poster for Life

    Life 2009

    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.

    89
  • Poster for Beckham

    Beckham 2023

    With never-before-seen footage, this docuseries follows David Beckham's meteoric rise from humble beginnings to global football stardom.

    77
  • Poster for The Blue Planet

    The Blue Planet 2001

    Sir David Attenborough narrates this critically acclaimed series that dives deep into the marine environment of Planet Earth. Although two-thirds of the world's surface is covered with water, scientists know less about the oceans than they do about the surface of the moon. This limited series travels from various coasts to the poles to examine watery denizens ranging from the gigantic blue whale to microscopic coral polyps.

    87
  • Poster for Prehistoric Planet

    Prehistoric Planet 2022

    Experience the wonders of our world like never before in this epic series from Jon Favreau and the producers of Planet Earth. Travel back 66 million years to when majestic dinosaurs and extraordinary creatures roamed the lands, seas, and skies.

    80
  • Poster for The Staircase

    The Staircase 2004

    Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, presents a gripping courtroom thriller, offering a rare and revealing inside look at a high-profile murder trial. In 2001, author Michael Peterson was arraigned for the murder of his wife Kathleen, whose body was discovered lying in a pool of blood on the stairway of their home. Granted unusual access to Peterson's lawyers, home and immediate family, de Lestrade's cameras capture the defense team as it considers its strategic options. The series is an engrossing look at contemporary American justice that features more twists than a legal bestseller.

    75
  • Poster for Frozen Planet

    Frozen Planet 2011

    David Attenborough travels to the end of the earth, taking viewers on an extraordinary journey across the polar regions of our planet.

    86
  • Poster for MH370: The Plane That Disappeared

    MH370: The Plane That Disappeared 2023

    In 2014, a plane with 239 people aboard vanishes from all radar. This docuseries delves into one of our greatest modern mysteries: Flight MH370.

    64
  • Poster for Human Planet

    Human Planet 2011

    A cinematic experience bringing you the most amazing human stories in the world. Humans and wildlife surviving in the most extreme environments on Earth.

    87
  • Poster for Life's Too Short

    Life's Too Short 2011

    Life's Too Short is a British sitcom mockumentary created and written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant from an idea by Warwick Davis, and is as described by Gervais, about "the life of a showbiz dwarf".

    71
  • Poster for The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann

    The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann 2019

    The documentary takes a detailed look at the disappearance of 3-year-old Madeleine McCann, who vanished while on holiday with her family.

    65
  • Poster for The Ripper

    The Ripper 2020

    For five years, from 1975 to 1980, the Yorkshire Ripper murders cast a dark shadow over the lives of women in the North of England. 13 women were dead and the police seemed incapable of catching the killer. No one felt safe – and every man was a suspect.

    70
  • Poster for Ancient Apocalypse

    Ancient Apocalypse 2022

    Journalist Graham Hancock travels the globe hunting for evidence of mysterious, lost civilizations dating back to the last Ice Age.

    68
  • Poster for Africa

    Africa 2013

    Africa, the world's wildest continent. David Attenborough takes us on an awe-inspiring journey through one of the most diverse places in the world. We visit deserts, savannas, and jungles and meet up with some of Africa's amazing wildlife.

    86
  • Poster for Long Way Round

    Long Way Round 2004

    In 2004 Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman embarked on an epic challenge to bike 20,000-miles across 12 countries and 19 time zones in just 115 days. Watch as two friends ride around the world together and, against all the odds, realize their dream.

    82
  • Poster for The World at War

    The World at War 1973

    A documentary series that gives a historical account of the events of World War II, from its roots in the 1920s to the aftermath and the lives it profoundly influenced.

    89
  • Poster for Top Gear (US)

    Top Gear (US) 2010

    Hosts Tanner Foust, Adam Ferrara and Rutledge Wood embark on adventures as they test cars in extreme stunts, intense challenges and first-person reviews using their unique perspectives.

    64
  • Poster for Depp V Heard

    Depp V Heard 2023

    The story of the tumultuous defamation trial between superstar Johnny Depp and his former wife Amber Heard.

    60
  • Poster for Greatest Events of World War II In Colour

    Greatest Events of World War II In Colour 2019

    Using highly advanced colourisation techniques, critical moments from World War II, from Stalingrad to The Battle of Britain, are shown in a whole new light.

    79
  • Poster for Seven Worlds, One Planet

    Seven Worlds, One Planet 2019

    Millions of years ago, incredible forces ripped apart the Earth’s crust creating seven extraordinary continents. This documentary series reveals how each distinct continent has shaped the unique animal life found there.

    87
  • Poster for Alien Worlds

    Alien Worlds 2020

    Applying the laws of life on Earth to the rest of the galaxy, this series blends science fact and fiction to imagine alien life on other planets.

