Our Documentaries
BBC Select is a streaming service where you can watch hundreds of hours of critically acclaimed and award-winning BBC documentaries, many available to stream in the US and Canada for the first time. Browse below for a selection of the many BBC programs and documentaries that you can watch on a free trial.
The Climate Collection
We can change our future, but first we need to understand our past. In the wake of COP26, the 2021 Climate Change Summit BBC Select has created The Climate Collection. Watch BBC documentaries that explore the historical relationship between humans and the planet and explore what the relationship could look like in the future.
Read MorePolitics
documentaries
The Trump Show
Protests, impeachment, and a pandemic: A front row seat to Trump’s unpredictable Presidency.
Inside The American Embassy
Trump era diplomacy is revealed as the doors are opened at the American Embassy in London.
Fall of an Icon
Why is an iconic Nobel Peace Prize winner fighting accusations of genocide?
The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty
A story of succession. Rupert Murdoch and the sibling rivalry to inherit his empire.
The Making of Merkel
The world’s most powerful woman? The political journey of Germany’s formidable chancellor.
54 Days: America and the Pandemic
The President and the pandemic. Why did it take 54 days for Trump to act on coronavirus?
The Wheelchair President
How did the physical and emotional issues facing FDR shape his approach to WWII?
Inside The EU: The Mad World of Brexit
Go behind the scenes of the European Parliament during the tumultuous time of Brexit.
Nixon in the Den
Has history been too unkind and conveniently ignored the achievements of Richard Nixon?
North Korea: Voices from the Secret State
The real lives of people trapped in the world’s most secretive state are finally exposed.
Putin – A Russian Spy Story
He wanted to be a Russian James Bond. His presidency reads like a spy thriller.
Big Thinking
Documentaries
Genius of the Ancient World
The original free thinkers. The stories of the Buddha, Confucius and Socrates.
Harry Potter – A History of Magic
They’re the fastest-selling books in history. But what inspired the enchanting world of Harry Potter?
Transgender Kids: Who Knows Best?
What is the best approach for parents to take when their child is facing gender dysphoria?
Sex Death And The Meaning Of Life
Losing my religion. What if we left God behind – could science replace belief?
How To Go Viral
How did lolcats change the world? Decoding the cultural impact of the meme.
Grayson Perry: Rites of Passage
Our traditions don’t help us. Artist Grayson Perry is on a quest to design ones that do.
Genderquake
Gender fluid generation: Meet the people challenging the binary.
The Last Igloo
Can one man survive in the wilderness using traditional methods to hunt and find shelter?
Did Darwin Kill God?
It’s the murder mystery that sets atheists against Christians. But is it a cover-up?
Bright Lights, Brilliant Minds
Paris, Vienna and New York. The seismic influence of three cities on the artistic world.
Travel
Documentaries
Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby
How does a hotel become extraordinary? Our food critic and chef duo meet the pioneers.
The Last Igloo
Can one man survive in the wilderness using traditional methods to hunt and find shelter?
Kolkata with Sue Perkins
What’s life like in an Indian megacity? The Great British Baking Show host finds out.
Extraordinary Places to Eat
They’re the experts who know food like no one else. These are the restaurants they love.
Joanna Lumley’s Japan
A fantastic voyage around Japan with British national treasure Joanna Lumley.
Reggie Yates in China
Welcome to the future. Meet the kids reinventing China’s glittering megacities.
Hotel Secrets with Richard E Grant
A-list attraction: Behind-closed-doors secrets of the world’s most exclusive hotels.
Africa with Ade Adepitan
It’s Africa, but not as you know it. Ade Adepitan explores a constantly evolving land.
A Year in Tibet
What is daily life like in one of the remotest, and mysterious, places on the planet?
The Persians: A History of Iran
How was the world’s first empire born and what led to its ultimate destruction?
History
Documentaries
Auschwitz: Nazis & The Final Solution
Mass-murder on an unimaginable scale. A history of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Stalin: Inside the Terror
A man synonymous with bloodshed, murder and hate. What desires drove Joseph Stalin?
World War Two: 1941 and the Man of Steel
How influential was Stalin on the defeat of Hitler and eventual outcome of WWII?
The Persians: A History of Iran
How was the world’s first empire born and what led to its ultimate destruction?
The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler: Leading Millions into the Abyss
From failure to Fuhrer. How did Adolf Hitler charm the German people?
Vienna: Empire, Dynasty and Dream
The rise of one of the great cities and how it offers a window into power, faith and war.
American History’s Biggest Fibs
American history is fake, fact? Historian Lucy Worlsey delves deeper into US mythology.
Royal Cousins at War
It makes The Crown look like Sesame Street. The bitter regal rivalries that led to war.
The Birth of Empire: The East India Company
The world’s first megacorp. How Britain’s East India Company grew into an imperial power.
Queen Victoria and her Nine Children
Devastated by her husband’s death Queen Victoria starts to meddle in her children’s lives.
