Best French documentary series

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

When their 4-year-old son is murdered, a young couple fights a twisting and arduous battle trying to identify a frustratingly elusive killer.

Colorized historical footage in ascending order of World War 1. Not only the relatively known Flanders and France battles, but also the generally unknown Italian-Austrian, German-Polish-Russian, Japanese-German, Ottoman Empire- Allied and African German Colonies, and other unknown or forgotten fronts and battles.

In the early 2000s, Aurelien Cotentin is a young middle-class man from Caen with an uncertain future. When he gets into rap music with his friends, he's really starting from the bottom. Yet, through hardships, controversies and constantly being filmed by his admiring little brother, Aurelien becomes Orelsan, one of the most popular French artists of his generation, changing the rap genre forever.

From 1987 to 2003, Michel Fourniret cemented his legacy as France’s most infamous murderer. But his wife was an enigma: Was she a pawn or a participant?

Featuring interviews with his followers, critics and Raël himself, this docuseries traces how a UFO-inspired religion spiraled into a controversial cult.

Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was a mediocre who rose to power because of the blindness and ignorance of the Germans, who believed he was nothing more than an eccentric dreamer. But when the crisis of 1929 devastated the economy, the population, fearful of chaos and communism, voted for him. And no one defended democracy. As the dictatorship extended its relentless shadow, the leader claimed peace, but was preparing the Apocalypse.

A tragic affair of child abuse and judicial disaster, this docuseries revisits the Outreau case, one of the biggest scandals in French history.

How did a conflict between the world's wealthiest woman and her daughter spiral into national scandal? This riveting docuseries tells the whole story.

At 27 years old, Lucas Hauchard—better known as Squeezie—is a video creator, with over 18 million subscribers on YouTube. From the early days of his start in his childhood bedroom to the Grand Prix Explorer, he has become the icon of a generation. His friend and director Théodore has filmed all of his adventures, giving us an exclusif portrait of a young geek who rose to the top.

This docuseries follows the 2011 sexual assault case involving French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the height of his career.

2013: four Frenchmen are arrested in Punta Cana with 700 kg of cocaine — none fit the trafficker profile. This documentary asks: who was behind the bust?

In 2003, rock singer Bertrand Cantat killed his partner, actress Marie Trintignant. This documentary revisits the case that divided a nation.

Self-taught composer, turntable prodigy, and visionary producer, DJ Mehdi was the only French artist to bridge the gap between two seemingly opposing worlds: rap and electro. Thirteen years after his sudden passing, this documentary series, directed by his childhood friend Thibaut de Longeville, sheds light on the role of this free spirit in the rise of these two musical scenes in France during the 1990s and 2000s.

The rise of Stalin, from his early beginning as a bankrobber to the cold-blooded leader of the Soviet Union.

From flashes of genius to curious experiments, humankind's innovations lead explorers and inventors on a brilliant journey of discovery in this series.

A chronicle of movies on Dailymotion with each episode focusing on a particular movie.

Il était une fois... les Explorateurs is a French animated TV series from 1996. Directed by Albert Barillé.

The history of military tanks unfolds in a documentary series that traces their role in history and geopolitics from World War I to the 21st century.

The story of this fantastic period of history between 1945 and 1991, which was defined by the confrontation of two worlds and two systems. The capitalist West, dominated by the ever-powerful United States, is pitted against the Communist East, the Soviet Empire.

This documentary series examines the Einsatzgruppen, Nazis responsible for the mass murder of Jews, Romani and Soviet prisoners in Eastern Europe.

Based on original animation and selected iconographies throughout art history, this series of twenty episodes tells the Greek myths. An all-picture creation, which features the fascinating destinies of gods, heroes, and great figures of mythology.

J'irai dormir chez vous (meaning "I'll come sleep at your house") is a French travel documentary series aired on French TV channels Canal+, France 5 and Voyage. It is hosted by Antoine de Maximy. Each episode features self-recorded videos from the solo trip of the host in a country. The aim of the host is to try to dine and stay the night with the locals, to discover the local trends and way of life.

"Once upon a time ... the Americas" tells us the story of this vast continent, from the very first inhabitants to the present day, including the Aztecs and the Incas, the conquistadors, the war of independence or the gold Rush. Through our usual sympathetic heroes (Maestro, Pierrot, Petit Gros, le Teigneux, le Nabot, etc.), we travel from time to time, always with the aim of teaching us something.

Narco Wars explores how opportunistic smuggling networks in Latin America turned into powerful and ruthless drug cartels with the power to destabilize and tear apart whole countries. The series combines gripping access to cartel members and the law enforcement agencies opposing them with a deep dive documentary exploration of the geo-political, social and cultural factors that led the cartels' rise.

May 10th, 1940, Hitler takes on the West. Will he precipitate Europe into the Apocalypse?

Jérôme Kerviel – the trader who hid €50 billion in trades at a major international bank – and his former superiors reveal all sides of the scandal.

In June 1941, Hitler took his greatest gamble - launching an attack against the Soviet Union. Despite being the largest German operation of WWII, Operation Barbarossa was one of his biggest failures.

A look back at a criminal case that made the court record. Each episode recounts one of the major French criminal cases tried since the 1950s.

C'est pas sorcier is a French educational television program that originally aired from November 5, 1994 to present.

Discover some the most beautiful sites in the Japan, the great spectacle of nature and the subtle balance that prevails between tradition and modernity.

Extraordinary show that reveals how forces of nature through sheer power of evolution shaped life in all it's unexpected and glorious forms, and filled our planet with amazing diversity of animals and plants.

Then complex world of geopolitics broken down into ten minute, bite-sized chunks. You'll never sound uninformed at the dinner table ever again.

