Best Documentaries on Hulu Right Now (September 2023)

Run Time: 1 hr 58 min | Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson

In the summer of 1969, Harlem held a 6-week-long music festival with some of the biggest names in soul music of the day. It was a massive success, hugely popular and recorded. And yet, no one has ever heard of it until now. Maybe because a few hours away there was another festival called Woodstock that would steal all the headlines. Questlove steps out from behind the drum set to direct and produce a fascinating look at this festival that was forgotten by history until the recent discovery of all the footage. He interviews concert attendees, performers, and people who were convinced it was all a dream in the fascinating Oscar nominee. – Jennifer McHugh

Run Time: 2 hr 8 min | Director: Alex Gibney

Emmy-winning documentarian Alex Gibney (Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief) presents a deep dive into the legacy of the co-founder of Apple and peels back the layers of his public persona to reveal the complicated man beneath. Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine features a collection of archival footage and interviews with people who both grew up with Jobs and worked closely with him as he and Steve Wozniak built the computer empire that would serve as the foundation for the tech industry as we know it. Gibney doesn’t shy away from the rough edges and the trail of broken lives that Jobs left behind, so if you’re expecting a puff piece, you’re in for a surprise about the darker side of Steve Jobs.

Run Time: 1 hr 40 min | Director: Landon Van Soest

Cast: Gerald Blanchard, Joseph Flore, Tristan Welsh

Not only inspired by incredible true events, The Jewel Thief is an unbelievable first-hand account of one man’s global crime spree. Centering on small-town nerd Gerald Blanchard, who regales with his own history, The Jewel Thief details the man’s journey from a small-town thief to a money-making machine before becoming an international criminal mastermind. Featuring in-depth interviews with Blanchard and his mother, as well as the detectives who tracked him across the planet, and dramatic reenactments featuring Joseph Flore as Blanchard, director Landon Van Soest shines a light on this man’s quest for fame and its ultimate costs. – Yael Tygiel

Run Time: 2 hr 18 min | Director: Lana Wilson

Cast: Brooke Shields, Scaachi Koul, Isobel Coleman

Award-winning director Lana Wilson (After Tiller) turns her camera towards a deep dive into the life of model and actress Brooke Shields (Pretty Baby) in this two-part documentary. Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields not only digs into the exploitation of Shields as a child star but also the demands of the modeling and celebrity industry for young girls and the way it shaped perceptions of women by sexualizing them before they even reach their teen years. It’s a stunning exploration of how Shields became an idol against her will and the ways she was able to break free and find herself as an adult. – Tauri Miller

Run Time: 1 hr 23 min | Director: Zackary Drucker

Cast: Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Tinsley Mortimer, Olivia Palermo

When you’re famous, every detail of your life is out on display for the public eye to scrutinize, and it becomes easy to lose control of the narrative — especially back in the early 2000s when blog culture was on the rise. Queenmaker: The Making of an It Girl is a delectable oral history of the height of the It Girl Era when Manhattan elites and corporate royalty like Paris Hilton, Tinsley Mortimer, and Olivia Palermo caught the attention of the nation through their lavish parties and aspirational lifestyles — while also being torn down by popular bloggers like Perez Hilton and the anonymous creator of Park Avenue Peerage, who is unmasked in this documentary. For a nostalgic slice of a bygone era, check out this captivating documentary.

Run Time: 56 min | Produced by: ABC News

Cast: AJ McLean, Melanie Martin, Taylor Helgeson

Aaron Carter: The Little Prince of Pop is a heartbreaking documentary chronicling the incredible life and devastating death of musician Aaron Carter. The documentary not only features archive footage of the young talent but also interviews with the people closest to him, including Carter’s fiancée Melanie Martin, Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean, and his manager Taylor Helgeson. Exploring the specifics of Carter’s struggles growing up in the spotlight, Aaron Carter: The Little Prince of Pop reveals the more prevalent insidiousness of the entertainment industry as it relates to the intertwining of addiction, mental illness, and fame. – Yael Tygiel

Run Time: 1 hr 29 min | Director: Jeremy Elkin

Cast: Eli Morgan Gesner, Rosario Dawson, Darryl McDaniels, Moby

Narrated by Zoo York co-founder Eli Morgan Gesner, All the Streets Are Silent is a fascinating documentary that explores the unexpected convergence of two iconic subcultures. Through interviews with Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka), Run DMC’s Darryl McDaniels, and Moby, as well as professional skateboarders and other creatives, All the Streets Are Silent highlights the synergy built when hip-hop and skateboarding intersected, especially in New York City during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Through footage and memories of the people who lived it, director Jeremy Elkin uncovers the cultural collision and connectivity of these distinct creative styles and languages. – Yael Tygiel

