After writing about documentaries for the last six months, I can safely say that 2026 has already delivered some remarkable unscripted movies and series. The major streamers—from Netflix and HBO Max to Paramount+ and Prime Video—have all quietly stacked their libraries with some of the most compelling and enlightening nonfiction filmmaking in recent memory, covering everything from rock gods and wizard-like daredevils to more than one comedy legend and too many regular people caught up in serious crime and unspeakable tragedy.
Now that we’re at the halfway point of the year, I thought I’d collect what I think are the best documentaries and series that I’ve seen this year, ordered loosely by, but not limited to, their Rotten Tomatoes scores as well. I’ll add some honorable mentions to the bottom, too, because there are just too many this year to list.
1
Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart (Netflix)
A kidnapping survivor finally tells her own harrowing story
Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is a chilling true-crime feature that retraces the 2002 abduction of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart, who was held captive for nine months by preacher Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee. Told in Smart’s own words, the 90-minute doc uses rare archival footage and never-before-seen case materials to walk through her ordeal and rescue. New interviews with Smart, her family, and investigators turn it into a story of survival and healing. Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score: 100%
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Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! (HBO Max)
From war hero to Spaceballs—the life of a comedy genius
Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! is a lovingly hilarious two-part career HBO Max retrospective of comedy legend Mel Brooks, the EGOT winner behind Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, and Young Frankenstein. Directors Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio move chronologically through Brooks’ storied life—from World War II and writing for Sid Caesar to his famous “2000 Year Old Man” bit, and Broadway smash The Producers. Brooks himself, along with Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chappelle, and Sarah Silverman, all sit down to pay tribute. Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score: 100%
QuizMel Brooks comedies and characters
Trivia challenge
From Blazing Saddles to Spaceballs — can you name the films and faces of Mel Brooks’s comedy universe?
CharactersMoviesQuotesCastingSpoofs
In which Mel Brooks film does a corrupt politician and a con-man producer scheme to make a guaranteed flop that accidentally becomes a massive hit?
Correct! The Producers (1967) launched Mel Brooks’s film career and won him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder played the scheming duo, and the show-within-a-film, Springtime for Hitler, became one of comedy’s most legendary set pieces.
Not quite — the answer is The Producers (1967). The story of Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom overselling shares in a doomed Broadway musical is the film that put Mel Brooks on the map and earned him an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
What is the name of the hunchbacked, scene-stealing assistant played by Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein?
Correct! The character’s name is Igor, though the running gag is that Dr. Frankenstein keeps mispronouncing it as ‘Eye-gor’ and Igor keeps shifting his hump from shoulder to shoulder. Marty Feldman’s wild eyes and perfect comic timing made Igor one of the most beloved characters in the film.
Not quite — the character’s name is Igor. The joke is that Dr. Frankenstein insists on calling him ‘Eye-gor,’ and Igor plays along by constantly moving his hump. Marty Feldman’s unforgettable wide-eyed look made the role completely his own.
Spaceballs (1987) is primarily a parody of which famous science fiction franchise?
Correct! Spaceballs lovingly lampoons the Star Wars universe, with characters like Lone Starr (Han Solo), Princess Vespa (Princess Leia), and Dark Helmet (Darth Vader). Mel Brooks himself played both President Skroob and Yogurt, the latter being a direct spoof of Yoda.
Not quite — Spaceballs is a parody of Star Wars. From Dark Helmet’s comically oversized helmet to the merchandising joke (‘Spaceballs: The Flamethrower!’), nearly every gag targets George Lucas’s galaxy far, far away. Interestingly, Lucas gave Brooks his blessing to make the film.
Which actor played the lead role of Sheriff Bart in Mel Brooks’s Blazing Saddles (1974)?
Correct! Cleavon Little played Sheriff Bart with effortless cool and sharp comic timing. Richard Pryor was actually co-writer of the screenplay and was originally considered for the role, but Warner Bros. was unwilling to cast him as the lead. Little’s performance became iconic.
