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The Best Documentaries on Tubi Right Now (October 2026)

By Matt Oakes · October 25, 2026

Tubi is free and ad-supported, and buried among its thousands of titles are some genuinely great documentaries. These are the ones worth your time, led by The Painter and the Thief, Jodorowsky’s Dune, and Blackfish, each a documentary I’ve reviewed or ranked among the best of its year.

Every pick links to where it’s streaming, and the list gets refreshed as titles come and go.

Critics and Audience scores from Rotten Tomatoes; ratings from IMDb. Scores as of October 2026.

THE PAINTER AND THE THIEF (2020)

Czech painter Barbora Kysilkova has two of her most celebrated works stolen in broad daylight, but rather than seek legal revenge against the addict thief, she invites him to become her artistic subject. A powerful portrait of the unlikely friendship between two deeply scarred and broken individuals, The Painter and the Thief explores forgiveness, addiction, trauma, and inspiration in a way that fictionalized dramas rarely can. Filmed over several years, Benjamin Ree’s twisty documentary is one of the best examples of truth being stranger than fiction.▶ Streaming on Tubi · From my Top Ten of 2020

JODOROWSKY’S DUNE (2013)

The story of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s mad, never-made adaptation of Dune and the visionary team he assembled to make it. It’s an infectious documentary about creative ambition, and you’ll leave wishing the film existed. Frank Pavich lets Jodorowsky’s infectious enthusiasm carry the film, and the storyboards alone are worth the watch.▶ Streaming on Tubi · Read the full review

BLACKFISH (2013)

98%Critics 90%Audience 8.1IMDb

The story of Tilikum, the orca behind multiple deaths at SeaWorld, and the industry that kept him captive. Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s documentary is infuriating and heartbreaking, and it changed how a lot of people think about marine parks.▶ Streaming on Tubi · Read the full review

HONEYLAND (2019)

100%Critics 86%Audience 8.0IMDb

Honeyland masterfully employs the documentary medium to tell a sprawling story about sustainability through the lens of a traditional Macedonian beekeeper. The perfect cross section of educational entertainment and storytelling prowess, the Sundance award winner is nectar for the soul that buzzes with poignancy.▶ Streaming on Tubi · Read the full review

BEST OF ENEMIES (2015)

Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon revisit the 1968 televised debates between William F. Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal, a bitter, brilliant sparring match that helped invent modern cable punditry. Best Of Enemies excels in its concept, execution, and timing. Educational though it may be, it’s as enjoyable as it is thought provoking.▶ Streaming on Tubi · Read the full review

SOME KIND OF HEAVEN (2021)

Lance Oppenheim visits The Villages, a sprawling Florida retirement community, and finds loneliness and longing beneath its manicured surface. It’s a gorgeous, gently surreal portrait of aging in an artificial paradise, and a calling card for one of nonfiction’s most distinctive voices.▶ Streaming on Tubi

THE DISSIDENT (2020)

Bryan Fogel investigates the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and the regime that ordered it. It’s a meticulous, chilling thriller about power, surveillance, and the price of dissent.▶ Streaming on Tubi

CARTEL LAND (2015)

Vigilante groups on both sides of the US-Mexico border take up arms against the drug cartels, and the lines between them blur fast. Matthew Heineman’s camera gets astonishingly close to the violence, and the access pays off in a documentary that plays like a thriller.▶ Streaming on Tubi · Read the full review

CALL ME LUCKY (2015)

Bobcat Goldthwait profiles his friend and mentor Barry Crimmins, a scathing political comic whose anger was fueled by the childhood abuse he later fought to expose. It’s funny, furious, and profoundly moving, a portrait of a man who turned pain into purpose.▶ Streaming on Tubi · Read the full review

FLEE (2021)

Jonas Poher Rasmussen uses animation to tell his friend Amin’s harrowing story of fleeing Afghanistan as a child and the secret he’s carried ever since. It’s a gorgeous, intimate film that earned Oscar nominations for documentary, animated, and international feature.▶ Streaming on Tubi

FACES PLACES (2017)

