There’s nothing else quite like the Discovery Channel. The home of documentaries everywhere, this popular streaming service brings you the best in factual (and questionably-factual) TV you’ll find anywhere. Let’s delve into the best documentaries to watch on Discovery+ this month (though there aren’t many) and go over what makes them so great.
Envoy: Shark Cull
Off the coast of Australia, a killer lurks, ready to strike. When it does, the waters are painted red with blood. But it’s not the sharks (or the crocodiles, or the fearsome blue-ringed octopi, or any of the rest of Australia’s infamously-dangerous wildlife.) Instead, it’s the Australian government.
And its victims? Sharks.
Australia is the only country in the world to still catch and kill sharks in its waters, a practice that claims thousands of shark lives each year and pushes already-vulnerable populations of sharks further towards extinction. But it’s not just the sharks; marine life from dolphins to seals to reef fish are routinely caught in the same traps the shark cull program uses to catch sharks. The dwindling shark population has deleterious effects on the rest of the environment as well, as with their predators gone, the prey species’ populations bloom out of control. And it’s all documented on Envoy: Shark Cull.
Lily Topples the World
If the sheer beauty and artistry of YouTube star and professional domino artist Lily Hevesh’s creations are any indications, you definitely want to check out Lily Topples the World.
These aren’t your garden-variety dominos. Rather than arranging them in a simple line, Hevesh has built intricate labyrinths, rainbow-colored spirals, beloved cartoon characters, and even three-dimensional towers taller than she is. You’ll be struck by the beauty of her creations and wowed by an art form you never knew existed.
But it’s not all little colorful blocks here: the film also has a strong sense of compassion, delving into Hevesh’s past as the adopted Chinese daughter of a white couple, the stress of being the world’s only female professional domino artist (who knew being a professional toy player had such a glass ceiling?), what it means to be a YouTube star, the most modern and unconventional of celebrities, and Hevesh’s journey toward true adulthood. This is one documentary that will topple your heart like, well, dominoes, and one that you’ll be very glad you watched.
Secrets of the Salisbury Poisonings
In 2018, the authorities in Salisbury, United Kingdom, were called to help a man and a woman lying on a park bench, both gravely ill. When the EMTs arrived, they were shocked at who they found. Far from being just another pair of civilians taken ill, the people in question were MI6 agent and Soviet defector Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. As the Skripals clung to life in the hospital, the grim portrait emerged – the Russian FSB had just attempted to murder a pair of British citizens, one of them a top intelligence agent, on British soil.
This nail-biting documentary Secrets of the Salisbury Poisonings delves deep into the poisonings, showcasing the terror felt by both the Skripals and the British intelligence services as the cold snake of Putin looms over their heads. It plays out like a Tom Clancy thriller, except it’s all real – and in the modern day. This is one documentary film you won’t be able to put down.
Each of these documentaries is streaming now on Discovery+.