Best Dutch documentary series

Het stof daalt (2025)

Keuringsdienst van Waarde (2003)

"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.

Jekels Jacht (2022)

Nederland van Boven (2011)

The Story of The Netherlands (2022)

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.

That One Word - Feyenoord (2021)

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.

Max Verstappen: Anatomy of a Champion (2023)

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.

Geert Mak - In Europa (2007)

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

De kijk van Koolhoven (2018)

De kijk van Koolhoven is a six part series of movie lectures given by director and cinephile Martin Koolhoven. On the basis of scenes from his favorite movies, Koolhoven shares his passion for cinema with the viewers. From Basic Instinct to Jaws and from Dr. Strangelove to Drive, every movie enthousiast can get his fill.

Floortje naar het Einde van de Wereld (2014)

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.

The Children of Ruinerwold (2021)

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.

#BOOS (2016)

Along the Banks of the Yangtze (2016)

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.

Bureau Hofstad (2021)

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.

Het Verhaal van Nederland: Oranje-Nassau (2024)

Bureau Rotterdam (2023)

Floortje and the Ambassadors (2018)

Floortje Dessing krijgt exclusieve toegang tot de Nederlandse ambassades voor een unieke kijk achter de schermen. Ze ontmoet markante ambassadeurs en draait een week lang met ze mee in hun persoonlijke leven en tijdens hun diplomatieke werk.

All-in team Jumbo Visma (2023)

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.

Wortelboer en Van Rossem (2023)

Backlight (2002)

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.

Ik Vertrek (2005)

Birth of Europe (2012)

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.

Through the Heart of China (2018)

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.

Max Verstappen - Off the Beaten Track (2024)

‘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.

Denkend aan Zwitserland (2023)

Rutte (2024)

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.

Niemand die het ziet (2024)

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.

Kidnapping at the Apple Store (2024)

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.

The World of the Chinese (2021)

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?

Denkend aan Holland (2019)

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.