Legendary filmmaker Agnès Varda and street artist JR tour rural France in a photo-booth truck, pasting giant portraits of ordinary people onto buildings and barns. It’s a playful, tender celebration of art, friendship, and memory, and Varda’s mischief never dims.▶ Streaming on Tubi

YOU CANNOT KILL DAVID ARQUETTE (2020)

A stunt run as a wrestling champion made David Arquette a punchline, so years later he set out to earn back the fans’ respect in the ring the hard way. It’s funny, sad, and oddly inspiring, with Arquette fully committed to every bruise.▶ Streaming on Tubi

THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS (2018)

Three men discover by chance at age 19 that they’re identical triplets separated at birth, and their joyful reunion gives way to a far darker story. Tim Wardle’s documentary twists like a thriller, and its reveals are genuinely shocking.▶ Streaming on Tubi

SNEAKERHEADZ (2015)

A documentary deep dive into sneaker culture, from rare drops to resale empires. It’s a comprehensive and entertaining look at a world of collectors who will camp out for days for the right pair. It’s a fun primer whether you own one pair or a closet full.▶ Streaming on Tubi · Read the full review

THE SEVEN FIVE (2015)

A crooked NYPD cop named Michael Dowd recounts how he and his partner ran one of the most corrupt precincts in New York in the 1980s. It’s a jaw-dropping crime story told by the men who lived it, and it plays like a real-life Goodfellas.▶ Streaming on Tubi

RAIDERS!: THE STORY OF THE GREATEST FAN FILM EVER MADE (2015)

Three Mississippi kids spent seven summers remaking Raiders of the Lost Ark shot for shot, and decades later they reunite to film the one scene they never finished. It’s a joyous, funny love letter to fandom, friendship, and the movies that shape us.▶ Streaming on Tubi

LIFE, ANIMATED (2016)

Owen Suskind, who is autistic, learned to connect with his family through the language of Disney animated films. Roger Ross Williams blends home movies with new animation into a moving, joyful portrait of a young man stepping into adulthood.▶ Streaming on Tubi

COLLECTIVE (2019)

After a deadly nightclub fire in Bucharest, a team of sports journalists uncovers a staggering web of corruption in Romania’s health care system. Alexander Nanau’s Oscar-nominated documentary plays like All the President’s Men, and it’s absolutely gripping.▶ Streaming on Tubi

TOTALLY UNDER CONTROL (2021)

Alex Gibney, Ophelia Harutyunyan, and Suzanne Hillinger dissect the U.S. government’s failed early response to COVID-19 through interviews with scientists and officials. It’s a furious, methodical account of a crisis made worse by the people meant to manage it.▶ Streaming on Tubi

RIOTSVILLE, USA (2022)

Sierra Pettengill assembles archival footage of the fake towns the U.S. military built in the late 1960s to rehearse its response to urban unrest. The effect is eerie and illuminating, an essay film about how the state prepared for protest that lingers long after it ends.▶ Streaming on Tubi

MY SCIENTOLOGY MOVIE (2016)

Louis Theroux, denied access by the Church of Scientology, hires actors to re-enact accounts from former members, and the church responds by filming him back. It’s a sly, funny, and unnerving look at an organization that does not like being watched.▶ Streaming on Tubi

BILL NYE: SCIENCE GUY (2017)

The beloved kids’ TV host steps into the political arena to fight climate change denial, while confronting his own legacy and ego along the way. It’s an affectionate, surprisingly candid portrait of a scientist who refuses to stop teaching.▶ Streaming on Tubi

MERU (2015)

While it may not inspire too many non-climbers to scale some peaks, Meru gives us a glimpse into the real psyches and lifestyles of real mountain climbers, with minimal gloss. Serious aspiring climbers should take note. Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi follow three elite mountaineers attempting the Shark’s Fin, one of the Himalayas’ most treacherous routes.▶ Streaming on Tubi · Read the full review

SWEATY BETTY (2015)

See it for Scooby’s delectable diatribes alone. This idiosyncratic blend of documentary and fiction wanders through a handful of offbeat lives with loose, lo-fi charm, and while a few musical cues land heavy-handed, the affection behind it is genuine.▶ Streaming on Tubi · Read the full review