8 Hidden Gem Documentaries on Netflix You Need to Watch

Documentaries are an undeniably important part of our cultural landscape, educating the general public about society’s most important issues, illuminating the lives of remarkable people, and spotlighting the incredible work that goes into making the world a better place for all. Unfortunately, despite their importance, documentaries rarely achieve the sort of mainstream success that their fictional counterparts enjoy. Netflix is home to many great documentaries, but some of the best of them have yet to get the attention they truly deserve… until now. Read on to discover our handpicked selection of the most underrated documentaries you can stream on Netflix.

Looking for more hard-hitting documentaries? Be sure to check out our lists of documentary films and docuseries with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score on Netflix, the best documentaries on Netflix in general, or the best documentaries on Prime Video.

Disclaimer: These titles are available on US Netflix.

‘Will & Harper’ (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes: 99% | IMDb: 7.4/10

Directed by Josh Greenbaum, Will & Harper is a 2024 documentary following iconic actor and comedian Will Ferrell on a 17-day road trip across the United States with writer Harper Steele, a longtime friend who recently transitioned. Over the course of the trip, the two friends reconnect and process this new stage of their relationship. Ferrell and Greenbaum also produced the film with Jessica Elbaum, Christopher Leggett, and Rafael Marmor.

Will & Harper had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it received highly positive reviews. Released in theaters and on streaming in September of the same year, the movie made waves with its honest and personal tale of hope and friendship. The documentary received several accolades, including a Peabody Award and a Critics’ Choice Documentary Award, and was named one of the top five documentary films of the year by the National Board of Review.

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‘Daughters’ (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 7.6/10

Directed by Natalie Rae and Angela Patton, Daughters is a 2024 documentary film that revolves around a special Daddy Daughter Dance held in a Washington, D.C., jail. The film follows four young girls as they prepare to reunite with their incarcerated fathers for this unique fatherhood program organized by Camp Diva (which was founded by Patton) and Girls For A Change (GFAC).

Daughters had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it received widespread acclaim. The movie won two awards at the festival, the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary and Festival Favorite, and was nominated for the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize. The film went on to win several more accolades, including a Peabody Award. Personal, grounded, and full of heart, Daughters is a compelling documentary centered on an inspiring real-life movement that brings a touch of warmth and joy to the lives of families separated by terrible circumstances.

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‘Sue Bird: In the Clutch’ (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes: 83% | IMDb: 7.6/10

Directed by Sarah Dowland, Sue Bird: In the Clutch is a biographical documentary centered on basketball legend and five-time Olympic gold-winner Sue Bird. The film explores Bird’s life and career from her high school years to her current status as the most successful point guard in basketball history. Featuring interviews with notable personalities like Rebecca Lobo, Steph Curry, Diana Taurasi, Geno Auriemma, and more, the documentary provides a retrospective on Bird’s career and a peek at her life post-retirement with fiancée and soccer star Megan Rapinoe.

Sue Bird: In the Clutch premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it was quite positively received. A by-the-books documentary, the film isn’t particularly innovative or revelatory, but it’s elevated by the extraordinary story of its celebrated subject. The movie also provides some insight into Bird’s early years, elaborating on how the ups and downs in her high school and university career helped her become the legend we know and love. Though it’s ultimately a movie meant for hardcore basketball fans, Sue Bird: In the Clutch is an enjoyable and sorely under-watched film that explores the life of a real living legend.

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‘Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am’ (2019)

Rotten Tomatoes: 97% | IMDb: 7.7/10

Directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am is a documentary film that explores the life and work of the titular American novelist. Produced by Greenfield-Sanders, Johanna Giebelhaus, Chad Thompson, and Tommy Walker, the movie follows Morrison’s award-winning career, including her landmark novel Beloved, which earned her a Pulitzer Prize and the Novel Prize in literature. Released just a few months before Morrison’s death, the film features interviews with several notable personalities like Oprah Winfrey, Fran Lebowitz, Russell Banks, Angela Davis, and Barack Obama.