Major factual drama telling the story of history's greatest maritime evacuation, after the World War II Battle of Dunkirk in May and June 1940.

6 June 1944. A titanic fleet launched an assault on the beaches of Normandy. Objective: to liberate Europe from Hitler's yoke. Drawing on the lessons learned from the Dieppe raid in August 1942, the mission was a spectacular success.

Math is an exotic and confusing country. We speak a bizarre language, full of homeomorphisms, differential varieties, transfinite numbers. But we also find epic landscapes, dizzying ideas and even, sometimes, useful things!

An 8-part documentary chronicling the history of cinema, examining the history of the concept of cinema and how both relates to the 20th century.

They are among the very few survivors. 44 survivors testify. How do you get out of Auschwitz, how do you rebuild yourself? How do you talk about this ultimate experience and also how do you pass it on?

irected by François Pomès, this two-part documentary chronicles the epic adventure of the Apollo space program, which included both tragic setbacks and historic successes. The first phase takes place against a backdrop of the Cold War, from the disaster of the Apollo 1 mission to the triumph of the Apollo 8 mission. The last stage culminates with the Apollo 11 space flight which landed American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon. With full-color archival images and 3D reenactments of the mission's key stages, this immersive account details the journey of the men and women who contributed to the celebrated Apollo 11 mission.

Teenagers, the internationally-recognized characters of the series, will be the heroes of adventures in which they will play an active role. They will be a force for change, faced with situations and problems they need to resolve. The series will be based on facts, yet still primarily entertainment. Through their actions, they directly affect their planet and the resources that must be used responsibly and are not inexhaustible. The series will also help younger audiences to understand that pollution, hunger and water shortages are realities with specific causes – rather than inevitable evils to be dreaded, they are battles to be won with solutions to be found.

February 1916. World War I has been raging for two years and has killed over three million people, neither side gaining the upper hand. The Germans mobilize more artillery and men in Verdun than in any other offensive -- for three hundred days -- but the French hold out. Constructed from over five hundred hours of restored, colorized archival footage.

Did you know that behind a soccer ball, glasses or a spoon lie treasures of inventiveness and thousands of years of history? Each episode of this new series looks at an object. Through its creation and its developments, through the ages and civilizations, we approach all sciences, from physics to philosophy, including history. Each object of our daily life is the result of a long process and conceals a rich history of knowledge and human adventures. Never again will you look at your stairs, your pants or a computer the same way...

Two bold young adventurers set off naked and penniless, only equipped with a knife, a bundle, three discreet cameras and a drone.

How, from 1974 to 1993, Totò Riina (1930-2017), supreme boss of the Corleone family, ruled by blood and terror over the Sicilian Mafia. An implacable account, based on the testimony of his men and those who fought against them.

Cash Investigation gives new life to investigative investigations by tackling in each new issue different subjects concerning the business world (drug industry, ready to wear, tax havens, neuromarketing, planned obsolescence ...) but also to the managers themselves.

328 / 5 000The Kremlin's strategy consists of infiltrating places of power throughout Europe and securing the services of more or less lucid personalities, more or less aware of what is going on.

Top Gear France is a French TV show about motor vehicles, based on the English original TV show Top Gear. It is broadcast on TNT RMC Découverte and is hosted by French actor Philippe Lellouche, professional racing driver Bruce Jouanny and EDM musician and journalist Yann Larret-Menezo (aka Le Tone).

A detailed account of the two millennia of intolerance and persecution suffered by the Jews, from antiquity to the present day.

D-Day, June 6th, 1944. As the Allies storm the beaches of Normandy, Hitler orders the return of the Das Reich, the infamous Panzer elite division known for its mass murders in Ukraine and Belarus, based at that time in southwest of France. Its mission: to push the Allies back into the Atlantic and turn the tide of the conflict in favor of the Nazi Germany.

A major political, historical, human and economic fact of the 20th century, the Gulag, the extremely punitive Soviet concentration camp system, remains largely unknown.

During the turbulent 19th century, a number of brilliant French artists developed the Romantic movement in Paris: writers Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, George Sand, Honoré de Balzac and Charles Baudelaire, painter Eugène Delacroix and composer Hector Berlioz, among others, changed the way of looking at art and created enduring works that have inspired the world to this day.

From the infinitely large to the infinitely small, this animated series observes humanity through a magnifying glass and places Man in a universe of which he has never been the center. From the universe to genes, from ecosystems to the human body, each episode allows us to apprehend magnitudes and concepts that are difficult to imagine by our brain. Take a few minutes to contemplate the universe from outside our navel!

Our cities, transformed a mere century ago to accommodate cars, now want to rid their streets of them. Countries go to war over fuel shortages, and automobiles are at the core of a global ecological crisis. Today, the history of automobile has hit its climax. How did we get here? How did the invention of a single machine reorganize how we work, revolutionize our lifestyles, transform our landscapes, trigger global crises and wreak havoc with the equilibrium of our planet? This documentary series explores the creation and meteoric development of an unprecedented object - the automobile - and its role in mankind’s wild race toward progress.

From the Gilded Age to the present day, the history of modern United States of America has been one of wealth and power concentrated into the hands of a few families with enormous fortunes.

Our History is no more than a series of incredible events. From the birth of a thousand-year-old empire to the death of a flourishing civilization, from the creative genius of a handful of men to a worldwide cultural revolution, the most infinitesimal of our decisions can influence the future of humanity. Every episode guides us to revisit a key event, a crossroads in our History where the world swings one way or the other. With spectacular reconstructions created by 3D modeling specialists, every story is told in sequences, which gives new perspective for today.