Movies like When Heroes Lie (2012)
The best movies like When Heroes Lie (2012) are Icarus (2017), The Armstrong Lie (2013) and Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story (2014). If When Heroes Lie hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedIcarus (2017)7.6/10 from 873 votes
- NewestS4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026)Released 2026
Icarus (2017)
While investigating the furtive world of illegal doping in sports, director Bryan Fogel connects with renegade Russian scientist Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov—a pillar of his country's "anti-doping" program. Over dozens of Skype calls, urine samples, and badly administered hormone injections, Fogel and Rodchenkov grow closer despite shocking allegations that place Rodchenkov at the center of Russia's state-sponsored Olympic doping program.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Armstrong Lie (2013)
In 2009, Alex Gibney was hired to make a film about Lance Armstrong's comeback to cycling. The project was shelved when the doping scandal erupted, and re-opened after Armstrong's confession. The Armstrong Lie picks up in 2013 and presents a riveting, insider's view of the unraveling of one of the most extraordinary stories in the history of sports. As Lance Armstrong says himself, "I didn't live a lot of lies, but I lived one big one."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story (2014)
A portrait of the man behind the greatest fraud in sporting history. Lance Armstrong enriched himself by cheating his fans, his sport and the truth. But the former friends whose lives and careers he destroyed would finally bring him down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUntold: Operation Flagrant Foul (2022)
Years after serving time for betting on games he officiated, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy revisits the scandal that shook up the league.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStolen: Heist of the Century (2025)
Antwerp, 2003. A gang of thieves rob the impenetrable Diamond Center. Who was behind one of the world's biggest heists - and how did they pull it off?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVoyeur (2017)
Legendary journalist Gay Talese unmasks a motel owner who spied on his guests for decades. But his bombshell story soon becomes a scandal of its own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
SnoozefestMovies like thisS4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026)
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAt the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal (2019)
A look inside the USA gymnastics sexual abuse scandal that shook the sports world in 2017 depicting a landscape in which women spend their youth seeking victory on a world stage, juxtaposed against a culture where abuse prevails and lives are damaged forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Day in September (1999)
The full story of the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre and the Israeli revenge operation 'Wrath of God.' The 1972 Munich Olympics were interrupted by Palestinian terrorists taking Israeli athletes hostage. Besides footage taken at the time, we see interviews with the surviving terrorist, Jamal Al Gashey, and various officials detailing exactly how the police, lacking an anti-terrorist squad and turning down help from the Israelis, botched the operation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Martha Mitchell Effect (2022)
She was once as famous as Jackie O—and then she tried to take down a President. Martha Mitchell was the unlikeliest of whistleblowers: a Republican wife who was discredited by Nixon to keep her quiet. Until now.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Most Dangerous Man in America (2009)
"The Most Dangerous Man in America" is the story of what happens when a former Pentagon insider, armed only with his conscience, steadfast determination, and a file cabinet full of classified documents, decides to challenge an "imperial" presidency – answerable to neither Congress, the press, nor the people – in order to help end the Vietnam War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019)
With a magical new invention that promised to revolutionize blood testing, Elizabeth Holmes became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, heralded as the next Steve Jobs. Then, overnight, her 10-billion-dollar company dissolved. The rise and fall of Theranos is a window into the psychology of fraud.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCover-Up (2025)
He's devoted his career to uncovering stories the powerful want buried. From My Lai to Abu Ghraib, dig into the life's work of journalist Seymour Hersh.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret (2006)
Interviews with leading authors, philosophers and scientists, with an in-depth discussion of the Law of Attraction. The audience is shown how they can learn and use 'The Secret' in their everyday lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020)
This documentary brings to life the stories of four people believed by their family and friends to be “DB Cooper,” a man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Seattle and jumped from the plane over the wilds of Washington State with a parachute and $200,000, never to be heard from again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy (2021)
A cheap, powerful drug emerges during a recession, igniting a moral panic fueled by racism. Explore the complex history of crack in the 1980s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFerrari: Race to Immortality (2017)
