Summary

• Peacock offers a wide range of documentaries that cater to various interests, including sports, music, filmmaking, and social issues.
• Notable documentaries available on Peacock include "Hardball: The Girls of Summer," "QT8: Quentin Tarantino: The First Eight," and "Hoop Dreams."
• Peacock also features acclaimed documentaries like "Being Evel," "Man On Wire," and "Food, Inc." that have received universal acclaim and awards recognition.

Peacock is the over-the-top streaming service from NBC Universal, which means it has a robust library of movies and television shows to entice any viewer, including great Peacock documentaries. While many fans know about the NBC shows that make their way to the streaming service, there is also a huge catalog of Universal movies, as well as movies licensed for the streaming service from other studios. This includes a huge back catalog of documentaries that make for the most engaging, versatile deep dives into what Peacock has to offer.

From hard-hitting, emotional stories to believe-it-or-not tales about the wildest aspects of show business and sports, there is a documentary on Peacock for everyone, no matter their specific interests. These documentaries include Oscar winners and ones made specifically for streaming television. There are also inspirational sports stories, music documentaries about legends in the industry, films looking at the careers of master filmmakers, and even movies taking on social issues and political controversy, offering everything from reflexive and observational documentaries to expository, and everything in between.

15 Hardball: The Girls Of Summer

Released In 2019

Hardball: The Girls of Summer is a 2019 documentary that digs into a sport that isn't always front and center. It tells the story of the best U.S.-based women baseball players, but it has no interest in softball. Instead, it pushes for true equality in the game known as America's pastime.

Throw in some work from Francis Ford Coppola and Hardball is a must-see doc.

The Women's Baseball World Cup serves as the centerpiece of the documentary, chronicling how the gate-keeping behind sports is well past outdated at this point. Throw in some work from Francis Ford Coppola and Hardball is a must-see doc.

14 All Things Must

Released In 2015

A surprising Peacock documentary appearance is 2015's All Things Must , which follows the history of the iconic Tower Records music store. The director is Tom Hanks' son, Colin Hanks, in a fun turn behind the camera.

ing the story to pay tribute to Tower Records are plenty of music legends, too.

Questlove, Dave Grohl, and Elton John are there to talk about the history and importance of this iconic record store. It's a must-watch for anyone who considers themselves a massive fan of music lore.

13 I Know That Voice

Released In 2013

The 2013 documentary, I Know That Voice, focuses on the craft and history behind the world's greatest voice actors. Crucially, the doc tells the story of true voice actors, rather than the stunt casting that has taken over studio movies in recent memory.

That isn't to say there are no familiar faces in the movie, as huge names like Mark Hamill and Seth Green are there, but they a plethora of other voice actors who lose themselves in the character's voices they take on. John DiMaggio (Bender on Futurama) narrates the documentary and viewers can see the faces behind some of television and cinema's biggest animated characters.

12 21 Years: Richard Linklater

Released In 2014

An unconventional story in Hollywood is that of Richard Linklater, who directed the Before trilogy, School of Rock, and Boyhood, among others. While it may not investigate what it'd be like to see Dazed and Confused in the modern era, it does interrogate what makes Linklater such a resonant director.

Among those tapped to assess how Linklater changed the industry are Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, Zac Efron, Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, and many more. It's a highly appreciated unpacking of one of today's top auteurs.

11 QT8: Quentin Tarantino: The First Eight

Released In 2019

In 2019, Tara Wood directed a documentary looking at the first eight movies in the career of Quentin Tarantino, from Reservoir Dogs to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Titled QT8: The First Eight, Wood speaks to several of his frequent collaborators.

Included in the documentary are Samuel L. Jackson, who has been with Tarantino since Pulp Fiction, Michael Madsen, who has been there since the beginning, and Christoph Waltz, who earned Oscar attention for his Tarantino roles. The movie received positive reviews and even Tarantino said he loved the doc (via Facebook).

"One of the things I think is interesting about the film, as opposed to everybody else who does a movie about filmmakers, she never asked to interview me, which I liked. I thought that was really cool. Normally, that's the hook that everyone hangs their hat on."

10 Sign 'o' The Times

Released In 1987

In the 1980s, Stop Making Sense by Jonathan Demme and the Talking Heads was considered the top concert documentary. However, Peacock has access to another great from that decade: Prince's Sign o' the Times is a film that celebrates the album of the same name.

Considering the documentary was also written and directed by Prince, it's truly a must-see because it is unabashedly him and his artistic genius. It makes for a great entry point into Prince's film-making career, too. While the movie was a box office failure, it did help the record become Prince's most acclaimed album. In 2017, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

9 Sound City

Released In 2013

Sound City Studios was the home of some of the best musical artists of this generation. Located in Van Nuys, California, one of the biggest names to use the studios regularly is Foo Fighters front-man Dave Grohl. It was Grohl, after buying several items from the studio when he closed down, who decided a documentary about the location was a necessity.

Grohl directed the documentary that touches on the bands who used the studio, from Nirvana and Red Hot Chili Peppers to Rage Against the Machine, Tom Petty, and Neil Young. The movie received universal acclaim, with a 100% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, while winning a Grammy.

8 Perfect Bid

Released In 2017

Every now and then, a documentary comes along that fits its genre perfectly. There are probably people out there who thought Perfect Bid could have been a narrative film, but it works so much better as a documentary because the storyline is fascinating enough on its own.

Perfect Bid is a profile of Ted Slauson, who was so obsessed with The Price Is Right that he memorized the price of every item and eventually helped one contestant land a flawless bid on the Showcase over a decade ago. It's a fascinating story that explores much more than just game show culture.

7 Being Evel

Released In 2015

The 2015 documentary Being Evel tells the life story of daredevil stuntman Evel Knievel. The movie follows his life, from his early days until his death in 2007. For those unfamiliar with Knievel, he was a stunt performer who attempted over 75 ramp-to-ramp jumps on a motorcycle over his career.

He made a 141-foot jump over the ornate fountain outside Caesar’s Palace Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. He later jumped 133 feet over 14 Greyhound buses. It all started when he promoted his own shows to earn money for his family, and this feature shows how he rose to the top of the daredevil industry. The movie received universal acclaim.

6 The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show

Released In 2020

There are some obvious documentaries with a clear scope to be made that found their way to Peacock. But The Sit-In is not an obvious choice for a movie by any stretch. Yet, it's one of the most fascinating true stories on the streaming service.

The Sit-In, from Yoruba Richen, explores the week that Harry Belafonte guest-hosted The Tonight Show during the tumultuous year of 1968. On his show were Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Aretha Franklin, and more. It is an incredible, somewhat heart-wrenching time capsule.