Run Time: 1 hr 30 min | Director: Alice Gu

Cast: Chuong Pek Lee, Susan Lim, Ted Ngoy

Sink your sweet tooth into this in-depth journey through the life of Ted Ngoy, Los Angeles’s own Donut King. Director Alice Gu makes her feature film debut with this snappy and detailed recounting of the rise and fall of the man who built an empire of donut shops throughout Los Angeles County by giving Cambodian refugees a place to call home and make a buck. Gu, being an LA native, brings a wonderful perspective to the story and her use of interviews, archival footage, and animation feels like a love letter — not just to her hometown but to the triumph and pride of the American immigrant story. – Tauri Miller

Run Time: 1 hr 40 min | Director: Tyson Sadler

Cast: Alexander Ayling, Lem Baing, Elizabeth Becker

In The Last Tourist, filmmaker Tyson Sadler unabashedly explores the horrendous ways in which traditional tourism unintentionally negatively impacts the very thing it came to witness. The Last Tourist deliberately puts modern tourism on trial, visiting over 15 countries to expose the consequences of humanity’s destructive forces when venturing into remote villages, untouched beaches, and wildlife habitats. Guided by conservation experts, environmental visionaries, and leaders in sustainable tourism, The Last Tourism confronts the burdens magnified by unethical travel forces on vulnerable communities around the globe. – Yael Tygiel

Run Time: 1 hr 28 min | Director: Michael Barnett

Cast: Mack Beggs, Sarah Rose Huckman, Terry Miller, Andraya Yearwood

Director Michael Barnett captures the realities of school sports and the discriminatory challenges for transgender athletes in the timely documentary Changing the Game. Centered on multiple young trans athletes, including Texas State wrestling champion Mack Beggs, Changing the Game allows for a variety of perspectives to be shared, as well as reveals the true range of experiences for these talented individuals. Featuring stories from a Connecticut-based track star who is openly transitioning (Andraya Yearwood) and Sarah Rose Huckman, a New Hampshire-based activist and skier, each path is unique. – Yael Tygiel

Run Time: 1 hr 14 min | Director: Steven Cantor

Set within the famed program of the same name, Ballet Now reveals the true story of Tiler Peck, a Prima Ballerina for the New York City Ballet, chosen as the first woman to curate the program. Featuring a diverse group of top-tier global dancers, Peck’s vision for the high-profile event includes a cleverly crafted mix of talent, highlighting a variety of styles, like tap, hip-hop, and even clown artistry. Director Steven Cantor captures the raw and unfiltered realities as Peck prepares to execute her unique and groundbreaking objective. Ballet Now chronicles the week leading up to the performance, where Peck serves not only as director and producer but will also dance in multiple pieces. – Yael Tygiel

Run Time: 1 hr 48 min | Director: Irene Taylor

Leave No Trace is a hard but important watch that explores the epidemic of sexual abuse in the Boy Scouts. Told through a combination of interviews with several of the brave survivors and archival footage, the documentary, which was directed by Peabody and Emmy-winning journalist Irene Taylor, meticulously investigates how the organization systematically covered up so much for so long. – Taylor Gates

Run Time: 1 hr 38 min | Director: Ursula Macfarlane

A difficult but important watch, Untouchable explores the rise and fall of Harvey Weinstein. The documentary features interviews with both former colleagues and some of the brave women who came forward about their sexual misconduct. Untouchable examines the culture that allowed this abuse to happen – and dives into the subsequent #MeToo movement when some of these horrific crimes became public. Director Ursula Macfarlane does a masterful job approaching the subject with empathy, tackling the difficult topic with care, complexity, and clarity. – Taylor Gates

Run Time: 1 hr 30 min | Director: Peter Nicks

Homeroom is a timely and touching documentary about the young people in an Oakland, California, high school who use their voices to speak for their community about police presence in schools. Following a group of graduating seniors, Homeroom dives into the issues that matter to the students in Oakland, revealing the inequalities and injustices they face, following the realities of budget cuts and ill-equipped facilities. Ultimately an uplifting story of hope, Homeroom does not shy away from sharing the dramatic tribulations facing young people in Oakland and across the United States. –Yael Tygiel