The late 1950s were known as golden years in the world of motor racing, champions were made and lost on a Sunday, and no losses were greater than those of Enzo Ferrari’s Scuderia. Based on Chris Nixon’s bestselling biography Mon Ami Mate, Ferrari: Race to Immortality tells the story of the loves and losses, triumphs and tragedy of a turbulent era that shook the motor racing world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEvil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025)
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreakonomics (2010)
Some of the world's most innovative documentary filmmakers will explore the hidden side of everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeroin(e) (2017)
This documentary follows three women — a fire chief, a judge, and a street missionary — as they battle West Virginia's devastating opioid epidemic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreedom of Choice: How the Government Controls What You Consume (TBA)
Life is about choice. What we eat, what we read, who we elect; every day we make choices that determine how we want to live. But what if these choices are just an illusion? In an era where regulations and red tape rule every industry, where lobby groups and big businesses wield more influence than ever before, our daily choices have become increasingly limited. And with all our options so deliberately handpicked, are we really making a choice at all? Freedom From Choice examines the current state of life and personal choice today. Experts from many different fields offer a frank and startling look at the hidden limitations in our daily lives. Focusing on key areas such as food, medicine, finance, and media, Freedom From Choice provides viewers with a glimpse at the myriad of ways their lives are being dictated and tells us who stands to gain.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Playing for the Mob (2014)
The story of how mobster Henry Hill - played by Ray Liotta in Martin Scorsese 1990 classic, Goodfellas - helped orchestrate the fixing of Boston College basketball games in the 1978-79 season. The details of that point-shaving scandal are revealed for the first time on film through the testimony of the players, the federal investigators and the actual fixers. Playing For The Mob may be set in the seemingly golden world of college basketball, but like Goodfellas, this is a tale of greed, betrayal and reckoning. Ultimately, they both share the same message: With that much money at stake, you can't trust anybody.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Lance (2020)
A personal examination of the rise and fall of Lance Armstrong.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Gekaufte Politik? Europa in der Korruptionskrise (2024)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Devil We Know (2018)
Unraveling one of the biggest environmental scandals of our time, a group of citizens in West Virginia take on a powerful corporation after they discover it has knowingly been dumping a toxic chemical — now found in the blood of 99.7% of Americans — into the local drinking water supply.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
American Dictators: Staging of the 2004 Presidential Election (2004)
In Alex Jones' 11th feature documentary, made in 2004, Alex documents the major candidates in the staged 2004 United States presidential election.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
BILLION DOLLAR BABIES (2026)
Hidden beneath the surface of the world’s waterways flows one of the most secretive and lucrative trades on Earth — the trafficking of baby eels. BILLION DOLLAR BABIES is a gripping narrative that exposes the billion-dollar global network built on one of nature’s most mysterious creatures — and the blurred moral lines between survival, greed, and conservation. What begins as an investigation into an obscure fishing niche unfolds into a shocking expose of globalised crime and environmental neglect. Despite being listed as a critically endangered species, the European eel has become one of the most valuable commodities on the black market — worth more than cocaine by weight and the most trafficked animal in the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Fútbol Violencia S.A. (2009)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The FIFA Family: A Love Story (2017)
A mixture of romantic comedy and investigative journalism, this film reveals how Qatar got to host the football World Cup, and how that brought down football's world governing body, FIFA.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
A Dangerous Assignment: Uncovering Corruption in Maduro’s Venezuela (2024)
In 2016, Venezuela introduced the CLAP program to provide essential food items during the economic crisis. However, Armando.info journalists discovered that the powdered milk included was deficient in calcium and high in sodium. Investigations revealed Alex Saab, a government contractor, was behind the overpriced imports. Journalist Roberto Deniz exposed Saab’s corruption and fled to Colombia due to threats. From there, he uncovered Saab's money laundering for Maduro and bribes to opposition members. Saab was arrested in Cape Verde and extradited to the US. Saab must choose to collaborate with US authorities or face trial, while Deniz, in exile, continues his reporting despite personal risks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like When Heroes Lie?
The closest matches to When Heroes Lie are Icarus (2017), The Armstrong Lie (2013) and Stop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after When Heroes Lie?
Start with Icarus (2017), the closest match to When Heroes Lie.
What is the highest-rated movie like When Heroes Lie?
Icarus (2017), rated 7.6/10 by 873 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like When Heroes Lie?
S4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to When Heroes Lie chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside When Heroes Lie, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.