An insightful tribute to a legendary American, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am is a comprehensive exploration of its subject, providing viewers with an illuminating overview of Morrison’s career and the themes she tackled with her work. The documentary isn’t without flaws, with an over-dependence on evidential material that feels unnecessary considering the film already has the subject herself on camera. Still, those faults don’t take away from the bigger picture painted by the movie, which is a touching, layered, and humanized portrait of one of America’s most influential minds.

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‘Disclosure’ (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes: 98% | IMDb: 8.1/10

Directed and produced by Sam Feder, Disclosure is an in-depth exploration of how Hollywood’s depiction of transgender people has evolved over the years, as well as the impact it has had on the transgender community and American culture at large. The documentary features a number of famous transgender celebrities, including Laverne Cox, Lilly Wachowski, Susan Stryker, Alexandra Billings, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Angelica Ross, Jamie Clayton, Chaz Bono, Alexandra Grey, and more.

Originally subtitled Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen, the documentary had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was subsequently released on Netflix the same year. A comprehensive documentary that presents a thorough lesson in both the history and contemporary context of its subject, the film has received a highly favorable response from critics. Disclosure has also earned several accolades, including the 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary. It’s a brilliant, eye-opening documentary that takes a holistic view of the mistakes of the past, the problems of today, and the progress to be made in the years to come.

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‘Black Barbie: A Documentary’ (2023)

Rotten Tomatoes: 96% | IMDb: 6.0/10

Directed, written, and produced by Lagueria Davis, Black Barbie: A Documentary explores the creation of the first Black Barbie doll, Christie. The film is centered on the stories of three Black women — Beulah Mae Mitchell, Kitty Black Perkins, and Stacey McBride-Irby — spotlighting their pioneering work at Mattel that led to the creation and further evolution of the Black Barbie doll. Using a combination of interviews and animated interludes, the movie takes audiences behind the scenes into the arduous 20-year journey that culminated in Christie’s historic 1980 debut.

Black Barbie premiered at the 2023 South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival, receiving critical acclaim. Unfortunately, the film didn’t receive the attention it deserved from audiences at the time, though it did make a well-deserved splash with viewers once it arrived on Netflix in June 2024. And for good reason — it’s an ambitious and innovative documentary that shines a long-overdue spotlight on the real people who helped build one of the biggest brands in the world.

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‘A Secret Love’ (2020)

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 7.8/10

A documentary film produced by American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy and executive produced by Blumhouse Productions’ Jason Blum, A Secret Love follows the personal life of former All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player Terry Donahue. The film was directed by Donahue’s great-nephew, Chris Bolan, who also co-wrote it with Alexa L. Fogel and Brendan Mason. Through archival footage, photographs, and interviews, the documentary explores how Donahue met her partner, Pat Henchel, and how they kept their lesbian relationship hidden from their families for nearly seven decades.

A fascinating visual story of life, romance, and sacrifice over the course of a lifetime, A Secret Love premiered on Netflix in 2020 and received widespread critical and audience acclaim. It’s a deeply tender film that illuminates the historic struggles of the lesbian community through candid and open conversations with its subjects and their loved ones. Ultimately, it acts as a heartfelt tribute to a real-life romance that has weathered challenges most people only hear of in movies, and a beautifully produced one at that.

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‘Strong Island’ (2017)

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 6.4/10

A true crime documentary film, Strong Island was directed and co-produced by Yance Ford and explores the 1992 murder of Ford’s brother, William Ford Jr. William, a 24-year-old African-American teacher in Suffolk County, New York, was shot and killed by Mark P. Reilly, a 19-year-old white mechanic. Subsequently arrested for manslaughter, Reilly claimed self-defense before an all-white grand jury, which declined to indict him.

Strong Island premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim and has been widely praised for its deeply personal and gut-wrenching storytelling. The film illustrates the gross injustice of the case and the enduring trauma caused by the ordeal through a combination of rough footage, photographs of the Fords, and interviews with friends, family members, and legal experts involved with the case. Strong Island won several accolades, including an Academy Award nomination and an Emmy win, making Ford the first openly transgender man to receive those honors.

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