Last updated March 2024
Looking for the Best Biography Tv Shows out there? We've got you covered with 30 marvelous Best Biography Tv Shows available to watch instantly. Backed by outstanding IMDB ratings and our users' glowing recommendations, these titles are as good as it gets. Vote up your favorites so more fans can fall in love with these fantastic Best Biography Tv Shows. Your contributions helping showcase great content are much appreciated!
Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story (2020)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1980's & 90's Bombay, Scam 1992 follows the life of Harshad Mehta - a stockbroker who single-handedly took the stock market to dizzying heights & his catastrophic downfall. Being directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Hansal Mehta, the series is based on journalist Debashis Basu & Sucheta Dalal's book "The Scam"
Duration: 54 min
IMDB Rating: 9.3/10
IMDB Votes: 154000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: India
Plot tags: finance, insider trading, financial crisis, stock exchange, stock broker, newspaper office, embezzler, caper, financier, cons and scams, money, con artists, criminal, deception, con trick, fraud, historical figure, escapades, financial problem, historical character, motivation, wall street, corruption, mission, innovation
When They See Us (2019)
Plot Summary:
Five teens from Harlem become trapped in a nightmare when they're falsely accused of a brutal attack in Central Park
Duration: 296 min
IMDB Rating: 8.9/10
IMDB Votes: 134000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Plot tags: investigation, legal, social injustice, black, black lives matter, black cast, racial injustice, black history, lgbtq, criminal justice, suspect, false accusation, social problems, fight for justice, social issues, false accusation of rape, falsely accused, racial issues, social justice, law and order, courtroom, accusation, guilty verdict, framed for a crime, blaxploitation
Narcos (2015)
Plot Summary:
The true story of Colombia's infamously violent and powerful drug cartels
Duration: 49 min
IMDB Rating: 8.8/10
IMDB Votes: 458000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Colombia
Plot tags: drug cartel, gangster, drug dealer, cartel, drug dealing, rise to the top, drug lord, illegal drugs, cia agent, dea, master criminal, ambition, hitman, criminal heroes, drug, organized crime, smuggling, politics, mafia, terrorism, cocaine, kidnapping, cold war, president, hidden money
I, Claudius (1976)
Plot Summary:
Tracing the lives of several Roman emperors, this is an epic of ruthless ambition, shocking debauchery and murderous intrigue set in one of history's most fascinating eras. Bearing witness to the saga is Claudius, whose stutter and limp have marked him a fool - yet whom prophecies have foretold will one day rule Rome
Duration: 669 min
IMDB Rating: 8.8/10
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Plot tags: ancient, roman empire, ancient rome, political intrigue, ancient history, intrigue, ancient world, antiquity, politics, emperor, royal family, medieval, roman soldier, power struggle, roman emperor, incest, shakespeare, historical event, ambition, dictatorship, head of state, historical character, female nudity, peplum, lawyer
The Offer (2022)
Plot Summary:
Oscar-winning producer Al Ruddy’s never before revealed experiences of making the iconic 1972 film The Godfather that Francis Ford Coppola directed and adapted with Mario Puzo
Duration: 586 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: mafia, library, godfather, cosa nostra, biopic, filmmaking, entertainment industry, life, female nudity, journalist, cocaine, office, profanity, director, producer, proposal, crew, filmmaker, film history, drinking alcohol, topless woman, swearing, job, alcohol, novel
The Crown (2016)
Plot Summary:
The gripping, decades-spanning inside story of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Prime Ministers who shaped Britain's post-war destiny. The Crown tells the inside story of two of the most famous addresses in the world – Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street – and the intrigues, love lives and machinations behind the great events that shaped the second half of the 20th century. Two houses, two courts, one Crown
Duration: 58 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 242000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Plot tags: royal family, british royal family, queen, monarchy, monarch, royalty, politics, winston churchill, british history, queen elizabeth ii, british monarchy, prime minister, british politics, power, woman, women, british government, strong female lead, female protagonist, medieval, post war, feminist, storytelling, women power, palace intrigue
John Adams (2008)
Plot Summary:
The life of one of the USA's Founding Fathers, its second President, and his role in the nation's first 50 years
Duration: 71 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Plot tags: american history, president, american revolution, politics, lawyer, freedom, u.s. president, politician, colonial america, leadership, historical character, true love, marriage, father son relationship, first lady, human spirit, head of state, state affairs, army, family relations, ambition, determination, supportive spouse, idealism, revolution
Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
Plot Summary:
