I am weird and my favorite things to watch are documentaries and reality romance shows. I figured I would put together some of my favorite entertainment during my DIY projects!
Documentaries
| Documentary | Platform | Description |
| First Invasion: The War of 1812 | Prime Video | The film was about the American War of 1812, when the Americans fought the British for the first time since the American Revolutionary War. Nominated for an Emmy |
| Downfall: The Case Against Boeing | Netflix | The documentary examines the crashes of two Boeing 737 MAX planes which claimed the lives of 346 people on board and how Boeing may have been more concerned with financial gain over the safety of their passengers |
| Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed | MAX | Features several ex-members of the church who share harrowing allegations of the trauma, abuse, homophobia and financial and labor exploitation that created a culture of chaos at Hillsong. |
| The Secrets of Hillsong | Hulu | FX’s “The Secrets of Hillsong” is a four-part documentary series based on the explosive original reporting on the megachurch’s scandals. |
| Tour de France: Unchained | Netflix | Following cycling teams as they compete in the 109th edition of the grueling, month-long bike race, starting in Copenhagen, Denmark, and ending with the final stage on the Champs-Élysées, Paris. |
| Grant | Prime Video | Enlightening docuseries of Ulysses S Grant (he is WAY cooler than I thought he was) made by Leonardo DiCaprio |
| Medal of Honor | Netflix | Each episode tells the story of a different medal of honor recipient. Episode 5 about Vito Bertoldo is my favorite! |
| Making a Murderer | Netflix | The show tells the story of Steven Avery. He served 18 years in prison for his wrongful conviction for a sexual assault. Then when he is suing the police for millions, he is arrested again for murder… |
| MH370 | Netflix | In 2014, a plane with 239 people aboard vanishes from all radar. This docuseries delves into one of our greatest modern mysteries: Flight MH370. |
| Bobby for President | Netflix | The story of Bobby Kennedy, JFK’s little brother. |
| Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror | Netflix | Chronicling events of Sept. 11, 2001, with interviews from administration officials, ex-CIA members, U.S. veterans, Afghanistan National Army soldiers, Taliban commanders, Afghan government officials, Afghan warlords, Afghan civilians and survivors. |
| 13th | Netflix | Scholars and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom. |
| Hillary | Hulu | The story of Hillary Clinton directly from Hillary Clinton. |
| Wormwood | Netflix | The tragic death of an army scientist is reported in 1953 after he takes a fatal plunge from a hotel window. In 1975, a report connects his death to a top-secret CIA experiment. |
| Active Measures | Hulu | The most successful espionage operation in Russian history, the US presidential election of 2016. Filmmakers expose an insidious plot devised by Putin to disrupt and control world events (you can also buy it on Amazon Prime Video). |
| Long Shot | Netflix | When Juan Catalan is arrested for a murder he didn’t commit, he builds his case for innocence around raw footage from a popular TV show. |
| The Staircase | Netflix | Accident or murder? After the mysterious death of his wife, author Michael Peterson watches his life go under the microscope. |
| EAT THE RICH The GameStop Saga | Netflix | Millennial misfits band together online to rescue their beloved GameStop from the clutches of Wall Street bigwigs, in a viral David vs. Goliath story for the 21st century. |
| Terrorism Close Calls | Netflix | Terrorism Close Calls explores the terrorist attacks that almost happened or were not executed as planned. Each episode follows law enforcement officers and terrorism specialists as they discuss near catastrophes and reveals the techniques, plans and tricks used by authorities to apprehend those responsible. |
| DB Cooper: Where Are You?! | Netflix | Decades after a skyjacker jumps off a plane with $200,000, his identity remains a mystery. |
| REVEALED The Hunt for Bin Laden | Amazon Prime Video | A look at the ten-year effort to find Osama bin Laden, the man responsible for the 9/11 attacks and the leader of the terrorist group al-Qaeda. |
| Trump and Russia | Amazon Prime Video | Sex, spies, and the election that changed the world. It’s the story of the century: The US President and his connection to Russia. In a Four Corners special, award winning investigative reporter Sarah Ferguson follows the spies and the money trail from Washington, to London, to Moscow. |
| JFK Declassified: Tracking Oswald | Hulu, Amazon Prime Video | In this limited series, former CIA agent Bob Baer and former LAPD Lt. Adam Bercovici take a look at more than 2 million declassified government files regarding the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The files provide new evidence about the activities of Lee Harvey Oswald — Kennedy’s killer — in the weeks, months and years leading up to the day he shot the president. |