    68
  • Poster for Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story

    Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story 2022

    Jimmy Savile was one of the United Kingdom’s most beloved TV personalities. Shortly after his death in 2011, an investigation prompted more than 450 horrific allegations of sexual assault and abuse, with victims as young as 5.

    67
  • Poster for The Last Czars

    The Last Czars 2019

    When social upheaval sweeps Russia in the early 20th century, Czar Nicholas II resists change, sparking a revolution and ending a dynasty.

    72
  • Poster for History 101

    History 101 2020

    Infographics and archival footage deliver bite-size history lessons on scientific breakthroughs, social movements and world-changing discoveries.

    71
  • Poster for Grand Designs

    Grand Designs 1999

    British television series which features unusual and often elaborate architectural homebuilding projects.

    80
  • Poster for World War II: From the Frontlines

    World War II: From the Frontlines 2023

    Through vividly enhanced archival footage and voices from all sides of the conflict, this docuseries brings WWII to life like never before.

    81
  • Poster for Sunderland 'Til I Die

    Sunderland 'Til I Die 2018

    This docuseries follows English soccer club Sunderland through the 2017-18 season as they try to bounce back after relegation from the Premier League.

    73
  • Poster for Planet Earth III

    Planet Earth III 2023

    Journeying to the far reaches of our planet, this eight part series follows some of the world's most amazing species, telling extraordinary stories that are dramatic, thrilling, funny and sometimes heart-breaking, but always full of hope.

    88
  • Poster for James May: Our Man In…

    James May: Our Man In… 2020

    James May embarks on a remarkable journey across Japan, from its icy north to its balmy south. He’ll see the sights, meet the locals, and eat the noodles in a bid to truly understand the Land of the Rising Sun.

    75
  • Poster for Night on Earth

    Night on Earth 2020

    This nature series’ new technology lifts night’s veil to reveal the hidden lives of the world’s creatures, from lions on the hunt to bats on the wing.

    76
  • Poster for Long Way Up

    Long Way Up 2020

    The epic motorcycle adventure continues in this third chapter of the Long Way series, as Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman journey to glorious landscapes across South and Central America—on the backs of prototype electric Harley-Davidsons.

    78
  • Poster for Dynasties

    Dynasties 2018

    Follow the true stories of five of the world's most celebrated, yet endangered animals; penguins, chimpanzees, lions, painted wolves and tigers. Each in a heroic struggle against rivals and against the forces of nature, these families fight for their own survival and for the future of their dynasties.

    84
  • Poster for I Am a Killer

    I Am a Killer 2018

    Death row inmates convicted of capital murder give a firsthand account of their crimes in this documentary series.

    67
  • Poster for All or Nothing: Manchester City

    All or Nothing: Manchester City 2018

    Legendary coach Pep Guardiola leads his Manchester City team through the 2017-18 football season.

    75
  • Poster for Tour de France: Unchained

    Tour de France: Unchained 2023

    Through tears and triumph, this series follows several cycling teams as they compete in the 2022 installment of the world's most grueling bike race.

    76
  • Poster for Inside the World's Toughest Prisons

    Inside the World's Toughest Prisons 2016

    Crime journalist Raphael Rowe goes behind the bars of some of the world’s most notorious and toughest prisons. Immersing himself in maximum security facilities around the world to live as a prisoner, he encounters the inmates locked up for their crimes and meets the men and women on the right side of law tasked with keeping the criminals behind bars.

    71
  • Poster for Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal

    Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal 2024

    When a dating site for people seeking adulterous affairs is hacked, millions of users' intimate data is exposed, wrecking marriages and destroying lives.

    65
  • Poster for Long Way Down

    Long Way Down 2007

    Three years after Long Way Round, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman set off on a 15,000-mile journey from the northernmost tip of Scotland to the southernmost tip of South Africa, mixing their love of motorcycles with the lure of far-flung roads.

    81
  • Poster for Apocalypse: The Second World War

    Apocalypse: The Second World War 2009

    A six-part French documentary about the Second World War composed exclusively of actual footage of the war as filmed by war correspondents, soldiers, resistance fighters and private citizens. The series is shown in color, with the black and white footage being fully colorized, save for some original color footage. The only exception to the treatment are most Holocaust scenes, which are presented in the original black and white.

    84
  • Poster for Attenborough's Life in Colour

    Attenborough's Life in Colour 2021

    Exploring the vital role colour plays in the daily lives of many species.

    78
  • Poster for The Moaning of Life

    The Moaning of Life 2013

    Now Karl’s turned 40 and has officially hit middle age, it’s time for him to re-assess his life. He’s not married, he doesn’t have kids, he’s got a job where he’s known as an ‘idiot’, and he’s known for being miserable. He’s classic ‘mid-life crisis’ material. As Karl attempts to put his life in order, he’ll be dispatched around the world on a crash course to find out how other cultures deal with life’s big questions. The ups and downs of Karl’s experiences will be contrasted against the beautiful geography of the countries he visits, captured on HD with stunning aerial photography.