Passion, beauty, and brilliant storytelling are all on display in this six-hour-plus epic from Italian director Franco Zeffirelli. Robert Powell is superb in the title role, and with the overwhelming success of this TV movie throughout the world, has perhaps become what Jesus looks like in many people's minds. The story begins with the arrangements of the wedding between Joseph and Mary, and chronicles the nativity, the encounter with John the Baptist (a ferocious Michael York) and everything up to the crucifixion and resurrection
Duration: 382 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK, Italy
Plot tags: jesus, christianity, jesus christ, faith, religion, self sacrifice, roman empire, new testament, prophet, apostle, bible, god or devil, christian, crucifixion of jesus, resurrection, religious, idealism, ancient history, catholic, ancient, antiquity, back from the dead, last supper, betrayal, rabbi
Spartacus (2010)
Plot Summary:
Spartacus is an American television series inspired by the historical figure of Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator who from 73 to 71 BCE led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic departing from Capua
Duration: 55 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 253000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Plot tags: ancient rome, ancient history, roman empire, gladiator, sword fight, rebellion, battles, rebel, slavery, ambition, sex, swords and armor, friendship between men, self sacrifice, revolution, strong sexual content, warrior, rebelliousness, gory, power struggle, intrigue, arena, contests and competitions, female nudity, sword and shield
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011)
Plot Summary:
Before Spartacus struck down his first opponent in the arena, there were many gladiators who passed through the gates onto the sand.'Spartacus: Gods of the Arena' tells the story of the original Champion of the House of Batiatus: Gannicus in a more ruthless time before Spartacus' arrival where honor was just finding its way into the arena
Duration: 331 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 144000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: USA
Plot tags: ancient rome, ancient history, roman empire, gladiator, arena, roman, slave, heroes, warrior, sword fight, slavery, master warrior, strong sexual content, friendship, violence, training, group sex, fight, sword, gore, extramarital affair, pride and honor, male nudity, ancient, sex
This Is Going to Hurt (2022)
Plot Summary:
The unvarnished truth of life as a doctor working in obstetrics and gynaecology
Duration: 45 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Plot tags: medical, gay, gay couple, gynecologist, maternity ward, lgbt, medicine, physician, lifestyle, coworker, male doctor, workplace, workplace situations, friendship, library, aspiration, lgbtq, gay subtext, wedding, depression, suicide, gay lead character, engagement, nightshift, doctor
Roots (1977)
Plot Summary:
African teen Kunta Kinte, brought to America to be enslaved, and the generations of his family
Duration: 588 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Plot tags: slavery, racism, civil war, american civil war, family history, human spirit, slave trade, african american, american south, escape attempt, justice, black, interracial relations, civil rights, slave, black history, injustice, discrimination, social problems, colonialism, life is a bitch, revolution, american history, sexual abuse, american culture
A Small Light (2023)
Plot Summary:
Twentysomething Miep Gies didn't hesitate when her boss Otto Frank came to her and asked her to hide his family from the Nazis during World War II. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan, and the other helpers watched over the eight souls in hiding in the Secret Annex. And it was Miep who found Anne’s Diary and kept it safe so Otto, the only one of the eight who survived, could later share it with the world as one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust
Duration: 54 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Plot tags: world war two, holocaust, biopic, survival, business, life, family relations, boss, secretary, diary, husband wife relationship, attic, employer employee relationship, hiding place, adopted daughter, jewish family, casualty of war, nazi occupation, soul, based on real people, world war, social worker, bilingualism, soul music, disney
American Crime Story (2016)
Plot Summary:
An anthology series centered around some of history's most famous criminals
Duration: 42 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 98000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: USA
Plot tags: courtroom drama, true crime, murder, crime investigation, courtroom, legal investigation, police, racism, society, gay, legal action, lawyer, criminal, district attorney, investigation, trial, celebrity, witness, testimony, lgbtq, legal, serial killer, killer, death, designer
Feud: Bette and Joan (2017)
Plot Summary:
Anthology series of famous feuds with the first season based on the legendary rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford which began early on their careers, climaxed on the set of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" and evolved into an Oscar vendetta
Duration: 406 min
IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Plot tags: hollywood, filmmaking, feud, movie star, actress, jealousy, glory, aging, woman, family problems, workplace problem, loneliness, frustration, women, strong female lead, alzheimer's disease, drinking problem, designer, actor, feminist, film industry, backstage, resistance, human rights, girl power
Wu-Tang: An American Saga (2019)
Plot Summary:
Tracks the Wu-Tang Clan's formation, a vision of Bobby Diggs, who strives to unite a dozen young, black men that are torn between music and crime but eventually rise to become the unlikeliest of American success stories
