Best Dramatic Movies & TV Shows

Journeying to the far reaches of our planet, this eight part series follows some of the world's most amazing species, telling extraordinary stories that are dramatic, thrilling, funny and sometimes heart-breaking, but always full of hope.

Isolated since the time of the dinosaurs, New Zealand’s wildlife has been left to its own devices, with surprising consequences. Its ancient forests are still stalked by predators from the Jurassic era. It’s also one of the most geologically active countries on earth. From Kiwis with their giant eggs, to forest-dwelling penguins and helicopter-riding sheep dogs, meet the astonishing creatures and resilient people who must rise to the challenges of their beautiful, dramatic and demanding home.

This film tells the dramatic story of Megeti, a lone wolf who wanders across the highlands on a quest to find a new home after losing her pack and suddenly being left to fend for herself. For the young wolf to survive, it is vital that she finds a new family and this quest pushes her into foreign territory, occupied by cattle breeders and other wolves.

Melvyn Bragg explores the dramatic story of William Tyndale and his mission to translate the Bible into English, which made him a threat to the authority of the church and state.

Continuing the compelling saga of the heartstring-tugging, dramatic tale of survival revolving around three families of meerkats who are descendants of the legendary meerkat matriarch, Flower. Neighbors and rivals who share a bloodline are forced to compete for food and resources in an environment that is undergoing a great deal of change: the Kalahari Desert in South Africa.

The South American continent is a land of great extremes, stretching from the Antarctic to the Equator. It has the planet's greatest river system, longest mountain chain, biggest and richest rainforest and driest desert. Using the latest camera techniques, including infrared night vision cameras, rarely seen animals are revealed, while a special aerial camera soars over the continent, revealing an entirely new perspective on its varied and dramatic landscape.

DON GIOVANNI is one of the timeless classics of all opera. Mozart’s music, and the words of his great collaborator Da Ponte, are brought to life in Francesca Zambello’s engrossing production with its rich and colourful designs by Maria Bjornson. The music is memorable, dramatic and enjoyable: from the seductive solo voices of the famous ‘La ci darem la mano’ to the fabulous ensemble as Don Giovanni’s infatuated conquests, vengeful victims and their outraged relatives join forces for justice. And retribution does finally come to Don Giovanni, a serial womanizer and a murderer, with the searing flames of Hell ready to engulf him. Simon Keenlyside heads the outstanding cast at the Covent Garden Royal Opera House, conducted by renowned Mozart expert Charles Mackerras.

Inside the dramatic search for a cure to ME/CFS (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). 17 million people around the world suffer from what ME/CFS has been known as a mystery illness, delegated to the psychological realm, until now. A scientist in the only neuro immune institute in the world may have come up with the answer. An important human drama, plays out on the quest for the truth.

Ron Funches makes a dramatic wrestling-inspired entrance before hitting the stage for an hour that demonstrates his unique style accentuating the positive about a wide range of things he loves and enjoys: vision boarding, losing weight, parenting his autistic son, TV, and wrestling.

From the locker room to the pitch, this docuseries offers exclusive access to all 32 teams as they fight for football glory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Filmed in the autumn of 1975 prior to and during Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour – featuring appearances and performances by Ronee Blakley, T-Bone Burnett, Jack Elliott, Allen Ginsberg, Arlo Guthrie, Ronnie Hawkins, Roger McGuinn, Joni Mitchell, Mick Ronson, Arlen Roth, Sam Shepard, and Harry Dean Stanton – the film incorporates three distinct film genres: concert footage, documentary interviews, and dramatic fictional vignettes reflective of Dylan's song lyrics and life.

There's nothing else like it. Chris Packham reveals the epic, four-billion-year story of our home - from its dramatic creation to the arrival of human life... and whatever's next.

Comedian Nick Helm narrates this bold new documentary series exploring the dramatic history of British cinema. Discover how cinema held a mirror up to society from 1960 through to the 00s.

Professor Brian Cox explores the dramatic lives of the eight majestic planets/worlds that make up our solar system.

David Attenborough reveals the surprising truth about the cold-blooded lives of reptiles and amphibians. These animals are as dramatic, as colourful and as tender as any other animals.

Consisting of a stage with over 5,000 cubic feet of water from the Bellagio Lake, "O" shifts the boundaries of the interplay of acrobatics, music, theater and dance, with such diverse disciplines as water jumping, gymnastics, synchronized swimming, trapeze, acrobatics, dramatic play, music and dance - an unforgettable rendezvous for all spectators.

With humour and compassion, Annie et ses hommes  shows us the ups and downs of a modern family, focusing on the emotions and experiences of a woman in her forties. This dramatic comedy is a subtle portrait of a singular woman, Annie, and her clan. It’s a thought-provoking exploration of family life.