    79
  • Poster for Once Upon a Time... Life

    Once Upon a Time... Life 1987

    Attention please! Are you ready for an adventurous tour through the human body? With a lot of humour, our physical appearance is being introduced from head to toe along cells and organs in an educational way. The heart, blood, nerves and kidneys, each single one is a miracle which renders life possible.

    78
  • Harald Baldr 2016

    Northman with a penchant for history, politics and travel. I seek to spread individual freedom worldwide.

    73
  • Poster for The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman

    The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman 2022

    This harrowing docuseries explores, a cruel conman masquerading as a British spy manipulates and steals from his victims, leaving ruined families in his wake.

    66
  • Poster for Wonders of the Universe

    Wonders of the Universe 2011

    Professor Brian Cox reveals how the fundamental scientific principles and laws explain not only the story of the universe but also answer mankind's greatest questions.

    86
  • Poster for Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story

    Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story 2023

    Keanu Reeves tells one of the greatest sagas in Formula 1 history. Through the insights of Ross Brawn and revered racing icons like Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, all is revealed in this gripping four-part series. From the formation of Brawn GP see their remarkable journey through strategic manoeuvres and financial trials during an exceptionally competitive era in the annals of the sport.

    78
  • Poster for All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur

    All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur 2020

    A fly-on-the-wall inside look at the goings-on of Tottenham Hotspur during the 2019-20 football season.

    73
  • Poster for Vatican Girl: The Disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi

    Vatican Girl: The Disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi 2022

    Rome, 1983. After leaving a music lesson, 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi vanishes — embroiling the Vatican in a decades-long mystery.

    72
  • Poster for Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke

    Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke 2025

    When popular vlogger Ruby Franke is arrested for child abuse in August 2023, it quickly becomes one of the biggest trending stories in America. For years, the Frankes' YouTube channel had documented a wholesome, happy family life, with nearly 3 million subscribers tuning in at its peak. But as the cracks began to show, the family turned to counselor Jodi Hildebrandt for guidance – and rapidly found themselves trapped in a nightmare.

    70
  • Poster for The World's Most Extraordinary Homes

    The World's Most Extraordinary Homes 2017

    Award-winning architect Piers Taylor and actress and property enthusiast Caroline Quentin explore extraordinary homes built in mountain, forest, coast and underground locations around the world.

    70
  • Poster for Tiny World

    Tiny World 2020

    This docuseries showcases nature's lesser-known tiny heroes. Spotlighting small creatures and the extraordinary things they do to survive, each episode is filled with surprising stories and spectacular cinematography.

    82
  • Poster for A Perfect Planet

    A Perfect Planet 2021

    A unique fusion of blue chip natural history and earth science that explains how our living planet operates. This five-part series shows how the forces of nature drive, shape and support Earth’s great diversity of wildlife.

    85
  • Poster for Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife

    Bad Surgeon: Love Under the Knife 2023

    Dr. Paolo Macchiarini is world famous for his revolutionary stem cell-infused windpipe transplants. There's just one problem: His patients keep dying.

    72
  • Poster for November 13: Attack on Paris

    November 13: Attack on Paris 2018

    Survivors and first responders share personal stories of anguish, kindness and bravery that unfolded amid the Paris terror attacks of Nov. 13, 2015.

    78
  • Poster for Sophie: A Murder in West Cork

    Sophie: A Murder in West Cork 2021

    A shocking murder in rural Ireland sets off an increasingly convoluted quest for justice that spans decades and cuts across national borders.

    65
  • Poster for All or Nothing: Arsenal

    All or Nothing: Arsenal 2022

    Follow the iconic football club during an unforgettable season. As fans return to stadiums, the 2021-22 football season puts pressure on Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta and his young team to get back to their former glories and back into Europe. Offering unprecedented access and capturing the highs and lows of life on and off the pitch, this is football at its finest: raw, dramatic and full of passion.

    77
  • Poster for Alexander: The Making of a God

    Alexander: The Making of a God 2024

    Expert interviews and gripping reenactments combine to reveal the extraordinary life of Alexander the Great and his burning desire to conquer the world.

    68
  • Poster for The Alcàsser Murders

    The Alcàsser Murders 2019

    New interviews and an up-to-date analysis of evidence shed light on the 1992 murders of three girls in Spain and their profound impact on the nation.

    70
  • Poster for Walking with Dinosaurs

    Walking with Dinosaurs 1999

    Combining fact and informed speculation with cutting-edge computer graphics and animatronics effects, the series set out to create the most accurate portrayal of prehistoric animals ever seen on the screen.

    79