Not quite — Cleavon Little played Sheriff Bart. Richard Pryor is a common wrong answer because he co-wrote the screenplay and was a leading candidate for the role, but the studio ultimately chose Little. Pryor’s writing, however, was instrumental in shaping the film’s sharp racial satire.
In Blazing Saddles, which character delivers the famous line ‘Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges!’?
Correct! Taggart, the villainous henchman played by Slim Pickens, delivers the line as a parody of a similar quote from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The line has since become one of cinema’s most quoted and parodied moments, appearing in countless films and TV shows.
Not quite — it’s Taggart, played by Slim Pickens, who delivers that legendary line. It’s a spoof of a quote from the classic 1948 film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Mel Brooks used the moment to poke fun at classic Western movie conventions while creating a new classic of its own.
In which Mel Brooks film does he play both King Louis XVI of France and a stand-up philosopher named Comicus?
Correct! History of the World, Part I (1981) is a sprawling comedy anthology covering the Stone Age, ancient Rome, the Spanish Inquisition, and the French Revolution. Brooks played multiple roles throughout, including the stand-up philosopher Comicus performing at Caesar’s Palace — literally the palace of Caesar.
The answer is History of the World, Part I (1981). Mel Brooks played several roles in this episodic comedy spanning human history, including a stand-up philosopher in ancient Rome and a very distracted King Louis XVI. The film famously promised a Part II that never actually came — though a Hulu series eventually revisited the concept.
In Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), Mel Brooks plays a character named Rabbi Tuckman. What is his occupation beyond being a holy man?
Correct! Rabbi Tuckman is Mel Brooks’s twist on Friar Tuck — a mohel who travels the countryside offering circumcisions and peddling sacramental wine. It’s a classic Brooks move: taking a familiar character from legend and reimagining him through a very specific Jewish comedic lens.
Not quite — Rabbi Tuckman is a mohel who also sells sacramental wine, Mel Brooks’s hilarious reimagining of the classic Friar Tuck character. Brooks has long woven Jewish humor and identity into his films, and Rabbi Tuckman is one of his most memorable self-insert roles.
Which Mel Brooks film is a direct parody of Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller style, featuring a blind man, a wheelchair chase, and a climax at a museum?
Correct! High Anxiety (1977) is Mel Brooks’s loving tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, spoofing films like Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds, and Spellbound. Brooks also starred as Dr. Richard Thorndyke, a psychiatrist with a crippling fear of heights. He dedicated the film to Hitchcock, who reportedly enjoyed it.
The answer is High Anxiety (1977), Mel Brooks’s affectionate parody of Alfred Hitchcock’s body of work. Brooks starred as the anxiety-prone Dr. Thorndyke and packed the film with clever references to Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds. Hitchcock himself was said to be a fan of the film.
