Watch Documentary & Biography TV Shows Online

The purpose of a TV documentary, as is probably obvious from the genre's name, is to document something. Documentaries are non-fiction programs that examine a subject closely, and the intent of the program may be broadly educational, or it may attempt to make a cultural or political point. Although the earliest TV programming was focused on entertainment, documentaries quickly became a significant part of TV programming overall, and now some of the most popular TV networks concentrate almost exclusively on non-fiction programs.

Documentary TV programming comes in a number of forms. Stand-alone documentary films explore one subject in depth in a single film or in a short series of episodes, while documentary series often look at a different subject in each episode, with no direct connection between the subjects from episode to episode. News-magazine-style shows may group multiple segments within each episode; the segments typically focus on unrelated subjects. Other types of documentary series-crime and paranormal series are currently popular-explore a different specific subject in each episode, but all of the subjects conform to the overall theme of the series.

Biography is a sub-genre of documentary programming that tells the story of a particular individual. Historical figures, political leaders, entertainers, sports figures and other celebrities are, of course, the most popular subjects of TV biographies, and biographical documentaries are consistently popular with TV viewers. In recent years, the series "Biography" was one of the most successful productions on the A&E cable network-so much so that the network spun the series off into its own channel, The Biography Channel, which debuted in 1999.

Much of the programming that fits into the reality TV genre could also fit fairly comfortably into the documentary genre. Reality series that follow characters as they engage in specific occupations or live in unusual contexts educate viewers about those occupations and lifestyles at the same time that they entertain-although the main goal of these series is entertainment, and factual accuracy may suffer as a consequence.

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    Documentary & Biography
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Ghost Adventures
The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch
My 600-lb Life
48 Hours Mystery
How It's Made
Evil Lives Here
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team
American Experience
Nellyville
Shark Week
Outcry
Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch
Portrait Artist of The Year
River Monsters
Prehistoric Planet
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
Gold Rush: White Water
Planet Earth
Ancient Aliens
Ghost Hunters
Dirty Jobs
Strange Sex
American Masters
Forensic Files
Intervention
I Shouldn't Be Alive
Cook's Country
Long Way Round
Disappeared
American Monster
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
Dateline
See No Evil
The Civil War: A Film By Ken Burns
Beyond Skinwalker Ranch
Nature
Untold Stories of the E.R.
Bering Sea Gold
Grant
The First World War
Court Cam
Rust Valley Restorers
Ken Burns: The Dust Bowl
Storm Chasers
Muhammad Ali
My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding
Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up
Biography
Good Eats
Undercover Billionaire
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History
The Grand Tour
The Vikings
WWII in the Pacific
Long Way Down
The Food That Built America
Thomas Jefferson
No One Saw a Thing
The Unxplained
The Clinton Affair
Beachfront Bargain Hunt: Renovation
Million Dollar American Princesses
Colonial House
These Woods Are Haunted
Diana
Gangsters: America's Most Evil
Modern Marvels
Landscape Artist of the Year
Eyes on the Prize
The Ghost Inside My Child
Unexpected
Berlin 1945
Mean Girl Murders
Expedition X
Fake or Fortune?
Disasters at Sea
Body Cam
Six Schizophrenic Brothers
In With the Old
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV
Polyamory: Married and Dating
The Lost Kitchen
Signs of a Psychopath
Paranormal 911
Biography: WWE Legends
City Confidential
Mysteries of the Abandoned
Ride with Norman Reedus
The Serpent Queen
Mark Twain
Carrier
Paranormal State
Country Music
Roadworthy Rescues
The Hotel Inspector
Accused: Guilty or Innocent?
The Power of Myth with Joseph Campbell - Season 1
American Gangster
Autopsy The Last Hours of...
Unusual Suspects