Movies like Watching the Detectives (2017)
The best movies like Watching the Detectives (2017) are Deep Web (2015), Zero Days (2016) and A Toxic Love Story (2026). If Watching the Detectives hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedZero Days (2016)7.4/10 from 272 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
Deep Web (2015)
Deep Web gives the inside story of one of the most important and riveting digital crime sagas of the century -- the arrest of Ross William Ulbricht, the 30-year-old entrepreneur convicted of being 'Dread Pirate Roberts,' creator and operator of online black market Silk Road. As the only film with exclusive access to the Ulbricht family, Deep Web explores how the brightest minds and thought leaders behind the Deep Web and Bitcoin are now caught in the crosshairs of the battle for control of a future inextricably linked to technology, with our digital rights hanging in the balance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZero Days (2016)
Alex Gibney explores the phenomenon of Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus discovered in 2010 by international IT experts. Evidently commissioned by the US and Israeli governments, this malware was designed to specifically sabotage Iran’s nuclear programme. However, the complex computer worm ended up not only infecting its intended target but also spreading uncontrollably.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnknown Number: The High School Catfish (2025)
Vulgar, taunting texts blow up the phones of a teen and her boyfriend. Who's sending them — and why? This twisty documentary reveals the shocking answer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Antisocial Network: Memes to Mayhem (2024)
From Rickrolling to viral conspiracy theories, explore how an anonymous website evolved into a hub for real-world chaos in this documentary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisMurder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (2020)
After 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown is sentenced to life in prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisAfter Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News (2020)
An investigation into the ongoing threat caused by the phenomenon of “fake news” in the U.S., focusing on the real-life consequences that disinformation, conspiracy theories and false news stories have on the average citizen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTales of the Grim Sleeper (2014)
When Lonnie Franklin Jr. was arrested in South Central Los Angeles in 2010 as the suspected murderer of a string of young black women, police hailed it as the culmination of 20 years of investigations. Four years later documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield took his camera to the alleged killer’s neighborhood for another view.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStruggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Anthrax Attacks: In the Shadow of 9/11 (2022)
Days after 9/11, letters containing fatal anthrax spores spark panic and tragedy in the US. This documentary follows the subsequent FBI investigation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeliver Us from Evil (2006)
Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJim: The James Foley Story (2016)
In August, 2014, a video of the public execution of American photojournalist James Foley rippled across the globe. Foley wore an orange jumpsuit as he knelt beside an ISIS militant dressed in black. That image challenged the world to deal with a new face of terror. And it tested one American family. Seen through the lens of filmmaker Brian Oakes, Foley’s close childhood friend, Jim takes us from small-town New England to the adrenaline-fueled front lines of Libya and Syria, where Foley pushed the limits of danger to report on the plight of civilians impacted by war.
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 thisThe Mole: Undercover in North Korea (2020)
A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Realms of the Unreal (2004)
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFor the Love of Spock (2016)
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Attack - The Copenhagen Shootings (2020)
In 2015 Omar el-Hussein staged an attack on Krudttønden and the Synagogue in Copenhagen. This documentary examines the circumstances that lead up to this horrible event.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Stammheim - Zeit des Terrors (2025)
The Stammheim trial against the leadership of the first generation of the RAF was one of the most elaborate in the Federal Republic of Germany. Through this trial, Stammheim also became a place of identity for the RAF. The docudrama uses the perspective of Horst Bubeck, who as a prison officer in the cell wing had the most intensive contact with the prisoners, to shed new light on the history.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Manhunt: Boston Bombers (2013)
A documentary about Boston and the technology involved to catch bombers
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Age Group Winner (2025)
In 1980 Jay Helgerson shocked the world, becoming the first person to run a marathon a week for a year – each race completed in under three hours. For the last ten years, his daughter, filmmaker Alexandra Helgerson, followed him with a camera in order to understand the eccentric man who raised her. What she gets are his projected anxieties, his struggles with physical age and emotional distress, all while he endlessly trains for the Boston Marathon. But as Jay trains, the film is nearly derailed by Alexandra’s encounter with a life threatening illness. Ultimately, AGE GROUP WINNER is an affirmation of the will to live.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Inside the Hunt for the Boston Bombers (2014)
In April 2013, chaos erupted in Boston near the finish line of one of the world's oldest and most prestigious marathons. It was the worst terrorist attack on the United States since 9/11 and led to one of the most extensive and public manhunts in American history. Now, as the one-year anniversary approaches, National Geographic Channel presents a special two-hour event, Inside the Hunt for the Boston Bombers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Algérie 1988-2000 : Autopsie d'une tragédie (2005)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Maze (2017)
THE MAZE dissects the terror-attacks since Paris Bataclan in November 2015 and looks for common patterns. Why was intelligence failing? And why keep our governments pushing for more of the same? A road movie into surveillance reforms, power, money and cover-ups. A search for a way out of this maze - with a glimpse of hope on the horizon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
102 Minutes That Changed America (2008)
The morning of September 11, 2001 is shown through multiple video cameras in and around New York City, from the moment the first WTC tower is hit until after both towers collapse.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIt's Hard Being Loved by Jerks (2008)
The murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic extremist in 2004, followed by the publishing of twelve satirical cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed that was commissioned for the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, provides the incendiary framework for Daniel Leconte's provocative documentary, It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Tough Old Broads (2026)
Kathrine Switzer, Siila Watt-Cloutier, and Sharon Farmer. They are the first woman to run the Boston Marathon officially, the first woman to connect climate change to human rights, and the first woman to serve as Chief White House Photographer. These trailblazing women broke barriers in their time and continue to pursue their passions to this day. They’re living proof that you can follow your dreams and maybe change the world in the process.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Watching the Detectives?
The closest matches to Watching the Detectives are Deep Web (2015), Zero Days (2016) and A Toxic Love Story (2026). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Watching the Detectives?
Start with Deep Web (2015), the closest match to Watching the Detectives.
What is the highest-rated movie like Watching the Detectives?
Zero Days (2016), rated 7.4/10 by 272 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Watching the Detectives?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Watching the Detectives?
Yes: Deep Web (2015), Zero Days (2016) and A Toxic Love Story (2026).
How are movies similar to Watching the Detectives chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Watching the Detectives, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.