Duration: 49 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Plot tags: rapper, urban ghetto life, medieval, hip hop, hip hop culture, music, ambition, musician's life, artists and showbiz, artist, friends, life is a bitch, rise to the top, society, social problems, lifestyle, celebrity culture, black cast, black, entertainment industry, black lives matter, female nudity, entertainment, show
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)
Plot Summary:
A fast-break series chronicling the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of sports’ most revered and dominant dynasties — a team that defined an era, both on and off the court
Duration: 59 min
IMDB Rating: 8.3/10
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Plot tags: basketball, basketball player, basketball team, female nudity, breaking the fourth wall, life, coach, career, champion, hollywood, journey, competition, professional, city, tournament, winning, arena, fan, new york times, black, training, trophy, business, team, basketball coach
Genius (2017)
Plot Summary:
Anthology series about famous geniuses with the first season charting how Albert Einstein unlocked the mysteries of the atom and the universe, and the second exploring the passionate nature and relentless creative drive of Pablo Picasso
Duration: 43 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Plot tags: genius, physicist, painting, painter, adolescence vs adulthood, biopic, life, scientist, intelligence, mind, discovery, scientific discovery, real life, life & death, inventions and discoveries, outer space, world war two, world war one, art, science, physics, girl, couples, knowledge, art history
Gentleman Jack (2019)
Plot Summary:
Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, 1832. Anne Lister attempts to revitalize her inherited home, Shibden Hall. Most notably for the time period, a part of her plan is to help the fate of her own family - by taking a wife
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Plot tags: lgbt, lesbian, lgbtq, strongman, lesbian love, discrimination, society, social relations, private vs public, rivalry, female protagonist, love and romance, lesbian relationship, british history, lesbian sex, lesbian seduction, sapphic, gay, feminist, lgbtqi, lgbt history, heroes, strong female lead, relationships, family relations
The Durrells (2016)
Plot Summary:
In 1935, financially strapped widow Louisa Durrell, whose life has fallen apart, decides to move from England, with her four children (three sons, one daughter), to the island of Corfu, Greece. Once there, the family moves into a dilapidated old house that has no electricity and that is crumbling apart. But life on Corfu is cheap, it's an earthly paradise, and the Durrells proceed to forge their new existence, with all its challenges, adventures, and forming relationships
Duration: 46 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Plot tags: greek island, province, friendship, island, family life, parents and children, family relations, expatriate, culture shock, dead husband, world war one, relationships, changing lives, mother daughter relationship, new life, mother son relationship, social problems, family problems, financial problem, lifestyle, lifestyle change, money problems, interwar period, women, writers
The Great (2020)
Plot Summary:
A genre-bending, anti-historical ride through 18th century Russia following the rise of Catherine the Nothing to Catherine the Great and her explosive relationship with husband Peter, the emperor of Russia
Duration: 1594 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 52000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama, History
Country: USA
Plot tags: monarch, royal court, royal family, king, empress, queen, female nudity, imperial russia, russian empire, palace intrigue, intrigue, rivalry, military, betrayal, political intrigue, coronation, state affairs, ambition, serial killer, fashion, women, ancient, feminist, team, woman
Victoria (2016)
Plot Summary:
The story of Queen Victoria, who came to the throne at a time of great economic turbulence and resurgent republicanism – and died 64 years later the head of the largest empire the world had ever seen, having revitalised the throne’s public image and become “grandmother of Europe”
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Plot tags: royal family, british history, royalty, monarchy, queen victoria, british monarchy, european history, queen of england, queen, female protagonist, british politics, british royal family, husband wife relationship, prime minister, british empire, women, politics, power, mother daughter relationship, biopic, ancient rome, world war one, lady, feminist, strength
Manhunt (2017)
Plot Summary:
An in-depth look at how an FBI profiler helped track down the terrorist Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber
Duration: 817 min
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
IMDB Votes: 63000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: serial killer, terrorism, terrorist, true crime, federal bureau of investigation, psychoanalysis, mathematics, crime investigation, murder mystery, fighting crime, crime solving, homicide detective, manhunt, fbi, investigation, violence, danger, agent, fbi agent, organized crime, unsolved crime, cold case, uncover truth, special agent, mountain cabin
Wolf Hall (2015)
Plot Summary:
England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the King dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope and most of Europe oppose him. Into this impass steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer, and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?