| Greatest Events of WWII | Netflix | The story of the WWII through the ten most pivotal turning points in the conflict. Gripping story-telling, illustrated with restored archive and supported by a global cast of stellar historians bring this crucially important era in history to life. |
| WWII in Color Road to Victory | Netflix | Gripping historical footage and expert commentary give detailed insights into the leading figures and decisive turning points of WWII. |
| Spy Wars with Damian Lewis | Amazon Prime Video | The true stories behind some of the most gripping and significant covert operations of the last forty years, looking not only at the thrilling espionage and undercover work, but also the personal and international consequences for those involved. |
| Declassified Untold Stories of American Spies | Amazon Prime Video | Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers hosts this CNN original series, an eight-part look at complex true stories of America’s covert operations. The newly declassified missions are recounted firsthand by agents from all 16 U.S. intelligence bureaus, providing viewers with unprecedented access to a secret world of espionage. |
| Shadow Ops | Amazon Prime Video | Go behind the scenes of real-life spy games during the Cold War. From Vladimir Vetrov, who becomes America’s single greatest asset in the US-Soviet intelligence battle, to Martha Peterson, a CIA secret weapon in a man’s world of espionage, these spies funnel intel from the highest levels of the Kremlin all the way to the White House. |
| CIA Declassified | Amazon Prime Video | Go behind the headlines and behind closed doors to learn how the CIA brought justice to those responsible for attacks against our nation. From drone technology to Seal Team 6 to the ‘Hollywood’ plan to rescue hostages in Iran, see how the CIA tracked down key targets such as Osama bin Laden and enemies behind the attacks on the USS Cole, the US Embassy in Kenya and more. |
| Bernie Madoff in His Own Words | Amazon Prime Video | Bernie Madoff: In His Own Words presents the story of the largest financial fraud in history as told by those who were there. |
| The Clinton Affair | Amazon Prime Video | Investigating the history leading to the impeachment proceedings of former President Bill Clinton; includes never-before-seen archival footage and exclusive in-depth interviews from those closest to the political scandal. |
| Inside The American Mob | Amazon Prime Video | Take a look at the little-known but pivotal escapades, capers and cadavers that truly compose the history of the mob in America. |
| Watergate | Amazon Prime Video | The story behind America’s most explosive scandal, which brought down the presidency of Richard M. Nixon and sent over 40 people to jail. |
| The Case Against Adnan Syed | HBO | A re-examination of the 1999 disappearance and murder of 18-year-old Hae Min Lee in Baltimore County and the subsequent conviction of her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed. When you are done watching it, google where he is now!! |
| Our Father | Netflix | After a woman’s at-home DNA test reveals multiple half-siblings, she discovers a shocking scheme involving donor sperm and the popular and controversial fertility specialist Doctor Donald Cline. |
| I’ll Be Gone in the Dark | HBO | An exploration of the case of the Golden State Killer who terrorized California in the 1970s and 1980s, committing 50 sexual assaults and 10 murders, and true crime author Michelle McNamara’s obsessive quest to find justice on behalf of his victims. |
| Allen v. Farrow | HBO | A four-part series documenting the accusation of sexual abuse against Woody Allen involving Dylan, his then 7-year-old daughter with Mia Farrow; their subsequent custody trial, the revelation of Allen’s relationship with Farrow’s daughter, Soon-Yi; and the controversial aftermath in the years that followed. |
Reality Shows
| Show | Platform | Description |
| Drive to Survive | Netflix | Formula 1: Drive to Survive is a television documentary series produced in a collaboration between Netflix and Formula One, to give a behind-the-scenes look at the drivers and races of the Formula One World Championship. |
| Love is Blind | Netflix | The series follows fifteen men and fifteen women, all from the same metropolitan area, hoping to find love. For 10 days, the men and women date each other in purpose-built “pods” where they can talk to each other through a speaker but not see each other. The daters may extend a marriage proposal whenever they feel ready. A couple meets face-to-face only after a marriage proposal is accepted. |
| Traitors | Peacock | A group of contestants arrive at a castle with hopes of winning a large cash prize that is built up through missions. The players are referred to as the “Faithful” but among them are the “Traitors” – a group of contestants selected by the host, whose goal is to eliminate the Faithfuls and claim the prize for themselves. Should the Faithful contestants eliminate all the Traitors, they will share the prize fund, but if any Traitors make it to the end, they steal all of the money. There are US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand versions all on Peacock. |
