19 Docs and Real-Life Series to Watch This Summer

The second season of this docu-series once again follows the audition process for the DCC team, as overseen by longtime director Kelli Finglass and veteran choreographer Judy Trammell. The show picks up at the start of the NFL’s 2024-25 season. An unusually large number of veterans have retired, leaving 12 spots open for the new candidates, which include a staffer’s daughter as well as returning hopefuls who were cut in Season 1 and in the show’s predecessor, CMT’s Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. (Streaming on Netflix)

Twenty-seven years ago, 23-year-old Amy Bradley went on a cruise headed to the Caribbean island of Curaçao with her parents and younger brother. Two nights into the voyage, Amy spent the evening dancing at the ship’s nightclub and was last seen resting on the balcony in her cabin. The next morning, her father went to check on her — but she was gone, leaving only a polo shirt and a pair of sandals behind as clues. She’s never been found. This three-part docuseries explores investigation, leads and purported sightings in the years since her disappearance. (Premieres July 16 on Netflix)

Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything takes a closer look at the longtime broadcaster’s childhood, relationships and career. “We really wanted to make sure that we understood all angles of her,” director Jackie Jesko recently told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s not only her record-breaking insane television career in which she interviewed dictators, celebrities and all these different kinds of people with equal skill and publicity, it’s also who she was, what made her tick, and really her greater contribution to the industry.” (Streaming now on Hulu)

The Piano Man gets the documentary treatment in this two-part documentary, debuting less than two months after Joel announced he had been diagnosed with brain disorder normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), leading him to cancel his upcoming concerts and prompting concern from fans. (He was unable to attend the doc’s premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival due to his health condition.) The nearly five-hour doc takes an in-depth look at Joel’s life and work, featuring exclusive interviews with the artist as well as friend and former collaborator Jon Small; ex-wives Elizabeth Weber (who also served as Joel’s manager), Christie Brinkley and Katie Lee; daughter Alexa Ray Joel; wife Alexis Roderick Joel, members of his bandl and fellow musicians including Bruce Springsteen, Sting, John Mellencamp, Nas, Pink, Garth Brooks and Paul McCartney. It also features never-before-seen performances, home movies and personal photos. (Premieres July 18 and July 25 on HBO/HBO Max)

The U2 frontman takes viewers inside his life and career and performs many of his band’s hits in this documentary, which is described as “a bold and lyrical visual exploration” of Bono’s one-man show by the same name. The doc, based on his memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story and the accompanying book/theater tour, finds Bono sharing stories about his roles as a son, father, husband, activist and rock star. It also features never-before-seen, exclusive footage from his Beacon Theatre shows. (Streaming on Apple TV+)

Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson produced this three-part docuseries, which takes a look at the Gilgo Beach murders and the aftermath. The documentary features exclusive commentary from the family of accused killer, Rex Heuermann, who has been charged in seven murders in the Long Island area. It also goes inside his home. Heuermann, who has pleaded not guilty, was back in the news earlier this month when a Jeep and trailer he owned were listed for sale on eBay by his ex-wife. The site has since taken the listing down, saying it violated its rules against “listings that glorify violence or violent acts,” according to Newsweek. (Streaming now on Peacock)

The Idaho Student Murders takes a look at the killings of four students in Moscow, Idaho — Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin — whose bodies were found Nov. 13, 2022, in an off-campus house. Criminology student Bryan Kohberger was the main suspect in the students’ death and had maintained his innocence for nearly three years. But on July 2, he entered a shocking plea of guilty on all counts. This 90-minute documentary debuted July 3, one day after Kohberger pleaded guilty. Peacock says it features “raw, never-before-seen interviews” with family and friends of the victims and takes a close look at the evidence against Kohberger, in addition to exploring his “past, his troubled relationships with women and the possible motivations that drove him to commit such heinous crimes.” (Streaming now on Peacock)

Ewan McGregor and his best friend, Charley Boorman, continue their filmed travels around the world, this time choosing to explore countries in their native Europe. Heading out on vintage motorcycles, they visit 17 countries over the course of nine weeks. “When you explore the world, it makes you feel so connected to the people and the culture,” McGregor says in the trailer. (Streaming on Apple TV+)

Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay set out to tell a story about her famous mother, Jayne Mansfield, who died in a car accident when Hargitay was only 3 years-old. But she also explored her own identity — and shared a long-held secret about her biological father — in the documentary, which recently qualified for Oscar consideration, with a campaign to come. “It was really during COVID that I had all this time to process things that I had never processed before, and I started reading these letters from people who knew her,” Hargitay told THR of her motivation in making the doc. “I was so moved by the generosity and thoughtfulness that people would send me what felt like these precious little pieces of her. This one woman said she used to drive to [Mansfield’s] house and sit in the driveway and listen to her play the violin, which piqued my interest but also made me think about, ‘Who was this person behind what we saw on this iconic level?’ I started really wanting to know who she was.” (Streaming now on HBO Max)