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3
Paul McCartney: Man on the Run (Prime Video)
Life after The Beatles, told by the man himself
Paul McCartney: Man on the Run is a stunning Prime Video doc that looks back at Paul McCartney through the messiest, most vulnerable chapter of his life—the end of The Beatles. It floats through Paul’s fallout with John Lennon, the depression that followed, and his reinvention with Wings and wife Linda. Director Morgan Neville (Won’t You Be My Neighbor?) leans on intimate home footage and McCartney’s own candid reflections. It’s a nostalgic, surprisingly uplifting watch for fans of Peter Jackson’s restored Get Back docuseries on Disney+. Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score: 100%
4
The Dark Wizard (HBO Max)
The enigmatic life of an extreme-climbing pioneer
The Dark Wizard is a nail-biting four-part HBO Max docuseries that profiles Dean Potter, one of climbing’s most brilliant and divisive figures—a pioneer of free soloing, highlining, and wingsuit BASE jumping who spent two decades pushing the limits of what’s humanly possible, before Alex Honnold became a household name. Through breathtaking footage and interviews with his tight-knit Yosemite climbing crew, the series digs into the obsession and inner turmoil behind the daredevil. Fans of Free Solo and 100 Foot Wave, this one’s for you. Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score: 100%
5
The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel (Netflix)
The guitarist and friend the Chili Peppers lost
Before Blood Sugar Sex Magik made them superstars, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were a band of besties at L.A.’s Fairfax High School—and the Netflix doc The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: Our Brother, Hillel is a tender tribute to the one who didn’t make it. Original guitarist Hillel Slovak died of a heroin overdose in 1988 at just 26. The band itself is a tribute to his legacy as they realized their collective dream of music stardom. Using archival clips, performance footage, and Slovak’s own diaries and artwork, it plays like a bittersweet coming-of-age story. Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score: 100%
6
Marty, Life Is Short (Netflix)
A beautiful portrait of the life and career of the Ed Grimley comedian
Lawrence Kasdan’s affectionate bio-doc, Marty, Life Is Short, traces the half-century career of comedy great Martin Short—from his Hamilton-to-Toronto youth and SCTV and SNL glory days (Ed Grimley!) through Broadway and his recent Only Murders in the Building run. As a Canadian who grew up on his sketches, and swimming in the Muskoka lakes he cottages on, I loved it. It’s a joyful watch that also makes room for real loss, including the death of his wife, Nancy Dolman, in 2010. Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score: 97%
7
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (Paramount+)
The King, restored and on stage like never before
Baz Luhrmann follows his Oscar-nominated 2022 Elvis biopic starring Austin Butler with something stranger and more intimate: a full concert experience built almost entirely from long-lost footage. While researching that film, Luhrmann unearthed unused material from Elvis: That’s the Way It Is and Elvis on Tour, then restored it using Peter Jackson’s groundbreaking Park Road Post Production tech that produced the Disney+ docuseries Get Back. The result is the glitzy, 96-minute EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert. There are no interviews or talking heads—the King narrates his own story from archival recordings. Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score: 97%
8
The Crash (Netflix)
Tragic accident or calculated murder?
For weeks, everyone was talking about this raw true-crime doc that reconstructs a case that looks like a tragic accident until it doesn’t. In July 2022, 17-year-old Mackenzie Shirilla drove her car into a brick building at 100 mph, killing her boyfriend Dominic Russo and his friend Davion Flanagan. Shirilla survived—and was later convicted of murder. Using police bodycam video, black-box data, and tearful interviews, The Crash paints a chilling portrait of a toxic relationship pushed to its limits. Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score: 92%
9
Fukushima: A Nuclear Nightmare (HBO Max)
The 2011 catastrophe, and the heroes who stayed to stop it
I enjoy a good disaster documentary, and James Jones’ (Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes) excellent Fukushima: A Nuclear Nightmare on HBO Max is a haunting reconstruction of the 2011 disaster in stark, minute-by-minute detail. After a record 9.0 earthquake and a 14-meter tsunami knocked out power to the Daiichi plant’s reactors, a small crew stayed behind to prevent a full meltdown that could have devastated Japan. The film pairs jaw-dropping footage of the wave’s destruction with emotional testimony from the so-called Fukushima 50, who believed they were on a suicide mission. Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score: 72%
The best docs of 2026—so far
Whether you came for the true crime or the rock-and-roll nostalgia, these 2026 docs prove that nonfiction can be as gripping as anything scripted. And we’re only halfway through the year. Honorable mention also goes to a few that I had to leave off for space, including Netflix’s excellent bio of Hungarian chess prodigy, Judit Polgar, Queen of Chess, and the stunning Spielberg-produced The Dinosaurs; as well as Peacock’s sobering The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist and the Lorne Michaels’ biopic, appropriately titled Lorne. All are streaming now.
To keep up with what’s to come for the rest of the year, check our streaming guides each week when we round up the best new releases across every major platform so you never miss a great watch.
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