documentary series

Few film directors have more staying power than Martin Scorsese, famous for decades for early work like Taxi Driver (1976), mid-career achievements like Goodfellas (1990) and recent hits like Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). And on Friday you can stream a five-part documentary series about his life and work on Apple TV. 

Reviews so far are positive — to say the least. “Mr. Scorsese is the best behind-the-scenes reel you’ll ever get to see of the famed director,” raved the Los Angeles Times. “Five hours isn’t nearly long enough to do justice to history’s greatest film-maker,” said The Guardian. And The New York Times called the documentary “a captivating and charismatic profile.”

Read more about the series and watch the Mr. Scorsese trailer and previous teaser trailer below.

Streaming Friday, the new Apple TV+ documentary series Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars gives an unprecedented look behind the scenes of the world’s most prestigious restaurants in their quest for coveted Michelin stars.

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and his Studio Ramsay Global production company produce the eight-part series. It promises to deliver high-stakes culinary drama and unprecedented access to the secretive Michelin ratings process. Watch the trailer below. 

Reviews so far lean positive, calling the show “riveting” and praising its realistic, fly-on-the-wall look at chef’s lives and what drives them. 

The next chapter in the Apple TV+ award-winning natural history series Prehistoric Planet leaves dinosaurs behind in favor of woolly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers and other megafauna that lived during the last ice age.

The streaming service revealed Tuesday that Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age will premiere in late November.

A new documentary combining high-stakes adventure with groundbreaking wildlife conservation started streaming on Apple TV+ Friday. Previously the streamer released a new trailer for The Wild Ones documentary series, below, promising all sorts of high-tech derring-do in the name of saving threatened animal species all over the world. Now you can watch it.

The six-episode documentary, premiering July 11, follows a team of elite wildlife experts as they venture into Earth’s most remote and dangerous environments to protect critically endangered species.

Update: The Wild Ones began streaming Friday. As one critic cited on the reviews site Rotten Tomatoes put it (though it’s too early for a fresh or rotten rating): “The Wild Ones is a triumph of storytelling, a visual feast and a heartfelt plea to cherish and protect the natural world.”

Apple TV+ subscribers will soon get an exclusive look inside one of college basketball’s greatest dynasties. It’s a new three-part documentary series focused on the University of Connecticut (UCONN) women’s basketball program. The series chronicles four decades of unprecedented success under legendary head coach Geno Auriemma. That includes the team’s most recent triumph as 2025 NCAA National Champions, of course. No other team, men or women, has won so many championships — 12.

“This series offers fans an exclusive view into 40 seasons of UConn women’s basketball, and I’m really excited for audiences to be able to see all the hard work that has built this program,” Auriemma said.

The three-part documentary series doesn’t have a title or a streaming date yet, however.

Upcoming documentary series Vietnam: The War That Changed America tells the story of the conflict through those who survived it on both sides, according to the trailer Apple TV+ dropped for it Wednesday. Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke narrates the six-part series. Featuring rare archival footage and moving reunions of service members, it’s set to premiere January 31. As one of the most anticipated new movies Apple TV has to offer, this documentary provides a compelling look at the war’s lasting impact.

A rookie FBI agent uncovers a massive money-laundering operation in American horse racing led by Mexico’s deadly Zetas cartel, according to a trailer Apple TV+ dropped Tuesday for the documentary series Cowboy Cartel. Watch it below.

The fascinating story, featuring first-time interviews with key players, looks like a tough but satisfying ride. The series debuts on Apple TV+ on August 2.

Update: As of Friday, you can watch this documentary and see how Mexican cartel Los Zetas infiltrated American horse racing and what a rookie FBI agent tried to do about it. Reviews so far seem a bit mixed. The story itself is compelling, but the story-telling may be a little forced in its use of re-enactments, for example (according to The New York Times). But other sources, like The Daily Beast, compare it favorably to the Netflix drama Narcos, and not just as a wanna-be version.

A juicy and lurid new documentary crime series is coming to Apple TV+ soon with Hollywood Con Queen, judging by the fast-paced trailer the streamer dropped for it Thursday. It “explores the shocking story behind one of Hollywood’s biggest scams.”

The three-part docuseries premieres May 8 on Apple TV+.

An upcoming three-part Apple TV+ documentary series entitled Hollywood Con Queen explores the story of an international con artist impersonating some of Hollywood’s most powerful women. The streaming service provided a “first look” image, above, plus details about the miniseries Monday.

Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Chris Smith created the three-part series. It’s based on investigative journalism by Scott Johnson in The Hollywood Reporter. You can watch Hollywood Con Queen on Apple TV+ starting May 8.

Now hear this: Apple TV+ dropped a trailer Tuesday for its upcoming documentary series Earthsounds, narrated by Golden Globe winner and Emmy Award nominee Tom Hiddleston.

The streamer said you’ll “hear our planet like never before in the new 12-part immersive natural history series.” All episodes become available February 23.

As the trailer Apple TV+ dropped Thursday for documentary series Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend shows, the soccer superstar is practically a deity in his home country, Argentina. And if you don’t already worship him, you might start after watching the show, which premieres February 21.

Anyone who loves the world’s most-popular sport, soccer (aka football), probably knows a thing or two about Messi. But that just makes the new four-part documentary series all the more enticing for its “exclusive, behind-the-scenes” look at the man’s five World Cup appearances and his long-awaited 2022 win with Argentina.

Exclusive interviews with eyewitnesses to John Lennon’s murder, unseen crime-scene photos and discussions with experts — including the psychiatrist who first assessed confessed murderer Mark David Chapman — shed light on the music icon’s killing, according to a new trailer Apple TV+ dropped Tuesday for the documentary series John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial.

The three-part series, narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor Kiefer Sutherland, debuts on Apple TV+ December 6.

Do you love animals, and the more exotic they are the better? Apple TV+ said Tuesday its two new documentary series “featuring the never-before-seen lives of the rarest animals on Earth” will come out soon.

The two series — Born to be Wild and Endangered Planet — consist of six parts apiece. But we’ll have to wait and see when they’ll air. We can probably expect trailers before too long.

After the success of Tiny World, Apple TV+ is going to the opposite extreme with Big Beasts. The documentary series puts whales, bears, gorillas and many more in center stage.

Tom Hiddleston is narrator, and the multi-part docuseries premiers on Earth Day. A new trailer gives a sneak peek.

In a brief new trailer Apple TV+ dropped Thursday for an upcoming documentary, moist-eyed tennis legend Boris Becker more or less admits to the camera that his life might be as good as over. His sentencing took place just days later. He went to prison for hiding assets to avoid paying debts.

“It’s Wednesday afternoon,” Becker said in the interview. “Friday I will know the rest of my life.”

The interview footage, which you can watch at the link below, comes from an as-yet untitled, two-part film about Becker’s life made by two Oscar-winners — director Alex Gibney and producer John Battsek.

A new documentary series is coming to Apple TV+ January 13 — Super League: The War for Football. Its trailer, dropped Wednesday, makes it look like a spy thriller filled with betrayals is currently unfolding in the world of international soccer.

And it’s good timing on the streaming service’s part, promoting it during the world’s most-popular sport’s biggest event, the World Cup.

Ever wonder how champion pro athletes overcome all odds to win? Apple TV+ unveiled its trailer Tuesday for the second season of Emmy Award-winning sports documentary series Greatness Code.

It gives you a glimpse at what drives top athletes to succeed in impossibly competitive scenarios.

The series premieres May 13 on Apple TV+.