A confluence of factors compelled me to write this post, which is—and isn’t—about the best new documentaries to watch right now. First, someone asked me the question directly. Secondly, this type of click-bait headline is ubiquitous across the web, and I was curious to investigate it. And thirdly, after reading this terrific and funny article, “Google hates you,” by SFGATE tech columnist Drew Magary, I was reminded that the wickedness of the algorithm has infiltrated every facet of our lives, including, most insidiously, Google Search, far and away the world’s largest search engine (with a whopping 90% of the market share), and hence near total information control of what we know about everything. (I have since shifted all my default browsers to DuckDuckGo, which I would encourage you to do, as well.)
So if you ask Google, “What are the best new documentaries to watch right now?” the first thing you see is this “What to watch” grid of posters of nonfiction films (below), apparently sourced by the algorithms of streaming services.
It’s a weird list. Admittedly, there are a few very good documentaries sprinkled about, including Laura Poitras’ “Cover Up,” Gianfranco Rosi’s “Below the Clouds,” Tamara Kotevska’s “The Tale of Silyan,” and Suzannah Herbert’s “Natchez,” as well as some populist documentaries that have played in theaters recently (“The AI Doc”; “Marc by Sofia”; Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis concert doc). But there’s also a pile of true-crime and sensationalist streaming filler (“Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart”; “Titan: The Oceangate Disaster”; “Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy”; “Evil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story,” etc.) that overwhelms the visual map.
This might be a collection of documentaries right now, but it’s certainly not the best. And many of them are not particular new, either. Unless “new” includes within the last year or two? (“Cover Up” premiered on Netflix last December; several on the list streamed well before then.)
Can we teach the algorithm? I expect not—unless you’re Rotten Tomatoes (which operates as a joint venture between NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery) or IMDB (which is owned by Amazon). Rather, I expect such results will forever be manipulated by these very companies who obviously have a stake in the results and are controlling the outcomes.
Interestingly, if you scroll down from Google’s “What to watch” list, the next thing you see is a Rotten Tomatoes headline, “Documentaries to Stream at Home (2016),” which links to a page on RT that offers a similar wide variety of films, including some nonfiction trash with terrible reviews, along with some recently released movies, and some old ones, too. (2018 Oscar nominee “Minding the Gap” also slips onto the page for some unknown reason. It’s a great film, but why is it included in this collection of presumably new recommended documentaries?)
One major new quirk of Google Search is the next thing you see: its “AI Overview” results. Seemingly sourced from Rotten Tomatoes reviews, the AI offers, much to my surprise, three superb documentaries that I would agree are among the best new documentaries to watch right now: Alex Gibney’s “Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie,” Felipe Bustos Sierra’s “Everybody to Kenmure Street,” and Poh Si-Teng’s “American Doctor.” But there’s one problem: You can’t widely see any of these films right now unless they’re popping up at a film festival or limited theatrical run in a town near you. So what’s the verdict on the AI Overview results: “Best?” Check. “New?” Check. “Watch Right Now?” Not so much.
But far and away the absolute weirdest and most baffling result of the AI Overview is what comes next. Right after these films, it offers this surprisingly result:
In what world could “The Rosebud Podcast”—an online British talkshow hosted by a 78-year-old broadcaster and former politician Gyles Brandreth—possibly make sense to include in a list of best new docs? One can only assume this is Google’s way of trying to push you towards another one of its products (YouTube) rather than a non-Google-related streaming platform. But come on, Gemini, you can do better than this.
As SFGATE’s Magary writes, “Instead of giving you precisely what you want, a Google search in 2026 is more likely to give you only what you don’t want…. Google dot-com is less of a utility now than it is a roach motel: Enter something into its prompt, and suddenly you find yourself trapped inside a dungeon with no way out.”
So what are actually the best documentaries to watch right now: Again, if you can find them, by all means, keep an eye out for “Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie,” “Everybody to Kenmure Street,” and “American Doctor.” And they’re not particularly new, but if you haven’t yet seen “Cover Up” (on Netflix), “Below the Clouds” (on Mubi), “The Tale of Silyan” (on NatGeo), and “Natchez” (on PBS Documentaries’ YouTube channel), they are all worth watching.
Two other suggestions (one in theaters, and one new to streaming):
Ivy Meeropol’s “Ask E. Jean” is currently playing in theaters across the country, so while you can’t watch it right now, you can leave your house and see it close to now. Given that Trump’s mafia-style Justice Department just announced it’s going after E. Jean Carroll, the author, journalist, and former TV personality who successfully sued Donald Trump and won $88.3 million in damages for sexual abuse and defamation, this lively, well-told doc about Carroll, a strong and intelligent woman fighting for truth, justice, and her reputation couldn’t be more timely. Through skillfully edited archival context and intimate personal testimony, the documentary provides a powerful antidote and necessary alternative to the sensationalist headlines. With a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and its current theatrical release, it’s surprising that Google AI isn’t highlighting it. Or given its subject matter, maybe it’s not so surprising?
Lastly, a couple weeks ago, Robinson Devor’s fascinating “Suburban Fury” finally got a digital release after a short theatrical run last December. (You can watch it on distributor Kino’s website, with a free trial, or those other viewing platforms, if you must). Like Devor’s stunning “Zoo” (which I was big fan of in 2007), “Suburban Fury” is a haunting and highly subjective portrait of a person at the heart of a news event: In this case, it's Sara Jane Moore, a suburban San Francisco mother and unlikely radical who shot at President Gerald Ford in 1975 in a makeshift assassination attempt. You need to be patient with it, but Devor’s documentary filmmaking is surprising, stylized, and discomforting in all the best ways, taking the viewer on a weird and convoluted trip into a past—suffused with disillusionment, deception, and anger—that feels all too similar to our present.
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