Duration: 360 min
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: UK
Plot tags: royal family, tudors, rise to the top, political intrigue, royalty, british monarchy, monarch, manipulation, ambition, state affairs, medieval, politics, betrayal, society, dishonesty, blind ambition, british royal family, monarchy, queen, aristocrat, clergy, british history, knight, ancient rome, world war one
Black Bird (2022)
Plot Summary:
As Jimmy Keene begins a 10-year prison sentence, he gets an incredible offer: If he can elicit a confession from suspected killer Larry Hall, Jimmy will be freed. Completing this mission becomes the challenge of a lifetime
Duration: 347 min
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
IMDB Votes: 95000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: serial killer, organized crime, investigation, deal, prison, informant, bandit, murder, killings, murder investigation, crime investigation, criminal underworld, fighting crime, police investigation, plea bargain, apocalypse, spy, killer, psychopath, sociopath, corruption, murder mystery, truth, sister, drug
Young Rock (2021)
Plot Summary:
As Dwayne Johnson runs for president in 2032, he takes a comedic look back at his extraordinary life through the outrageous stories of his family and youth that shaped him into the man he is today. He explores his childhood years living amid influential wrestling icons while his dad rose to fame in the business, his rebellious teenage years attending high school in Pennsylvania, and his football years teamed up with powerhouse players at the University of Miami. In his telling, Johnson explains that while his experiences have been larger than life, he remains a down-to-earth guy who still relates to the American people
Duration:
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Biography, Comedy
Country: USA
Plot tags: wrestling, childhood, autobiography, actor's life, actor, rising to stardom, grownups, lifestyle, desire for fame, adolescence vs adulthood, black cast, wrestler, father son relationship, young man, muscleman, biracial, presidential campaign, professional wrestling, voice over narration, rocky, actor playing himself
The Billion Dollar Code (2021)
Plot Summary:
In 1990s Berlin, an artist and a hacker invented a new way to see the world. Years later, they reunite to sue Google for patent infringement on it
Duration: 267 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany
Plot tags: computer, technology, investor, courtroom, legal action, lawsuit, court, corporation, business, heist, psychology, politics, entrepreneur, justice, corruption, entrepreneurship, disco, economist, hacker, cybersecurity, legal, code, true crime, judiciary, money
The Act (2019)
Plot Summary:
Dee Dee Blanchard is overprotective of her daughter, Gypsy, who is trying to escape the toxic relationship she has with her mother. Gypsy's quest for independence opens up a Pandora's box of secrets, which ultimately leads to murder. The stranger-than-fiction true-crime series is based on a 2016 BuzzFeed article that detailed the shocking 2015 crime. Oscar winner Patricia Arquette and Oscar nominee Chloë Sevigny star in the Hulu original series
Duration: 425 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: overprotective parent, true crime, treatment, pretense, fake illness, murder of mother, manipulation, mother daughter relationship, mental illness, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, teenage life, murder investigation, deception, hate, female warrior, trial, real life, mutilation, mockery, investigation, illness, family relations, child abuse, vengeance, traumatic childhood
Escape at Dannemora (2018)
Plot Summary:
The stranger-than-fiction account of a prison break in upstate New York in the summer of 2015, which spawned a massive manhunt for two convicted murderers who were aided in their escape by a married female prison employee with whom they both became sexually entangled
Duration: 440 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Plot tags: prison escape, prison life, prison, love triangle, escape, true crime, prisoner, deception, twists and turns, love affair, travel, stephen king, organized crime, jail, prison break, prison guard, cheating wife, sex scene, male nudity, unhappy marriage, older woman younger man sex, imprisonment, biopic, jail cell, sexually dissatisfied wife
Da Vinci's Demons (2013)
Plot Summary:
The series follows the "untold" story of Leonardo Da Vinci: the genius during his early years in Renaissance Florence. As a 25-year old artist, inventor, swordsman, lover, dreamer and idealist, he struggles to live within the confines of his own reality and time as he begins to not only see the future, but invent it
Duration: 60 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 79000
Genere: Adventure, Biography, Drama, Fantasy, History, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Plot tags: renaissance, prodigy, leonardo da vinci, inventions and discoveries, inventor, sex scene, escapades, shrewd, talented, medieval, intelligence, lust, visionary, historical character, unconventional method, lifestyle, a vision, painter, vampire, male nudity, zoophilia, magical, twists and turns, sword fight, verbal byplay