The 28 Best Documentaries of 2026 (So Far)

10 min readThe film industry is in a weird place. IP is king. A box-office flop is treated like its the end of the world, and massive mergers threaten opportunity and creativity for filmmakers in the years ahead. I don’t mean to sound all doom and gloom—there are still plenty of amazing films that came out this year so far—but it seems exceptionally hard to get a documentary made nowadays, let alone drum up excitement for something that doesn’t feature Spider-Man or the Minions.But if you’re in for something real, we have the list for you. The documentaries on the list range from insightful stories about life on Earth (Once Upon a Time in Harlem, The History of Concrete), to portraits of our favorite celebrities (Man on the Run, Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger). There are also, as in often in documentary work, deeply unsettling truths about the world (You Can See Everything, The Alabama Solution) and depictions of the horrors of war that still have much to teach us (NAZA, American Doctor).So, if you’re tired of scrolling through AI videos on Instagram and want to experience watching something about the real world, take your pick from the excellent choices below. These are the best documentaries of 2026 so far.Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World)Questlove made the best music documentary of 2021 when he took on the Oscar-winning Summer of Soul, about the “Black Woodstock” that occurred in Harlem in 1969. Now, he’s back with a documentary about Earth, Wind & Fire leader Maurice White—a complicated figure who, despite writing “Boogie Wonderland” and “Shining Star,” didn’t always have it so groovy.American DoctorAmerican Doctor follows three physicians as they travel to Gaza to provide medical aid to those affected by the conflict before and after the 2025 ceasefire. One of the doctors is Jewish, one is Palestinian, and the third is Pakistani. The documentary by Poh Si Teng shows how each of them are affected differently by the violence abroad, as well as how people can come together and put their differences aside to help save lives.You Can See EverythingNathan Fielder shocked the film world when he announced his latest project—a documentary about Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes in the days leading up to her prison sentence, in which he personally lived with her family in their home for a time. The comedian behind The Rehearsal is known for hiding the truth behind his own schemes, making You Can See Everything a challenge between two professional liars.Ghost ElephantsThis National Geographic film, directed by Werner Herzog, follows a South African natural scientist as they search for an undiscovered species of elephant in the highlands of Angola. You can see what drew the Fitzcarraldo director to the project from its description alone. Ghost Elephants is about more than just elephants; it’s a film about man’s relentless search for the unknown.The History of ConcreteIf you enjoyed How To with John Wilson on HBO, then you’ll be happy to hear that the documentarian’s next project is basically just the next season of How To. After his HBO series ends and he’s left without a home to showcase his unique lens into New York City’s oddities, Wilson sets out to make the unsexiest documentary of all time: The History of Concrete. Of course, it turns into another beautiful project from Wilson, who continues to prove that he can find interesting nuggets about how we spend our time on Earth in just about anything.MuskElon Musk criticized Alex Gibney’s documentary of him as a “hit piece,” but to reduce his film to the level of a tabloid’s screed would be inaccurate. Gibney surely holds no praise for the billionaire tech giant. The documentarian views Musk’s influence in right-wing politics as dangerous as any of his impossible ideas that he sells to the public. But Gibney really looks at Musk’s scary ability as a salesman, complete with an original song for the film by David Byrne titled, “Let Me Sell You a Dream."Cookie QueensCookie Queens is the cutest documentary among the horrors of war and natural disasters in this list. Director Alysa Nahmias follows Girl Scouts and their families as they strive to become a top-seller of Girl Scout Cookies. There’s a dangerous side to this game, of course—you don’t get back the money from the cookies you don’t sell. But Cookie Queens doesn’t dwell on the potential toll. It’s about why each of the four young girls want to sell cookies, and how it prepares them for the world ahead.Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!Mel Brooks is 100 years old now. Can you believe it? Well, a year prior to the insane milestone, he sat down for Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!, directed by Judd Apatow, to celebrate his legacy and look back at his hilarious career. The documentary also features the final on-screen interviews from the late David Lynch and Rob Reiner.NAZACo-directed by Yuval Abraham, the documentarian behind 2024 Oscar winner No Other Land, NAZA continues to depict the horrors of the ongoing war in Gaza. Though the Israeli government has rejected the footage since its release, Naza depicts interviews with twenty-four IDF soldiers as they describe their horrifying indifference to the killings and the methods they use to gauge the expected number of civilian deaths from each air strike. Much like No Other Land, it’s not an easy watch, but it’s an important one.Oasis: Don’t Look Back in AngerFollowing over fifteen years of estrangement, Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger joins Oasis members Liam and Noel Gallagher as the brothers reunite for their 2025 reunion tour. Though the documentary doesn’t get at the dirt under the fingernails as much as someone interested in the family drama might have wanted, it’s a nice water under the bridge moment for Oasis fans as the Gallaghers put everything behind them to celebrate their journey.Once Upon a Time in HarlemDocumentarian William Greaves captured a party in 1972 at musician Duke Ellington’s townhouse in Harlem, featuring members of the Harlem Renaissance as they discussed the state of the world and their views on how art has evolved. Guests included photographer James Van Der Zee, painter Aaron Douglas, poet Arna Bontemps, and many other luminaries. But the documentary remained unfinished after Greaves’s death, until his son David picked it back up and reviewed the footage for release this year.RafaRafael Nadal retired from tennis in 2024 following a record-setting 22 Grand Slam titles. Alongside Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, he is one of the greatest athletes the sport has ever seen. In Rafa, his four-episode documentary series about the road to retirement, audiences witness a man who refuses to accept that his body just can’t compete anymore. It’s heartbreaking to watch Nadal struggle to play on through his injuries, but the tennis player offers a rare vulnerability about the end of his career that most athletes rarely ever allow on camera.The Alabama SolutionFollowing his work on The Jinx, filmmaker Andrew Jarecki turns his attention toward the abuses inmates face in Alabama prisons. Combining footage shot on contraband cellphones and interviews with an allegedly murdered inmate’s family, The Alabama Solution seeks to expose the corrupt practices and correctional guards who silence the injustices from getting out.Marty, Life Is ShortThe title for Martin Short’s documentary, Life Is Short, was originally meant to serve as a joke on the comedian’s stature. But after his daughter, Katherine, took her own life, the then-finished film took on a new meaning. Though the documentary is still a celebration of Short’s career, it’s also about the many family members he lost along the way. “It’s about love, lossm and survival,” Short told NPR. “We must figure a way to survive through grief without denying it or without in any way undermining its importance.”Kidnapped: Elizabeth SmartNetflix’s true-crime documentaries are a genre of their own, and Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart brings the infamous 2002 Utah kidnapping case to streaming. The movie, directed by Benedict Sanderson, catches up with a now-adult Elizabeth Smart—as well as family, friends, investigators, and reporters who recount her monthslong captivity at 14 years old by Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee.I’m Chevy Chase and You’re NotOne of comedy’s most polarizing legends, Chevy Chase, finally tells his side of every unflattering story you’ve ever heard about him in I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not. Directed by Marina Zenovich, the movie reveals the two sides of the SNL legend and National Lampoon star: the loving family man who survived an abusive childhood and the notorious “asshole” of Hollywood.Mr. Nobody Against PutinIn the BAFTA-winning movie Mr. Nobody Against Putin, Pavel “Pasha” Talankin uses his day job as a schoolteacher and videographer in rural Russia to carry out acts of resistance against Putin during the invasion of Ukraine. An unexpectedly funny and sweet study in political rebellion, Mr. Nobody Against Putin shows that heroes don’t always wear capes.Queen of ChessCall it the real-life Queen’s Gambit. The story of how Judit Polgár became one of chess’s greatest female players is chronicled in Queen of Chess, now streaming on Netflix. From Polgár’s recognition as a five-year-old prodigy to her being its youngest grandmaster at age 15 and overcoming the sport’s rampant misogyny through it all, Queen of Chess might make you dust off that chess set you bought and told yourself you’d learn after binge-watching Queen’s Gambit in 2020.Matter of TimePearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder committed to curing epidermolysis bullosa (EB) after a friend gave birth to a son with