Best Dutch documentary series

"De Keuringsdienst van Waarde" is a consumer television program. The program tries to give insight in the production of food and other consumer products and tries to show where things go wrong or are different from what you might expect. By asking simple questions to aid lines of producers, as naive but persisting consumer, they get sometimes hilarious and/or revealing answers.

The Story of the Netherlands tells the story of the country we live in, from the moment the first inhabitants settled there. Never before has our history, and how it has made us who we are today, been made tangible in this way. The project consists of a 10-part television series for NPO 1, with Daan Schuurmans as narrator.

The Feyenoord Football Club operates inside for the extent of the 2020/21 season due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. But, unique footage from inside the locker room and behind the boardroom walls brings the Club and all key personalities within surprisingly closer to the audience than ever before.

This three-part series offers viewers a unique look at the life of a young racing prodigy, following Max Verstappen as he trains and competes at the highest level of world sport. Focusing on Verstappen’s World Championship-winning 2022 season while looking back at his childhood, the series also delves into Verstappen’s intense relationship with his father, Jos Verstappen.

Floortje Dessing travels to the farthest corners of the earth. Each episode, she travels to another remote and isolated destination. Here she visits people who lead an extraordinary life.

On October 13, 2019, the Dutch village Ruinerwold becomes world news when a hidden farm is discovered. One of the children who lives there runs away and asks for help. Together with his sibling, he turns out to have led a secret, unrecorded life for years. The four oldest children tell their exclusive story in this 4-episode documentary series. They talk about their hidden existence, the faith of their father and the alleged abuse within the family. The documentary shows them as they celebrate a birthday for the first time, receive their own ID and visit their father in prison.

3 op Reis is a travel program hosted by Floortje Dessing and Sebastiaan Labrie. In addition to the fixed hosts there is a guest host, who explores an eco-destination.

A six-part series in which photographer Ruben Terlou travels from Shanghai, the most westernized part of China, to the much more traditional Tibetan city of Shangri-La. Through the stories of people he meets along the 6,300-kilometre river, Ruben discovers the real China, forty years after Mao’s death.

Reporter series in which Ewout Genemans spends several months with police officers in The Hague. We see, among other things, the necessary chases through the city, agents with guns drawn and an arrest of the arrest team. But we also get to know the agents better and better.

Ewout Genemans walks with the police in Eindhoven. He gives a close-up view of the work of a policeman and everything that goes with it. How does the police act in certain situations and why? And what is it like as a person behind the uniform to do work that everyone has an opinion about? This is a follow-up series by Bureau Burgwallen, Amsterdam.

Tom Dumoulin, Wout van Aert, Primož Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard are the designated leaders to help Team Jumbo-Visma to success in 2022. All four with their own unique background, life story and mission for the new cycling season, in which Jumbo-Visma aims to become the absolute autocrat in cycling.

Tegenlicht in Dutch or Backlight in English is a series of television documentaries by the VPRO, a Dutch public broadcasting organisation. Backlight "aims to grasp the quintessence of prominent trends and developments" in the practice of critical journalism, and tries to improve understanding of the intricate inner workings of our modern society.

Crushed, flooded and exploded into life – Europe is a battlefield of Nature. Discover the extraordinary and shocking geological story of how Europe was created by nature’s most titanic forces.

Koolhoven's view is a series of film lectures given by film director and cinephile Martin Koolhoven. Using scenes from his favorite feature films, Koolhoven shares his love for cinema with viewers. No dry critiques and academic treatises, but enthusiastic speeches and inspired observations: Koolhoven is above all an enthusiast.

In Europe, a documentary series based on the book in Europe by Geert Mak. This 35-piece set is about the history of Europe in the 20th century

In the travel series Through the heart of China photographer Ruben Terlou and director Maaik Krijgsman make their way from the far North to the Southern tip of China: from the dried-out steppes of inner Mongolia to the tropical coast of Macau-straight through the heart of China indeed.

‘Off the Beaten Track’ presents an intimate portrait of Max Verstappen, showcasing aspects of his life that remain largely unseen. Through three 30-minute episodes, viewers are treated to a closer look at Verstappen's off-track passions, including his ventures into team ownership, sim racing, and his business endeavours.

Mark Rutte is followed in his final months as prime minister. He looks back on more than 13 years of leadership and gives a rare glimpse behind the scenes. What do his busy days look like? How does he come to decisions? And what drives him? There are also conversations with (former) politicians and friends.

A four-part series about the shadowy world of espionage, sabotage and disinformation. Journalist Huib Modderkolk investigates the Dutch involvement in a secret intelligence operation in Iran. In Ukraine, Taiwan and Brussels we see the threat of invisible attacks increasing.

Victims, police officers and employees of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit speak for the first time about their experiences during one of the biggest hostage situations in our country. The exclusive footage, with unique images and sound recordings of the hostage situation, and the personal interviews provide a compelling portrayal of this gripping event on February 22, 2022.

China is playing an increasingly important role worldwide. Under President Xi Jinping, substantial investments are being made in communication and cooperation and industrious Chinese people are settling abroad in large numbers. Documentary maker and China expert Ruben Terlou visits them in the new VPRO travel series ‘The World of the Chinese’. Who are they, what do they want to achieve and what impact does their presence have on the local population?