| The Mole | Netflix | The series is a reality competition in which the contestants work as a group to add money to a pot that only one of them will eventually win. Among the contestants is one person who has secretly been designated “the Mole” by the producers, tasked with sabotaging the group’s money-making efforts. At the end of each episode, the contestant who knows the least about the mole, as determined by the results of a multiple-choice quiz, is eliminated from the game. The last contestant standing wins the game and the money in the pot. |
| Circle | Netflix | Not so much romance, but it is reality. It’s basically a popularity contest without meeting each other |
| Love Island | Hulu, CBS, Peacock, Netflix | Singles come together in a tropical location to look for love, with one couple winning a cash prize. Hulu: UK seasons 1-11, Australia seasons 1-3 CBS: US seasons 1-3 Netflix: US season 1 and 2 Peacock: US season 4-6 |
| Perfect Match | Netflix | Through a series of compatibility challenges and matchups, Nick Lachey takes hopefuls on a journey from single to soulmate, bringing together singles from other reality shows, including `Love Is Blind,’ `The Mole,’ `Too Hot to Handle,’ and others. |
| The Ultimatum | Netflix | Reality series that follows couples who are on the verge of marriage but have second thoughts about getting engaged. The show is a social experiment that tests the couples’ love by presenting them with ultimatums and giving them the opportunity to choose new partners. The couples must then decide whether to get married to their original partner or break up with them forever. |
| Dated and Related | Netflix | Basically love island, but you have to go with your sibling and try to find love with your sibling there watching |
| Bachelor / Bachelorette | ABC / Hulu | If you don’t know what this is.. I don’t know what to say |
| Bachelor in Paradise | ABC | Where all of the Bachelor / Bachelorette favorites get another chance to find love |
| Are You the One? | Netflix | They are paired with their perfect match and have to figure out who is their perfect match |
| F Boy Island | HBO or Amazon Prime Video | Half of the guys are “F boys” and half of the guys are “nice guys” and they are fighting for the love of 3 women [currently got taken off HBO to move to another network—stay tuned!] |
| Married At First Sight | Hulu | They have the original show and a bunch of follow-up shows (e.g., second chances, honeymoon island, etc.) |
| Circle | Netflix | Not so much romance, but it is reality. It’s basically a popularity contest without meeting each other |
| Too Hot To Handle | Netflix | They put a bunch of hot, horny teens together and they aren’t allowed to hook up. Otherwise, they lose some of their prize money |
TV Shows
| Show | Platform | Description |
| Circle | Netflix | Not so much romance, but it is reality. It’s basically a popularity contest without meeting each other |
| You | Netflix | A dangerously charming, intensely obsessive young man goes to extreme measures to insert himself into the lives of those he is transfixed by. |
| New Girl | Peacock | A socially awkward but endearing teacher moves in with three bachelors who think they understand love but are equally as lost. |
| Schitt’s Creek | Hulu | After being a victim of fraud, Johnny Rose and his family go from extremely wealthy to penniless overnight. The only asset left to them is a small, unsophisticated town: Schitt’s Creek. They relocate there. Culture shock ensues. |
| Parks and Rec | Peacock | A comedy about government workers in Pawnee, Indiana. Mid-level Parks department employee Leslie Knope promises her friend Ann Perkins that she’ll have a dangerous pit turned into a public park. But first she must counter resistance from Parks Director Ron Swanson and other bureaucratic obstacles. In later episodes, Leslie becomes a politician with the help of her coworkers. |
| The Office | Peacock | Mockumentary sitcom about the everyday lives of the workers at Dunder Mifflin, a paper company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. |
Audiobooks
| Audiobook | Description |
| A Cruel and Shocking Act by Philip Shenon | About everything that went wrong with the Warren commission (the commission that investigated the assassination of JFK) |
| The Commission by Philip Shenon | About everything that went wrong with the 9/11 commission (the commission that investigated 9/11) |
| Grant by Ron Chernow | Enlightening story of Ulysses S Grant (he is WAY cooler than I thought he was). FYI: Leonardo DiCaprio made a docuseries about this book on Amazon Prime Video that is super good |
Movies
| Movie | Platform | Description |
| Elvis | HBO | Austin Butler plays Elvis and there were parts where his wife couldn’t tell if it was Elvis or Austin! (TRUE STORY) |
| Argo | Netflix | Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans during the US hostage crisis in Iran in 1979. (TRUE STORY) |
| Imitation Game | Netflix | During World War II, the English genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code |
Am I missing anything good that you recommend? Share with us in the comments!
Now, check out some of my latest projects to get started in your home!
And of course, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel!
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