Joshua Rofé’s docuseries centers on a family-owned funeral home that “hid behind a façade of decency and propriety to take advantage of loved ones at their most vulnerable moments,” as HBO puts it. The Mortician follows the scandal, which involved mass cremations as well as the stealing and selling of body parts and dental gold from the dead. The doc features an interview with David Sconce, newly released from prison, who took over the family business in the 1980s, along with families of the victims and former employees. The series ended with an ending reminiscent of HBO’s other hit docuseries, The Jinx. “I could not have imagined that a moment like that would occur,” Rofé told THR. (Streaming on HBO Max)

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws may be turning 50 this year, but interest in the marine predator hasn’t waned. In fact, this year Netflix joins Discovery Channel and National Geographic in streaming shark-focused programming. NatGeo’s lineup includes Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story, authorized by Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment and featuring “rare archival footage and interviews with acclaimed Hollywood directors, top shark scientists and conservationists.” Netflix’s offerings include Shark Whisperer, which follows marine conservationist and social media activist Ocean Ramsey, who swims freely with sharks as part of her mission to protect them. Discovery Channel, meanwhile, will feature a new special dubbed Dancing With Sharks, hosted by former Dancing With the Stars host Tom Bergeron. Discovery describes it as “an unprecedented underwater dance competition between expert divers and their shark partners.” And, if you’re interested in seeing the mother of all sharks on the big screen, Jaws will get a one-week theatrical release starting Aug. 29. (Netflix launched its shark-themed programming June 30; NatGeo’s Sharkfest kicked off July 5; Discovery’s Shark Week programming event starts July 20)

Sherri Papini, a wife and mother of two, generated headlines in 2016 when she went missing and again when she was arrested in 2022 for faking that kidnapping. In this new docuseries, she finally tells her side of the story. In the show, she asks filmmaker Nicole Rittenmeyer if she believes it will help or harm her. “I hope, if nothing else, this makes her more of a person and not an object,” Rittenmeyer told THR. “A person who had her motivations and is deeply flawed, no doubt. And that’s what I told her.” (Streaming on HBO Max)

George Clooney is among the producers of this documentary, which explores a sexual abuse scandal in the Ohio State University athletic department. The film is based on a 2020 Sports Illustrated story by Jon Wertheim that detailed the allegations against Dr. Richard Strauss, an Ohio State athletics doctor from 1978-98. The film features several survivors of Strauss’ abuse, including former All-American wrestler and UFC champion Mark Coleman, along with Adam DiSabato, Michael DiSabato, Will Knight, Al Novakowski, Rockey Ratliff, Dan Ritchie and Mike Schyck. They share not only the stories of what happened to them but also how they have tried to hold the university accountable for Strauss’ actions. (Streaming on HBO Max)

The world was captivated when OceanGate’s Titan submersible went missing in June 2023 on a dive to visit the remains of the Titanic. Two recent docs — Discovery’s Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster (streaming on HBO Max) and Netflix’s Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster — feature interviews with former OceanGate employees, Coast Guard investigators, victims’ family members and experts — to piece together how the tragedy occurred. (Streaming now on HBO Max and Netflix)

Ever wonder what went on inside the so-called “poop cruise”? Or why a father would (falsely) claim that his 6-year-old son was lost and inside an airborne homemade dirigible? This Netflix series looks at the stories behind some of the biggest headlines in recent years, with episodes including “Mayor of Mayhem” (about the scandal surrounding former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford), “The Astroworld Tragedy,” “The Cult of American Apparel” and “The Real Project X,” among others. (New episodes debut Tuesdays on Netflix)

Like your animals a little less threatening? NatGeo’s Underdogs, narrated and executive produced by Ryan Reynolds, spotlights animals on the lowest level of the food chain. The five-episode series spotlights animals with “bizarre mating strategies, surprising superpowers, deception, dubious parenting skills and gross-out behaviors,” per NatGeo. This includes a cave in New Zealand that “glows brighter than a bachelor pad under a black light thanks to the glowing butts of millions of mucus-coated grubs.” “We’re so proud to elevate the unsung heroes of the natural world to the top of the entertainment food chain and can’t wait for everyone to see,” Reynolds told THR. (Streaming now on Disney+ and Hulu)