the painful condition. In 2023, the rock star held a series of benefit concerts in Seattle to highlight the work of the EB Research Partnership. The story of those concerts and Vedder’s philanthropic efforts is highlighted in Matter of Time. While mostly an advocacy film, the movie still tugs at your heartstrings in the way all good rock ballads do.World War II with Tom HanksWe’re fairly confident that we don’t need to sell you on World War II with Tom Hanks—because it’s World War II with Tom Hanks, which is absolutely as much of a must-watch as you’d think. Narrated by the screen legend, the 20-part(!) docuseries is a Ken Burns–style deep dive into the history-shifting conflict. Aside from Hanks’s assured voice-over, the archival footage in particular is stunning.Beam Me Up, SuluIn 1985, some enterprising Star Trek fans convinced George Takei to join them deep inside the California forests to star in their student film. For 40 years, the footage of the no-budget, totally unofficial Star Trek movie was lost—until now. More than just a love letter to Trekkies, Beam Me Up, Sulu reveals the early years of modern fandom long before it became a lucrative commodity and a driving force in mainstream pop culture.Miracle: The Boys of ’80If you’re still buzzing from the Olympics and Heated Rivalry still has you thirsting to go pucks deep, check out Miracle: The Boys of ’80. The tale of how amateur nobodies became the era-defining hockey team that gave America Olympic gold during the cold war is told in this stirring Netflix doc. Sure, it’s not the first time you’ve heard about the Miracle on Ice. Do You Believe in Miracles? The Story of the 1980 U.S. Hockey Team was released in 2001, and you’ve seen the Disney film Miracle with Kurt Russell. And you probably know about Of Miracles and Men, the ESPN movie that recounted the events from the Russian players’ perspectives. But why not relive golden glory all over again?Louis Theroux: Inside the ManosphereAcclaimed journalist Louis Theroux takes a long, hard, and well-deserved look at the hustlers and hucksters that drive the online manosphere. Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere isn’t quite the heated roast that these so-called alpha-male influencers deserve (though Theroux does poke at them in delightful ways), but it is an incisive investigation into their enterprise—and what it says about us that legions of young men eagerly follow them.Fukushima: A Nuclear NightmarePart epic disaster movie and part pressure-cooker thriller, Fukushima: A Nuclear Nightmare collects stories and memories surrounding those who were tasked with a suicide mission: prevent an even bigger nuclear catastrophe in the immediate aftermath of a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan in 2011. Fukushima: A Nuclear Nightmare is an alarming reminder of how close we are to an apocalypse.Man on the RunPaul McCartney is still processing why the Beatles broke up. So the 83-year-old musician talked to Won’t You Be My Neighbor? director Morgan Neville about the tumultuous years after the Beatles ended, which is explored in a new documentary titled Man on the Run. Over archival footage and new interviews, McCartney provides insights into why he escaped to Scotland in 1970 to start Wings, making for the perfect spiritual sequel to Peter Jackson’s Get Back. “There’s still this process of Paul reevaluating what he did in that time,” Neville told Esquire. “When you hold up a mirror to people and say, ‘This is what I see,’ then they can see themselves in a different way.”Disneyland HandcraftedIf there’s one documentary you watch on this list to celebrate America 250, make it Disneyland Handcrafted. Directed by Academy Award–nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks, the documentary tracks the making of one of Walt Disney’s greatest creations: Disneyland. Watching legions of people build the iconic theme park from virtually nothing—and parade throughout its streets during its grand opening—feels like pure Americana.LorneMorgan Neville’s second documentary film this year is about the Saturday Night Live creator, Lorne Michaels, as he celebrates the 50th anniversary of his late-night sketch-comedy series. The film follows his early days in Canadian television before launching into his SNL history with interviews from former cast members, writers, and hosts like Timothée Chalamet and Ryan Gosling.André Is an IdiotAfter calling himself “an idiot” for never going to get a colonoscopy, former adman André Ricciardi learns that he’s developed a terminal cancer. Filmmaker Tony Benna spends time with André as he processes the end of his life—hearing his eccentric stories and painfully honest thoughts about his mortality. “His dying wish was to roast himself mercilessly and go into that good night as a cautionary tale by way of comic relief,” Anthony Breznican wrote in his review. “Believe it or not, this movie made me laugh more than any film in recent memory.”