Documentaries continue to thrive on Netflix this month, as evidenced by the solid stance of the true-crime three-parter that's been holding strong in the top spot on the streamer's Top 10, as of this writing.But the hits keep on coming, with two of this weekend's picks below also occupying space on that chart, proving that Netflix knows how to doc.Everything this weekend arrived this month and is streaming now for U.S.
subscribers—a timely reckoning with the lasting effects of 9/11, a new installment of Instadocs, this time focusing on a baffling presidential plane swap, and my top pick for weekend viewing, an Untold about one of my childhood heroes, a man with the most famous mohawk of all time.3 Turning Point: Generation 9/11 The lasting effects of a defining tragedy on its 25th anniversary Brian Knappenberger's fourth documentary is a feature-length follow-up to his five-part 2021 installment But on the 25th anniversary of the nation-defining terror attacks, shifts its focus away from the events of the actual day that will be forever burned into the minds of those of us old enough to experience its full impact, and instead examines how it has shaped the lives of those who were too young to know what was happening.With that hook in mind, is largely built with a mix of candid and emotional interviews with people who were all young children in 2001, and how the chain reaction of events—including America's response, the wars and conflicts that followed, and even connecting to current-day hot-button topics like immigration policy and ICE—defined the nation.
Using some chilling archival news footage and recovered audio calls from the towers and from United Flight 93, the doc isn't for the faint of heart.Especially impactful are the interviews, though, including Laurel Homer, who talks about her father, LeRoy W.Homer Jr., who was the first officer on United 93, and An Nguyen, whose father died at the Pentagon.
Former 9/11 Memorial oral historian Jenny Pachucki also delivers insightful perspectives, well-timed for this weekend.Netflix Subscription with ads Yes, $8/month Simultaneous streams Two or four Visit Netflix Expand Collapse 2 Instadocs: The Decoy Plane In one side and out the other—the president bails on the press pool Netflix's Instadocs series of short, timely documentaries returns for a third episode—the first two delivered an update on the Alex Murdaugh case and the weird world of prediction markets—this time focused on a bizarre story that the Washington Post broke only a few weeks ago.is a dumbfounding 28 minutes, which clearly makes for good Netflix Top 10 charting.
As to not spoil everything, here's the gist: In July, after the NATO summit in Turkey, President Trump boarded Air Force One (the O.G.AF1, not the fancy new Qatar-donated jet) at Ankara airport, but secretly slipped out the other side and into a catering truck that took him to a smaller C-32A plane across the tarmac.Both planes then flew the roughly 1,700 miles to England's RAF Mildenhall base, where Trump then snuck back onto Air Force One like nothing was up.
Except it was—AF1 was carrying the president's 13-person press pool while a credible, Iran-linked threat was reported, making the 747 a decoy.The mini-doc is a strange and entertaining watch, made up of tarmac footage and firsthand accounts from the suspicious press pool who could smell the story—including the Post's Dan Lamothe, Reuters' Gram Slattery, and AP photographer Alex Brandon, who provides many of the images of the suspicious catering truck.Related The 5 best documentaries of August 2026—on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, and more Reptile smugglers, Boeing's whistleblowers, and a college town's worst nightmare—August's documentary lineup was stacked.
Posts By Derek Malcolm 1 Untold Mr.T: I Pity the Fool The origin story of a pop culture icon When I was a kid in the '80s, I stood in a massive line for three hours at my local Toys "R" Us in Toronto to get a glimpse of my hero, Mr.T, who was handing out high-fives and telling us all to stay in school.
The blinged-out, mohawked superstar was larger than life and is the first celebrity I can actually remember meeting, and for good reason.All this is to say that I was happy (even if he wasn't) to see Netflix had given the cultural icon the Untold treatment in the popular sports documentary series' latest installment, .Filmmaker Scott Weintrob's 48-minute doc is a little thin, but it traces the life and career of the man born Laurence Tureaud (reportedly changed to Tero at age five, when his dad left), one of 12 children who grew up in the housing projects of Chicago's South Side.
It covers his time in the U.S.Army and his bodyguard work to being a bouncer at Dingbat's Disco, where an appearance on a televised tough-bouncer competition would attract the eye of Sylvester Stallone, who changed his life by casting him as s villain, Clubber Lang.Of course, it also delves into my favorite Mr.
T stint, The A-Team's B.A.Baracus, before exploring his long fade, much of it detailed by the man himself, in candid present-day interviews.M is a portrait of the highly disciplined and principled man behind all the gold chains, who legally renamed himself to force people to call him "Mister," a sign of respect that his father never got.
One of the doc's highlights is the interview time with unabashed superfan Terry Crews, who shares how the pop-culture legend influenced his life.Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Operating System Fire OS Resolution 4K $50 at Amazon $50 at bestbuy $50 at Target Expand Collapse Netflix's non-fiction lineup continues to soar Netflix's commitment to documentary films and series has been holding steady for years, providing wild and interesting things to talk about with our friends.Two of my favorite docs across all the streamers from last month are from Netflix, and while they can sometimes be hit or miss, there's always something new to check out.
Netflix Subscription with ads Yes, $8/month Simultaneous streams Two or four Live TV No Price Starting at $8/month Stream licensed and original programming with a monthly Netflix subscription.Visit Netflix Expand Collapse
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