First Nations people have been sharing stories on these lands for thousands of years, and there’s no sign that our hunger for connection through listening and learning from those around us will abate. Through the window of our television (phone/laptop, etc), we can hear from more folks than ever before, bringing us closer to their truths.
Honouring that spirit, here are some of the documentary shows and films that SBS viewers have streamed the most this year. You’ll find more in the Best Documentaries of 2025 collection at SBS On Demand.
Alone Australia
From the wilds of Tasmania, far beyond the cobbled streets of Salamanca Market, to the remotest corners of Aotearoa’s South Island, this end of the world is astoundingly beautiful, resplendent with spots to savour the grand tapestry of nature in unbridled awe and elation. Until, that is, you get ditched all alone without a phone (good luck getting reception anyway) or, unless contestants specifically select it, a feed and toothpaste. Each year, brave folk from all over the globe take on the challenge in Alone’s various offshoots. And Alone Australia is no exception: watch them tackle our Antipodean anarchy in one of the year’s most-followed documentary series.
Alone Australia is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Alone Australia
series • Competition reality
M
series • Competition reality
M
Stanley Tucci: Searching For Italy
If your wandering heart favours fantasy escapes that tend to be a little more sedate/well fed, then join Devil Wears Prada sweetie and The Pelican Brief villain Stanley Tucci as the Oscar-nominated thespian returns to his Italian roots in this Emmy-nominated show that will have you salivating. From the verdant Amalfi coast to the teeming thoroughfares of Rome and the canals of Venice and the fields of Tuscany, your appetite for living, laughing and loving will be satiated by the sweeping vistas as much as the abundant charm Tucci plates up with friends. Searching for Italy was one of the most-watched documentary series last year and remains so this year: clearly, a lot of us fancy an escape to Itay.
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
series • Travel
M
series • Travel
M
Insight
As led by the intrepid and thoughtful Kumi Taguchi, no topic is off limits in this soul-nourishing antidote to a daily news cycle that’s all too often full of overly shouty, unnecessarily polarised political positions. This year alone, Taguchi has invited ordinary Australians into the safe space of the Insight studio to delve into subjects including how social media and AI are warping our brains, how this nation’s myriad overlapping religions and spirituality intersect, and asking if our healthcare truly is universal. Through it all, even in the darkest places, where survival becomes the greatest challenge, Taguchi’s care for her guests and their journeys shines bright.
Insight is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Insight
series • News And Current Affairs
series • News And Current Affairs
The Secret DNA of Us
One of the loveliest men in the Australian screen industry, Mastermind host Marc Fennel has carved a career out of uncovering the forgotten or deliberately obscured stories that shape our nation, bringing the world to our door. That mission reaches its zenith with the jaw-dropping The Secret DNA of Us. Descending on Sydney’s multicultural suburb of Surry Hills and three regional towns, he asks residents to do DNA tests en masse, cross-referencing the results with occasionally dotty records. Remarkable revelations await in this treasure trove that perfectly pairs with the gems dug up in the dish-it dinner parties of Fennel’s tell-all show Tell Me What You Really Think.
The Secret DNA of Us and Tell Me What You Really Think are streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
The Secret DNA of Us
series • Documentary
M
series • Documentary
M
Stream free On Demand
Tell Me What You Really Think
series • Documentary
M
series • Documentary
M
The People vs Robodebt
The disgrace of the Morrison government’s turning a blind eye to an egregiously malfunctioning automated computer system that saddled unsuspecting welfare recipients with crippling debts they did not owe is one of the darkest chapters of modern Australia. Many were driven to the edge, some tragically over. Ithaka director Ben Lawrence’s frank and fearless three-part investigative series, scripted by Jane Allen, meets some of the victims to hear, first-hand, how their lives were torn apart when nothing was done to rectify this great injustice. Gripping stuff that’s required viewing for all Australians who believe in doing the right thing.
The People vs Robodebt is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
The People vs Robodebt
series • Documentary
M
series • Documentary
M
Couples Therapy
There’s rarely a straight line to happily ever after, with coupled bliss just the beginning and a lot of work to be done to maintain and build on that starry-eyed connection. Across four must-watch seasons of this sterling docuseries so far, enormously empathetic New York-based psychoanalyst Dr Orna Guralnik gently steers north of 50 couples around the potholes and roadblocks that a long-term relationship inevitably runs into. Through lockdowns, infidelities, opening up to others and more, Guralnik is a diligent guide, as is Couples Therapy Australia’s Marryam Chehelnabi in the local spin-off of the much-loved US version that’s equally bingeable in ways that will have you taking emotional stock.
Couples Therapy and Couples Therapy Australia are streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Couples Therapy
series • Documentary
MA15+
series • Documentary
MA15+
Stream free On Demand
Couples Therapy Australia
series • Documentary
M
series • Documentary
M
Dark Side of the 90s
Those of a certain generation will mostly remember the ‘90s for fashion trends such as stonewashed jeans, shell suits and Hypercolor T-shirts (many of which are inexplicably back from an ignominious end), films like Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump and Titanic, plus musical contributions from the likes of Nirvana, D’Angelo and, err, the Spice Girls. But it wasn’t all jolly, whether or not there was room on that door, Rose. Through ‘reality’ TV, rave culture and UFC, the suitably named Richard Rotter’s three-season docuseries digging into the Dark Side of the 90s will have you asking: was this the decade that truly tipped us into the cursed timeline?
Dark Side of the 90s is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Dark Side of the 90s
series • Documentary
MA15+
series • Documentary
MA15+
Easy Love
For those of us for whom SBS will always stand for Sex Before Soccer, German filmmaker Tamer Jandali’s eye-opening debut feature will totally shoot and score. Premiering at the 2019 Berlinale, the form-blurring documentary follows the most intimate needs of seven residents of Cologne over the course of months, asking them to perform scenarios based on their real-life experiences, getting what’s required for their personal satisfaction, both physical and emotional. Is truth stranger (and sexier) than fiction? Dive under the covers to find out.
Easy Love is streaming at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Easy Love
Documentary • Biography • 2019
Documentary • Biography • 2019
Did your favourite make the list? Find out in the BEST DOCUMENTARIES OF 2025 COLLECTION at SBS on Demand. You can also discover the year's most popular films and TV series and some hidden gems in the BEST OF 2025 HUB.
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