One thing about me, I am not a big movie girl unless I’m sat in a theater with good food and friends or if my hyper-fixation celebrity is in the picture somewhere. I can’t sit still as is, so putting me in front of a screen for 2 hours doesn’t change anything about that fact.
Also, I cannot stand watching TV. I am known to abandon shows halfway through or rack on a list of untouched suggestions from my friends. I struggle to find a show that can keep my interest or really speak to me like it seems to do for so many others.
Yes this can be very socially isolating since I am constantly hearing people rave about things that I seem to be the “only” person who has not watched, or get asked the ice breaker of “what’s your favorite tv show” and have to say… “I don’t really watch TV…”.
After years of living this way, during my senior year I finally found a piece of media that I can happily and excitedly consume, a way to fit in!
DOCU-SERIES!!!! Netflix has dozens of incredible ones, and I can’t help but binge them. To me, they are so interesting and addicting, which is a feeling I had previously never known. As an enormous philomath, I am obsessed with the fact I can watch something so crazy while learning about a real life instance and real life things.
They also cater to all of my specific interests! True crime, health and medicine, other sciences and so on. I find them to be just so entirely riveting.
After riding this new high of being what I thought was the TV girl my friends were, I learned that NOBODY I knew liked docu-series, or even watched them. Once again, I was isolated and even teased.
I don’t care anymore. I am a proud docu-series lover. To me, they are SO underrated.
In an effort to share what I find to be these incredible pieces of work, here are some of my favorites I’ve seen in recent times, and where you can watch them.
Bad Surgeon: Love under the knife
This one was absolutely wild. Maybe the craziest one I have seen yet.
Following the life of a prestigious surgeon with an innovative new “man-made organ” and his romantic escapade with a journalist covering his story. Sounds normal right? Wrong. This man is nothing like he was cracked up to be, and your jaw will be dropped enough times that even once you’ve closed your mouth it still feels wide open.
I cannot believe the contents within this series are even real things that happened. Literally could not stop watching. Any of my family members who walked into my room when it was on also could not leave the room once they saw even a minute of it.
Episodes: 3
Total Duration: 2 hours and 39 minutes
Where to watch: Netflix exclusive
Things that could potentially upset you: Swearing, graphic medical images (evaluate if you’d care if you had to see down someone’s throat before watching pls do not watch and then get mad at me), hard topics such as death
Live to 100: Secrets of the blue zones
This one is much more wholesome than the previous one, as you follow Dan Buettner to some amazing parts of the world, filled with centenarians, people 100 or older.
You get to catch a glimpse into different inner workings of cultures and how they have contributed to impressive old ages across the board. These areas are “blue zones”, regions where the number of centenarians is very large and accounts for a majority of the elderly there.
Just so captivating and wholesome. Definitely unique to get to watch an almost 100 year old going to work on his farm every day as normal, or viewing the centenarians walking dozens of flights of stairs a day in their beautiful town.
Episodes: 4
Total Duration: 2 hours and 38 minutes
Where to watch: Netflix exclusive
Things that could potentially upset you: May cause a deep look into your lifestyle and a questioning on whether or not you will make it even close to 100, may cause strong urge to become vegetarian (these things DEFINITELY didn’t happen to me…. Ha…)
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Guys I’m really scared I want to be 100 very badly.
Murdaugh Murders: A southern scandal
A true crime series I could NOT stop watching.
This one is a prime example of how far a last name can get you in life… but can it get you out of murder?
The celebrities of their area, the Murdaugh family is a name that is not to be messed with… but when the youngest son and father both find themselves under scandals, who’s to say how far that could get them. Basically everyone in this family has something ugly hiding underneath their riches and prestige, and this docu-series is a true attention grabber.
Episodes: 6 across 2 seasons
Total Duration: 4 hours and 9 minutes
Where to watch: Netflix exclusive
Things that might bother you: Traumatic events, murder, extremely enraging instances of privilege, abuse, extreme alcohol usage, many firearms, Buster Murdaugh looks like Butch Pakovski from Jimmy Neutron
Conclusion:
Unless they are too triggering in some way, I highly recommend watching these.
I have hundreds of recommendations and I am always willing to spit some more out.
Docu-series deserve more love and hype, and I need you guys to be involved in this DRAMAAAAAAAAA!
They are just way too underrated and that is the hill I will die on.
Written in glittery gel pen ink in one of my dream journals, sitting high on my bucket list is “Create a Docu-series”, so everyone manifest I come upon something incredibly interesting at some point that I can become a Netflix hit with. Also.. if it comes to this and something absolutely bonkers happens to me someone PLEASE make a docu-series about it like I am so serious.