In Denkend aan Holland, Janny van der Heijden and André van Duin discover our beautiful Netherlands from the water. In each episode, they go out with their boat. Of course, Janny and André moor every now and then to visit the places where the water takes them. Janny can tell André all about both the cultural and culinary history of the various locations. And all of this in the company of ship's dog Nhaan, Janny's dachshund.

Undercover in Nederland is a Dutch reportage program broadcast by SBS 6, in which program maker and presenter Alberto Stegeman infiltrates various environments to make recordings with a hidden camera and by going 'undercover' himself. Alberto Stegeman is producer/editor-in-chief of Noordkaap TV Productions, which has been producing this program series for SBS 6 since it started in 2005 and started the program on its own initiative. The program's aim is to investigate developments in society without making the intention known and, if necessary, to infiltrate a certain circuit and make recordings there with a hidden camera. The goal is, as maker Stegeman puts it: To show Dutch society from a different perspective.

Through beautiful photography and the extraordinary stories of the animals and people that live there, this series celebrates Latin America's most iconic and dramatic locations. Trek across the mountainous peaks and volcanic slopes of the Andes; explore the windswept plains of the Patagonian wilderness; journey into the teeming forests of the Amazon, and wade through the giant swamps of Venezuela, as this beautiful five- part series celebrates the region's most iconic and dramatic locations.

Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube: big companies that have come to dominate our lives over the last twenty years, did their great inventions all within a radius of about ten square kilometers, in Silicon Valley in the United States. Alexander traveled especially for these three episodes to the area and made reports and interviews about the companies that have become such an "essential" part of our lifes.

Ewout Genemans dives into various social arenas and walks along with those involved. He discovers the dark side of the paradise island of Curaçao and is interned at a juvenile detention center in the Netherlands. He also follows girls who, under pressure from social media, have plastic surgery performed in Turkey. And that can involve major risks.

How is it possible that in the Netherlands the gap between rich and poor still exists and is even widening? In the six-part VPRO series Sander en de gorge, Sander Schimmelpenninck has a mission: to expose wealth and opportunity inequality in our country.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the end of times is near. Only through absolute dedication to the organization do they hope to survive Armageddon. They go door-to-door trying to save souls. But when things go wrong behind closed doors, those doors are shut tight. Misconduct, violence, and abuse: it must all be kept internal. And anyone who goes against the organization can lose everything.

A chronicle of The Music Factory, better known as TMF, the Netherlands' first and most prominent 24-hour music television channel from 1995 to 2011, as recounted by its founders and former VJs.

Ruben Terlou, once trained as a doctor, meets courageous go-getters in healthcare in seven countries who try to cure not only the ailment, but also the sickening conditions such as poverty, inequality, pollution and insecurity.

In the year that the gas tap in Groningen is finally closed, Andere Tijden (NTR) presents the four-part documentary series The earth is shaking: about the discovery of the gas bubble, the cheering everywhere in the Netherlands, the economic trees that reach the sky and the consequences and aftermath for the residents.

What started as a seemingly noble initiative grew into one of the biggest scandals of the corona crisis. How could a promise to supply face masks ‘without profit’ result in millions in profits for Sywert van Lienden, Camille van Gestel and Bernd Damme? In the four-part documentary series Het mondkapjesgoud, investigative journalists from KRO-NCRV reveal the story behind the controversial face mask deal that the trio made with the government.

Who are the winners and losers of Brexit? Former United Kingdom correspondent Tim de Wit returns to reflect on his own role as a journalist and to investigate what became of the Brexit promises. Has migration decreased? Has healthcare improved?

Why does everyone - left and right, rich and poor, young and old - love Dolly Parton? During a road trip through the American state of Tennessee, Ilse DeLange and Frank Evenblij go in search of the answer to this question.

Theo Maassen grew up in Germany and was the only boy in his class in '74 not to become World Champion. With the European Championship approaching and football as a starting point, Theo gives an adventurous tour to get to know the real Germany. Are the Germans smarter, faster, stronger and better than us?

In this third series, Ruben Terlou takes us through China again. This time he explores how Chinese people see their own, their children’s, and their country’s futures. He experiences how rapidly China is developing under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, and how this is affecting the lives of ordinary individuals. Once again Ruben finds himself in exceptional situations, meets extraordinary people, and sees some dreams coming true and others being shattered.

My name is Noraly, I'm Dutch and passionate about motorcycles, traveling and adventuring. In 2018, I quit my job, sold my belongings and have been traveling the world fulltime by motorcycle since then.

Documentary show showing the complexity concerning the behaviour of mentally unstable people. Jessica Villerius follows different groups of proffessionals, and speaks with eyewitnesses and family-members of the victims of large incidents to try and get an understanding of what happens inside the mind of psychotic people.

In Rambam a team of creative television producers addresses social injustice in unconventional ways.

The writings and eyewitness accounts of wartime participants help trace the story of Europe's liberation during WWII in this historical docuseries.

After the holidays, do you sometimes get the feeling that you would like to change course? For example, spend more time in nature, live more sustainably, grow your own food and care more about each other? A group of people from all corners of the Netherlands didn't think about it, but decided to do it. Their ideal village had to be built in the Oosterwold district of Almere. Documentary series 'Droomdorp' followed the group for four years and shows how the residents try to uphold their ideals and dreams together.

Every day, two shooting incidents take place in the Netherlands and young criminals are increasingly reaching for firearms. The police speak of an alarming development. Where do these weapons come from and how easy is it to obtain an illegal weapon in the Netherlands? John van den Heuvel delves into the shadowy world of illegal weapons at home and abroad.