Incorporating bodycam footage from the initial crime scene, surveillance video, and interrogation room recordings, homicide investigations unfold through dramatic real video footage providing an up-close perspective on homicide investigations.

Delve into the secret underworld of the American Mafia, as told by the criminals who lived it and the law enforcers who hunted it. This dramatic six-part series chronicles the true-life story of the modern Mob in America, as former mobsters, informants, and FBI agents expose the takedown of the deadliest and most infamous organized crime ring in U.S. history. A combination of recently declassified files, first-person accounts by federal officials and the mafioso themselves, and rare archival footage sheds a new light on the raw, violent, and corrupt underworld that gripped America for decades.

When Robert “Granddad” Freeman becomes legal guardian to his two grandsons, he moves from the tough south side of Chicago to the upscale neighborhood of Woodcrest (a.k.a. "The Boondocks") so he can enjoy his golden years in safety and comfort. But with Huey, a 10-year-old leftist revolutionary, and his eight-year-old misfit brother, Riley, suburbia is about to be shaken up.

A young boy, in an effort to have a normal childhood in 1980s El Salvador, is caught up in a dramatic fight for his life as he desperately tries to avoid the war which is raging all around him

Jeremy Clarkson tells the dramatic story of the Arctic convoys of the Second World War, from Russia to the freezing Arctic Ocean.

E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and also well-known public figures. Among the topics covered on the program include salacious re-tellings of Hollywood secrets, show-biz scandals, celebrity murders and mysteries, porn-star biographies, and "where-are-they-now?" investigations of former child stars. It frequently features in-depth interviews, actual courtroom footage, and dramatic reenactments. When aired on the E! network, episodes will be updated to reflect the current life or status of the subject.

The story of the early days of Deadwood, South Dakota; woven around actual historic events with most of the main characters based on real people. Deadwood starts as a gold mining camp and gradually turns from a lawless wild-west community into an organized wild-west civilized town. The story focuses on the real-life characters Seth Bullock and Al Swearengen.

A rag-tag group of undocumented youth – Dreamers – deliberately get detained by Border Patrol in order to infiltrate a shadowy, for-profit detention center.

Thirty years ago, the nation watched every moment of the Menendez Brothers’ dramatic trial in real time on Court TV. Now, thanks to TikTok and social media, an entirely new generation is learning their story for the very first time.

"Miracle 3" chronicles the dramatic events that ensued after a tornado hit downtown Atlanta during the 2008 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at the Georgia Dome.

Imagine classic SpongeBob moments being told through the lens of documentary shows like E! True Hollywood Stories, Dateline, Behind the Music etc. Each episode takes an overly dramatic look into classic SpongeBob storylines.

We follow two people who have lost massive amounts of weight and are about to undergo a full body transformation through skin removal surgery. Each episode culminates in dramatic reveals for both individuals.

The odyssey of an American handgun and the dramatic way it reshapes the lives of its various owners.

Sue Perkins embarks on a life-changing, 3,000-mile journey up the Mekong, South East Asia's greatest river, exploring lives and landscapes on the point of dramatic change.

Featuring an in-depth look at wildlife that struggle to survive through cycles of drought and dramatic rainfall, the series was filmed beyond the jagged peaks of Mount Kenya, in the great rangelands of the north, beginning at the end of the long rains, when river valleys, plains and mountains are flushed with new growth.

Handsome young fisherman Tom Roberts is among the crew of a lifeboat that rescues Frenchwoman Claire le Grange, sole survivor of a shipwreck on the treacherous Goodwin Sands. Tom's marriage to his own sweetheart, Mary, is postponed owing to injuries he sustained in the dramatic rescue, and during his convalescence he falls for the charms of the flirtatious Claire.

The film explores the background and build-up to this final flight to disaster. Using dramatic reconstruction, archive footage and exclusive interviews with leading historians and engineering experts, the special delves into the political and scientific events that led up to the catastrophe.

Two psychic children, two parentless siblings, and their environmentalist guardian try to rescue the globally warmed world of 2025, protect vulnerable lives, and stay ahead of an oppressive government in a dramatic sci-fi thriller.

The Caesars is a British television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network in 1968. Made in black-and-white and written and produced by Philip Mackie, it covered similar dramatic territory to the later BBC adaptation of I, Claudius, dealing with the lives of the early emperors of Ancient Rome, but differed in its less sensationalist depictions of historical characters and their motives.

