Don’t Watch Tiger King. Watch these instead.
If you’ve been on the internet at all in the last month, you’ve seen the buzz about Netflix’s Tiger King. Everyone is talking about it, and it seems like everyone I know has watched it. I haven’t.
As a documentary filmmaker, there are many things I find alarming about this sensational series. Film critic Alissa Wilkinson explained it best in her article for Vox, “Let’s think twice about Tiger King.”
While watching Tiger King isn’t inherently bad, there are so many other documentary series to watch, many of which are much more deserving of your attention. We are all hungry for content right now, so here are five documentary series you can watch instead of wasting seven hours of your life on Tiger King.
Wild Wild Country
What is so appealing about a documentary series like Tiger King? The answer lies somewhere between the allure of the true-crime genre and the satisfaction of schadenfreude.
Wild Wild Country offers both of these elements without the ugly sensationalization of its characters. When Wild Wild Country first came out in 2018, it was met with wide acclaim and its fair share of criticism. Had this series been released during a global pandemic, I’m sure it would have enjoyed such widespread viewership as Tiger King.
Directed by brothers Maclain and Chapman Way, and executive produced by the Duplass brothers, Wild Wild Country offers a look inside cult behavior, suspicious characters you love to hate, and a sociopolitical commentary on the separation of church and state. While it does have some flaws, Wild Wild Country is both thoughtful and entertaining.
Wild Wild Country is streaming on Netflix.
If you’ve watched Wild Wild Country and loved it, Documentary Now produced an amazing parody of the series called Batsh*t Valley starring Owen Wilson.
The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez
Keeping with the genre of true-crime, The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez is a must-see. This series does more than just show you the facts of a case, it delves into the systemic issues that contributed to the crime.
Directed by Brian Knappenberger, this series is a fantastic, hard-hitting, and important contribution to the documentary genre. The filmmakers consider all angles to their story, interview everyone they could, and tell a complex narrative of a system that failed a child. The series is an important reminder of why we, as a society, need to do better for each other.
The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez is difficult to watch. It’s uncomfortable, terrifying even. I cried several times while I watched it. But this is why documentary filmmaking matters — to hold systems accountable when they fail and to remind us what is important.
The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez is streaming on Netflix.
The Keepers
The Keepers is another difficult series to watch, but it’s one of the first documentary series that struck a perfect balance between ethics and intrigue.
Director Ryan White attempts to uncover information about the unsolved murder of Cathy Cesnik, a beloved nun and Catholic high school teacher in Baltimore. While trying to uncover Sister Cathy’s story, the filmmaker and subjects stumble on the much bigger, systemic problem of sexual assault inside the Catholic Church.
White does a fantastic job balancing multiple narratives, telling this complex and sensitive story through conversations between friends, interviews with journalists and public officials, and occasional tense confrontations with suspects. The Keepers deserves more attention than it gets for its masterful editing and storytelling.
The Keepers is streaming on Netflix.
Sunderland ’Til I Die
Looking for something more light-hearted? Sunderland ’Til I Die is the perfect documentary series if you’re looking for escapism.
Sunderland ’Til I Die follows English soccer club Sunderland through two seasons as they try to bounce back after relegation from the Premier League. Executive producer Leo Pearlman, a 40-year fan of Sunderland, and his team craft a touching, heartfelt look at a soccer club in a struggling English town where the fans are just as important as the players.
If you don’t watch soccer, don’t let that dissuade you from watching Sunderland ’Til I Die. I know very little about the game, have never followed professional soccer in Europe or the United States, and still found myself enthralled with this series. Some have called Sunderland ’Til I Die the perfect antidote to the 2020 sports shutout.
Fans of all sports, especially those who love a good underdog story will enjoy watching Sunderland ’Til I Die.
Sunderland ’Til I Die is streaming on Netflix.
O.J.: Made in America
This is another series that made a huge splash when it came out in 2016, then quickly faded into obscurity. Released at the same time as FX’s crime drama series The People vs. OJ Simpson, the two are often confused. O.J.: Made in America goes way beyond the headlines, delving into the intricacies of Simpson’s famous murder case, the racially charged political climate during his trial, and his life after the verdict.
Directed by Ezra Edelman, a long-time producer of sports-related documentaries, O.J.: Made in America won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2016.
O.J.: Made in America is streaming on ESPN+ and is available on Amazon Prime Video.
