Documentaries to watch on Netflix and beyond in 2019: From Fyre Festival to Our Planet and Ted Bundy Tapes

Everyone is going wild over the wonderful world of documentaries right now, with new ones popping up on platforms by the day.

Netflix is arguably taking over the documentary realm with countless offerings to teach us something new and really build up that brain bank.

Sure its a laugh to binge on The Big Bang Theory, wonder what theory will pop up next for Friends or count the days down til the next Game Of Thrones episode, but isnt learning the non-fiction also fun?

90% of the time wed say heck no, but right now documentaries are flippin cool. Write that on a poster and stick it up on your inspiration board.

We do love a true crime tale, detailing some gnarly and grisly happenings but flick onto the teaching section of your tube and youre looking down the barrel of priceless knowledge of the environment, music, porn, like, everything youve ever wanted, okay?

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Here weve rounded up the most buzz-worthy of docos on Netflix, but also some smatterings on other platforms.

Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened

This documentary basically broke the internet with its coverage of the doomed Fyre Festival.

It unpacks the man behind the shebang, Billy McFarland, and what led to the palaver that resulted in him being put in prison for wire fraud following the festival-that-wasnt.

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Made for Netflix, the film was also produced alongside Jerry Media, a company who were involved with the marketing of the festival in the first place.

The film has a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was seen as the better of the two documentaries about the festival released at the same time – the other being Hulus Fyre Fraud.

To be fair, both are worthy of a watch if youre keen to see what the other half have to go through at music festivals.

Our Planet

You really cant go wrong with David Attenborough but this Netflix-produced series on the state Earth is in at the minute is something that is worthy of a view.

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David himself has said Our Planet is more than just an opportunity to preach to the millennial masses; its a mesmerising trip exploring every corner of the earth.

We travel from the Brazilian rain forest to the glaciers in Greenland – with spectacular scenes and never-before-seen footage of jaw-dropping natural events, arguably going above and beyond anything achieved on the BBC where we normally see Attenborough-narrated goodness.

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Each episode follows a different impact on life, such as hunting or fishing, and the cataclysmic repercussions each has on our diminishing habitat without wagging the finger.

Its not for the faint of heart, though, with the cameras not turning away when things get tough. But while viewers have been dashed to tears upon the walrus episode, shots are interchanged with an otters self-care routine and it really is a rollercoaster ride of emotion.

Abducted In Plain Sight

The doco that sent chills up our spines, this one focuses on the story of Jan Broberg, who was abducted, raped and abused by family friend Robert Berchtold as a child in the 70s.

Its not just a case of guy kidnaps 12-year-old though, it goes much deeper and into weird territory.

There is this bizarre alien parallel, while Robert also gets involved with Jans parents in the most chilling of ways in order to get his actions over the line.

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The film is by far one of most disturbing true crime stories around, and raised a number of questions with viewers, with Jans parents facing intense scrutiny from audiences.

The Disappearance Of Madeleine McCann

Just riffing on this abduction theme because who doesnt love a grisly tale you saucy punters.

This one focuses on the alleged kidnap of little Maddie, the details of which still elude everyone to this day.

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The disappearance of the then three-year-old became one of the highest-profile missing persons cases ever to have captured the worlds attention, as she went missing from her familys hotel room while they were holidaying in Portugal in 2007.

The eight-part series launched on Netflix last month which looked at the disappearance with re-enactments and interviews with those involved from the get-go; mainly from journalists who covered the case.

While its not like it uncovered the truth and the girl has been found, it sure did rehash some interesting details.

Behind The Curve

You might have heard YouTuber Logan Paul go on about Flat Earthers when he attempted to troll everyone, including the theorists themselves, by pretending to be one.

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While were not all that sure he wasnt bluffing about that, there is a documentary you can watch that will get you up to speed with the (totally laughable) idea the Earth is flat.

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The documentary is so beautifully put together that at the end they basically prove the earth is round – its a thing of genius wonder.

Released last year, but gaining a lot of movement earlier in 2019, Bob Knodel, a Flat Earther and YouTuber, attempted to show the world is a disc through an experiment with a gyroscope. Naturally, it didnt work.

Meanwhile, Jeran Campanella, Knodels co-host, conducted another experiment with a torch and a camera. He explained an experiment to prove his flat earth theory by shining a light through holes cut into two pieces of styrofoam at the same height. Campanella claimed that the light should be able to be seen on a camera positioned behind the second hole, proving that the Earth is flat.

That experiment also didnt work.

As the viewer, though, we had a lot of fun watching them try.

Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes

Before you watch Zac Efron get his psychopath on in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile next month, look at the actual happenings of serial killer Ted Bundy in Netflixs series on the murderer.

The collection of episodes features hours of unheard audio from the notorious murderer, taking a seriously in-depth look at his crimes and methodologies.

Recorded while Ted was on death row in 1980, the recordings were made by journalist Simon Michaud and investigative reporter Hugh Aynesworth, and consist of over 100 hours worth of audio.

Its an understatement to say hearing Ted talk about his crimes will stick with you – so dont watch these episodes right before you go to bed. Or alone.

Cocaine Island

Something on the more criminal and sinister side, this new offering from the streaming giants is all about the drug.

The documentary follows the real-life story of a bunch of men from Americas south as they band together to chase their fortune in a legendary pot of gold to be found in the Caribbean.

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Except its not actually gold. Its cocaine. Buried cocaine.

Directed by Theo Love, the documentary follows Rodney Hyden, a small business owner and family man from Central Florida.

After he loses his fortune, Hyden hears whispers about a map that leads whoever possesses it to a mythical $2million (£1.5million) stash of cocaine buried on an island in the Caribbean.

He joins a group of misfits and together they embark on a journey to find said drugs – without any prior drug-running experience.

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