A History of Christianity
Where did Christianity originate and how did the religion develop and take hold globally?
ISIS: Origins of Violence
How does ISIS justify violence? Tracing the complex roots of its policy of brutality.
Lost Home Movies Of Nazi Germany
What was life really like within Nazi Germany? These amateur home movies reveal all.
Suffragettes
The violence, valor and sacrifices made by the women fighting for their right to vote.
Art
Documentaries
The World’s Greatest Paintings
What makes a particular artwork an iconic masterpiece? Andrew Marr investigates.
Shock of The Nude
Peek behind the fig leaf to find the truth behind the nude in art.
Rebel Women: The Great Art Fightback
The radical female artists of the 1970s who weren’t afraid to provoke or cause offense.
The Art Mysteries
What secret messages and stories are hidden in the world’s most famous works of art?
The Story of Women and Art
Restless, resistant and radical. How female artists transformed art from the outside.
Simon Schama’s Power of Art
Eight masterpieces. Eight big names who changed the world. An electrifying feast of art.
The Romantic Revolution
Wild visionaries and imaginative truth seekers whose radical ideas still resonate today.
Hokusai: Old Man Crazy To Paint
You may not know his name but you’ll instantly recognize Hokusai’s most famous work.
In Search of Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo’s face is iconic. Musician Emeli Sandé uncovers the woman behind the art.
Soup Cans and Superstars: How Pop Art Changed the World
Obsessed with sex, surface and celebrity. Was pop art radically ahead of its time?
$50 Million Dollar Art Swindle
The amazing true crime case of a maverick art dealer who executed an audacious swindle.
Grayson Perry’s Art Club
Artist Grayson Perry releases a torrent of quarantine-creativity in his lockdown art club.
Apples Pears And Paint: How To Make A Still Life Painting
What can still life images of ordinary objects tell us about the artists who created them?
The Art of Architecture
What does it take to plan and build some of the planet’s most awe-inspiring structures?
The Man Who Shot Beautiful Women
Why is Erwin Blumenfeld, whose vision helped to shape modern photography, forgotten today?
The Man Who Shot New York
More than just a photographer, New Yorker Harold Feinstein had an unquenchable thirst for life.
Art of America
Andrew Graham-Dixon tries to reach the heart of America through its art and artists.
True Crime
Documentaries
Confessions of a Serial Killer
Meet Samuel Little. One of America’s most dangerous killers.
Murder 24/7
True crime in real time. This is how you really catch a murderer.
A Black and White Killing
A murder that shook America to its core. What’s behind alleged racist killings in the U.S.?
Louis Theroux: The Night in Question
Meeting the American college students accused of sexual assault. Louis Theroux on-campus.
Stacey Dooley Investigates: Beaten by My Boyfriend
Why are domestic abuse cases so prevalent? Stacey Dooley meets victims and abusers.
$50 Million Dollar Art Swindle
The amazing true crime case of a maverick art dealer who executed an audacious swindle.
INVESTIGATIVE
Documentaries
Brainwashing Stacey
Human rights, human wrongs. Living in a world of anti-abortionists and big game hunters.
Reggie Yates in China
Welcome to the future. Meet the kids reinventing China’s glittering megacities.
Louis Theroux: Surviving America’s Most Hated Family
Return to Westboro. Louis revisits the toxic Phelps family – who have lost their leader.
Louis Theroux: The Night in Question
Meeting the American college students accused of sexual assault. Louis Theroux on-campus.
Music
Documentaries
Rat Pack: A Conference of Cool
Kings of charisma: How the Rat Pack ruled America.
U2 Live in London
Bono and the boys crank out the hits in this intimate concert experience from Abbey Road.
Harry Styles Live in Manchester
The boy’s back in town: a hometown tour and blistering live set from Harry Styles.
Ariana Grande: Live In London
Four-octave vocal range, 60 minutes of spectacular song. Hear Ariana live at the BBC.
Kylie’s Secret Night
Shhh – it’s Kylie confidential. A big night out with Australia’s Princess of Pop.
Rock ‘n’ Roll Guns for Hire: The Story of the Sidemen
The outrageous and unsung characters that gave rock’s greatest songs their vital spark.
Chopin Saved My Life
Loss, anguish and classical music. The transformative power of Ballade Number 1.
In and Out of Hell: The Meat Loaf Story
Man. Myth. Meat Loaf. An intimate portrait of one of rock’s greatest showmen.
Technology
Documentaries
Secrets of Silicon Valley
What happened to Silicon Valley’s glittering promise to build a better world?
Steve Jobs: Billion Dollar Hippy
How did tech monster Apple travel from a suburban garage to global supremacy?
Are You Scared Yet, Human?
Should we worry about the effect that Artificial Intelligence could have on our lives?
Hyper Evolution: Rise Of The Robots
In the near future, will we be controlling robots or will the robots be controlling us?
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace
We were sold technology as a Utopia. The dream failed, says Adam Curtis: the machines won.
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