Follow the iconic football club during an unforgettable season. As fans return to stadiums, the 2021-22 football season puts pressure on Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta and his young team to get back to their former glories and back into Europe. Offering unprecedented access and capturing the highs and lows of life on and off the pitch, this is football at its finest: raw, dramatic and full of passion.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason made history in 2016 when he became the first black winner of the BBC Young Musician competition. Sheku has six musically gifted siblings and this film explores their extraordinary talents and issues of diversity in classical music. We follow Sheku and his brothers and sisters and examine the sacrifices that parents Stuart and Kadie make in order to support their children in pursuing their musical dreams. Told through the prism of family life we get an understanding of what it is that drives this family to be the best musicians they can be. At the heart of the story is 17-year-old Sheku, and we see him coming to terms with his Young Musician win and the pressures and opportunities it brings. His life is changing dramatically as he now has to learn to deal with the challenges of becoming a world-renowned cellist.

The comedian explores the British isles in her vintage camper van, Helen, taking in some dramatic scenery, unspoilt countryside and incredible historic sights along the way.

Documentary using only original colour footage charts the 12 years from Adolf Hitler's rise to power to the fall of Berlin in 1945. Complemented by eyewitness material, tracks the dramatic transformation of Germany into a Nazi state, looks into Hitler's relationship with his lover Eva Braun and replicates pivotal events, including Nazi rallies, the invasion of Poland, Hitler's meeting with Lloyd George, the horrors of Buchenwald concentration camp, Warsaw's Jewish Ghetto, the Battle of Britain and the fall of Berlin.

Described (rather cheekily) by director Michael Snow as a musical comedy, this deft probing of sound/image relationships is one of his wittiest, most entertaining and philosophically stimulating films. In his words, the film “derives its form and the nature of its possible effects from its being built from the inside, as it were, with the actual units of such a film, i.e. the frame and the recorded syllable. Thus its ‘dramatic’ element derives not only from a representation of what may involve us generally in life but from considerations of the nature of recorded speech in relation to moving light-images of people.’”

Every second of every day, millions of Americans are caught on CCTV. Living in a surveillance society means everyday actions are caught on camera, mostly of honest citizens going about their daily lives. But a few are guilty of unspeakable crimes. Video doesn't discriminate; criminals also end up on film. See no Evil is a groundbreaking series that presents dramatic stories about how real crimes are solved with the aid of surveillance cameras. Police reveal how CCTV footage has unlocked the answer to cases that otherwise might have remained unsolved- leaving dangerous killers at large. The series features real footage and dramatic reconstruction, combined with first-hand testimony from police, witnesses, and families.

In a characteristically cinematic documentary series shot on both land and sea, Sir David Attenborough narrates the struggles and successes of a wide variety of animals as they take on one of life's most vital challenges: finding a partner. From termites to humpback whales, each creature's particular quirks and rituals are explored with joyful fascination as they navigate the dramatic - and sometimes dangerous - path of love, ensuring the survival of their species by relying on their animal instincts. With the production team having recorded over 4000 hours of fights, rebuffed advances and incredible displays aimed to impress, the veteran natural historian once again shows the animal kingdom as it has never quite been seen before.

The enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand.

Allison "Sonny" Munroe makes the leap from the Midwest to Los Angeles to join the cast of "So Random!," the most popular sketch comedy TV show for kids and tweens. Her fellow young actors are resident teen queen Tawni, super suave Nico, gregarious funnyman Grady and quirky Zora. Now Sonny must somehow balance these new friendships while adjusting to her family's decidedly different way of life in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Sonny must also contend with heartthrob Chad Dylan Cooper, star of the rival show "MacKenzie Falls," who makes it known that he thinks his dramatic work is better than her comedy career.

Dramatic documentary about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of a loosely connected group of states to become a nation.

Documentary telling the extraordinary story of Koko, the only 'talking' gorilla in the world, and her lifelong relationship with Penny Patterson. Project Koko started as a PhD project to teach sign language to a baby gorilla, but as Koko began to communicate with Penny, an intense bond formed between them. Penny has now been with Koko for over 40 years and claims Koko can reveal fresh insights into the workings of an animal's mind. Koko's unique life with Penny has been filmed every step of the way. Over 2,000 hours of footage chart the most dramatic moments - Penny's battle to keep Koko from being taken back to the zoo in which she was born, Penny's clash with academic critics who doubted her claims and the image of Koko mourning the death of her kitten.

Thai cave Rescue documents the dramatic rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from the Tham Luang Cave in northern Thailand. Featuring interviews with key people involved, the film explains how the boys became trapped in the cave by heavy rains on Saturday, June 23, 2018, and explains how, fearing the worst, relatives and local rescuers began searching for the boys but to no avail. Finally, the film reveals how an international team of rescuers was called upon to find the boys and ultimately bring them to safety. This remarkable story gripped the world for 18 days. A stunning example of innovation, teamwork and human endurance in one of the most hostile environments on earth - a flooded cave.

Errol Morris's unique documentary dramatically re-enacts the crime scene and investigation of a police officer's murder in Dallas.

This illuminating documentary examines the aftermath of Princess Diana's tragic death and the tense, dramatic week leading up to her funeral