Run Time: 1 hr 26 min | Director: Skye Borgman

Looking for true crime with a twist? Boy, do we have the movie for you. Dead Asleep explores the case of Randy Herman Jr., who was convinced of murdering his childhood best friend and roommate Brooke Preston. Herman, however, claims that he was sleepwalking when he killed her and thus can’t be held accountable for her death. Spoiler alert: The documentary never answers the question either way, leading the audience to draw our own conclusions, but it does present some compelling – and shocking – evidence. – Taylor Gates

Run Time: 1 hr 11 min | Director: Soleil Moon Frye

Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster) directed and produced this never-before-seen intimate glimpse at Hollywood’s child stars of the 1990s, featuring exclusive clips pulled from Frye’s personal collections of over hundreds of hours of footage she shot growing up in the limelight. Frye unveils a behind-the-scenes look at herself and her friends in the industry through the lens of a camcorder that she carried around for years, capturing their secrets on film. Kid 90 is a fascinating documentary for any pop culture-loving Millennial, as it exposes the realities of childhood stardom, with stories directly from pinnacle 90s kids, like Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved By The Bell), as well as readings from Frye’s own private diaries. As both narrator and filmmaker, Frye’s interaction with her interview subjects allows for a comfort that eases into a voyeuristic examination of their childhoods. Other interviews include David Arquette (Scream), Stephen Dorff, and Brian Austin Green (90210), who examine their own journeys as rising stars. –Yael Tygiel

Run Time: 1 hr 42 min | Director: Scott Barber, Adam Sweeney

Nostalgia is king, and 90s kids can’t seem to get enough of it! The Orange Years: A Nickelodeon Story explores the beloved shows that launched a network from humble beginnings to the top of children, and even tween, programming, including Rocco’s Modern Life and the much-beloved duo Kenon & Kel. This documentary shares an illustrative behind-the-scenes look at the Nickelodeon Network during its iconic, slime-covered years, which to this day continues to hold a special place in so many hearts. The Orange Years dives deep with honest stories and candid memories from the household names the network was responsible for producing, including Kenon Thompson (SNL), Larisa Oleynik (Alex Mack), and Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants). – Yael Tygiel

Run Time: 1 hr 44 min | Director: Sam Pollard

A documentary that eschews the typical cinematic language of the form to create something far more reflective, director Sam Pollard’s remarkable MLK/FBI uncovers the prolonged surveillance campaign of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and reveals the lengths to which those at the FBI would go to destroy him. Avoiding the distractions of typical talking head cutaways, the documentary weaves their voices into a tapestry of archival footage that it uses to set the stage for what was going on just off-camera. It engages with history in a way no other film has, showing just how expansive the surveillance of the civil rights activist was and what impact that had on him leading up to his assassination. Whether you think you know everything about the man or feel as though you don’t know anything, this documentary serves as a necessary reexamination of the past that challenges our previously held notions in search of the truth. – Chase Hutchinson

Run Time: 2 hr 17 min | Director: Ron Howard

Oscar-winning director Ron Howard brings the frenetic touring years of the Fab Four to the screen in The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years. This documentary is a celebration of The Beatles; Howard is less bothered with the in-fighting, the drug use, and the controversies that followed the band around. Instead, this documentary is about Beatlemania and how the band was worked to the bone during their peak years of touring. The film also brings a different perspective to the band’s touring years—race relations. Howard and writer Mark Monroe include interviews with Whoopi Goldberg and historian Kitty Oliver, who recount their experiences of being fans of the band. This segment in the documentary, particularly, sets The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years apart from the countless other documentaries that have been made about them. And, to capture a semblance of what it may have been like to see the band live on stage, the documentary ends with restored footage of the Shea Stadium concert. This is pure joy for any fan of The Beatles. – Monita Mohan

Run Time: 1 hr 44 min | Director: Jed Rothstein

Before you watch WeCrashed, the Apple TV series starring Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway, tune into the documentary about the rise and fall of WeWork. This film explores the unprecedented growth of the co-working space company started by Adam Neumann and how his charisma and unorthodox ways of running a business both led to its massive success and ultimate demise. If you enjoy business-focused documentaries with a fascinating figure at the helm like Elizabeth Holmes in The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, this documentary will be right up your alley. – Taylor Gates