The 20 Best Documentaries of 2024
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Of all the beats I cover at Esquire (TV, movies, Pop-Tarts...), I have to say that following the documentary space is my favorite. Why? Because it's consistently great. Can you remember a down year for documentaries? Hell, Netflix's Will & Harper alone is enough for me to give the thumbs-up to the genre his year. (In case you missed it—we interviewed the director, Josh Greenbaum. And he's also directing Spaceballs 2.)
But yes, reader, the year (so far) has plenty of stellar offerings. There's HBO's Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos, which taught us a lot about the seminal TV series. If you're looking for something new—and happen to call yourself a Bruce Springsteen-head—I highly recommend Hulu's Road Diary. And if you simply want me to tell you which documentary to watch right this second, it's Netflix's The Remarkable Life of Ibelin.
That's just a small taste of another brilliant year for the genre. Here are the best documentaries of 2024 so far.
Mr. McMahon
Big Important Documentaries about sports figures are a little dicey nowadays; they run the gamut from glorified PR (I'm sorry, Starting 5, but I don't want to hear LeBron James talk about his feet), to journalistic feats (Free Solo). Thankfully, Mr. McMahon is the latter. The Netflix docuseries chronicles the life and career of former Chairman and CEO of WWE Vince McMahon—and what ultimately led to his downfall.
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Road Diary
Road Diary captures a late-career Bruce Springsteen on his most recent world tour—and the result is the very definition of essential viewing. As Ryan D'Agostino recently wrote for Esquire, the film "captures the crackling energy, the astonishing talent, the dorm-room humor, and—there’s no other word—the love that Springsteen and his caravan have been delivering around the world for a few generations now."
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Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos
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Piece By Piece
Yes, Piece By Piece is technically a documentary! It's cool as heck that Pharrell Williams decided to give himself the biopic treatment in LEGO form—and the result is just as delightful as you'd hope. It helps, of course, that he employed the talents of one of our best documentarians in director Morgan Neville, who also helmed Won't You Be My Neighbor? and Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain.
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Ren Faire
Is Lance Oppenheim the new king of documentaries? We already have the director on our list for his film Spermworld (below), but HBO’s Ren Faire is another must-watch. The three-part documentary series explores a succession crisis plaguing the largest Renaissance fair in the country. As each new carnival kingpin attempts to reshape the fair in their image, the operation turns back to the aging mayor who made the fairs so great in the first place.
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The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Ibelin wasn’t just one of the best documentaries to premiere at Sundance this year—it was one of the best films at the festival, period. I recommend not knowing much about Ibelin going in, but the film follows Mats Steen, who died from Duchenne muscular dystrophy at 25. His parents thought he lived a reclusive life but learn—in the days after his death—that Mats had a multitude of friends (and lovers!) in World of Warcraft.
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Beyond the Bronx
I simply must shout out this six-minute documentary short that debuted on SportsCenter in mid-August. Beyond the Bronx quickly details how the iconic New York Yankees cap became, well... iconic. Spoiler: Spike Lee, who features in this film, had a little something to do with it. (Lee’s interview alone is worth the price of admission.)
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I Am: Celine Dion
Before her amazing performance to conclude the opening ceremony of the 2024 summer Olympic Games in Paris, Celine Dion was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune neurological disorder called stiff-person syndrome. In I Am: Celine Dion, the singer gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at her new life and incredible resilience.
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Seeking Mavis Beacon
If you’re of a certain age (*cough* a middle-aged millennial, like me *cough*), you remember Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. Through a variety of not-so-thrilling tasks—try typing your way out of the grocery store checkout line—the PC game taught countless children how to type on a keyboard. In Seeking Mavis Beacon, two women attempt to find the cover model—and a crucial conversation about race in media and tech unfolds.
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Daughters
Daughters follows four young girls as they prepare for a special daddy-daughter dance with their incarcerated fathers. The Washington, D.C. program—which unites families separated by an unfair criminal justice system—provides a rare opportunity for fathers to promise their daughters that they will be there for them when they leave prison. Grab your tissues, because Daughters is a real tearjerker.
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Spermworld
Look, it’s not what you think. Spermworld is the story of the online marketplace for sperm donation and its recipients. As it turns out, hopeful parents aren’t always told how the whole system works. The documentary explores why people bend the rules to gain access and why people donate. It’s a fascinating look at humanity, the need to procreate, and the bizarre relationships we form in that pursuit.
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The Greatest Night in Pop
In 1985, Lionel Richie corralled just about every famous musician in America to record “We Are the World,” a charity song for the organization USA for Africa. It became one of the top ten best-selling physical singles of all time, featuring artists such as Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, and many, many more. Now the crazy story of how all the talent convened in the same room together to record a song in just one night is here, in glorious detail.
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Will & Harper
Where is Will & Harper’s Academy Award nomination? Oh! It’s not that time yet. Well, call us when it is, because the film—which sees Will Ferrell road-trip with his best friend, Harper Steele, who recently came out as transgender—is downright incredible. Will & Harper is so many things: a buddy comedy, a meditation on identity, a portrait of someone who is publicly living as herself for the very first time, and much, much more. Netflix acquired the film after its Sundance premiere, so stay tuned for its debut on the streamer.
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Sue Bird: In the Clutch
Leading up to the announcement of her retirement, WNBA legend Sue Bird chronicled her career as one of the greatest point guards of all time. The result, Sue Bird: In the Clutch, is a timely look into issues plaguing the league today, such as pay inequity, lack of proper maternity care, and the dangers of playing abroad in Russia.
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America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
This is probably the seventh time America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders has appeared on an Esquire list this year. But it’s for good reason! The docuseries features the very best hallmarks of the work of director Greg Whiteley (Last Chance U, Cheer): It’s fun as hell, deeply personal, and more revelatory about the state of modern sports than you probably expected. It’s a wonder how Whiteley pulls it off again and again.
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Girls State
If you saw 2020’s excellent Boys State, Apple Original Films is back this year with the also excellent Girls State, which shows us another side of a peculiar American leadership program. When the Girls State event doesn’t feel equal to what’s happening over at Boys State, the conference’s young women decide to make their thoughts known.
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Frida
In Frida, Carla Gutiérrez, the director behind 2018’s stellar RBG, turns her attention to Mexican painter Frida Khalo and pulls off a grand celebration of one of the most complex and colorful artists of our time.
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Ennio
Ennio Morricone was one of the greatest film composers in history, best known for his hit western scores (Once Upon a Time in the West; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; and countless more). His story is finally told by those who remember him best—and it’s an absolute delight.
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Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
The definitive Christopher Reeve documentary has been a long time coming. Thankfully, it’s nearly here—Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story arrives on a screen (hopefully) near you in September. The film tells the story of the iconic Superman actor, who was paralyzed from the shoulders down after a horse-riding accident in 1995.
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Black Box Diaries
Journalist Shiori Itō became the face of Japan’s #MeToo movement in 2020 after revealing that she was sexually assaulted. Black Box Diaries details how Itō was forced to lead her own investigation—which resulted in one of the country’s most landmark cases.
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