The latest paranormal docuseries to grace Netflix has become a hit: Files of the Unexplained landed on Wednesday, April 3 and quickly became the most-watched series on the streamer in many places around the world, including the US, while it's in the Top 10 in the UK.
Files of the Unexplained takes a look at eight separate ostensibly-unexplained cases involving extraterrestrials, hauntings, UFOs, disappearances or odd-goings-on, running the gamut from simple true crime to wild and inexplicable events.
This is the kind of docuseries that you have to switch off your brain to enjoy: not only does a quick Google reveal that several of the cases actually already been explained by known science, but Files of the Unexplained often opts for sensationalization over a thorough and nuanced look at the events and "evidence" of each case.
But that's the fun of paranormal docuseries like this, and if you don't take them too seriously, you can treat them like fun fantasy, horror or sci-fi campfire stories.
Files of the Unexplained is far from the only paranormal or conspiracy docuseries Netflix has released, though. If you've enjoyed it and want more of the same, here are several other similar series that'll deliver more of the same.
Unsolved Mysteries
Perhaps Netflix's most popular docuseries about unexplained phenomena is Unsolved Mysteries, which has three "volumes" of episodes (that's seasons, to you or I). A fourth is coming later in 2024, and if you're wondering, this is a continuation of the classic series, though since Netflix took over the rights it doesn't have much in common with the Robert Stack originals.
Unsolved Mysteries covers a wide range of topics like lights in the sky, missing people, supposed hauntings and suspicious disappearances. In its most interesting episodes, like season 3's 'Paranormal Rangers' it eschews the mysteries instead of exploring the people who try to explain them, or the people affected by them.
While accusations have been leveled at Unsolved Mysteries for omitting important details about cases in order to up the drama factor, or for not scrutinizing its subjects enough, there are enough interesting episodes to make it worth watching.
Alien Worlds
If you like paranormal docuseries for news on alien visitors, then you can turn your attention to Alien Worlds. It's a bit different, but it's definitely an interesting watch.
This is a speculative zoology and planetology series, which combines real-world sciences to guess at what distant alien worlds might actually be like. Each of the four episodes features a new fictional world, with strange geography and creatures, and then uses Earth examples to explain the ecosystem of this new place.
While you could accuse Alien Worlds of spending a too much time on Earth and not actually exploring these made-up but interesting planets, it does help you appreciate the world you're on a little more. Plus, unlike some others on this list, the docuseries is upfront about its fictional nature!
MH370: The Plane That Disappeared
The three-part docuseries MH370: The Plane That Disappeared takes an in-depth look at one of the most perplexing mysteries of the last ten years.
The vanishing of the Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 has seen a wealth of TV, streaming and YouTube documentaries, but we're no closer to knowing what happened when the aircraft and its 239 inhabitants mysteriously vanished in 2014.
Created with a decade of hindsight, The Plane That Disappeared gives a wide-spanning and reflective look at the journey and disappearance of MH370, with plenty of interviews and all the evidence out there right now.
Encounters
Another alien conspiracy series is Encounters, from Stephen Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and Netflix, which consists of four episodes.
Each episode tells the story of a close encounter with visitors from other worlds: there are American, Welsh, Japanese and Zimbabwean UFO and ET sightings from the last 50 years. The stories are told by the people who witnessed the unexplained sightings, with a few "expert" interviews to try and lend the stories some credence.
Wormwood
If you watch shows like Files of the Unexplained for the mysterious conspiracy stories, then you're going to want to watch Wormwood, because it details a massive historical mystery.
Wormwood follows Eric Olson as he tries to understand the death of his father in 1953. This man, a CIA employee called Frank Olson, seemingly took his life, but upon investigation he was unknowingly drugged and may have been linked to the CIA two-decade human experiments program called MKUltra.
The six-parter combines interviews, true facts and re-enactments (with a bizarrely high-profile cast for a Netflix docuseries including Tim Blake Nelson, Jimmy Simpson and Peter Sarsgaard).
Dirty Money
The best shows on unexplained phenomenon don't necessarily try to shove some out-there theory down your throat, but just make you feel that there's more going on in the world than you realize. That's exactly what Dirty Money does, as it's a show that unearths real-life conspiracies, usually ones about financial institutions and systems of power.
Over two seasons, Dirty Money looked at things like the allegedly-fraudulent practices of Wells Fargo, companies dumping toxic chemicals into unsuspecting towns, and strange heists of maple syrup from underground storehouses.
These episodes might enrage you with what certain companies try to get up to, but it's all interesting, and certainly a lot more truthful than some other shows on this list...
Ancient Apocalypse
Now we move onto the series that, in the politest terms possible, is Netflix's most divisive paranormal docuseries.
Helmed by Graham Hancock, each episode follows the man as he travels the world to present evidence for a grand theory: that Earth used to be inhabited by a super-advanced civilization back in the ice age, from which we gained many of our basic technologies, but a strange apocalypse wiped them from the earth a long time ago.
Basically every idea presented in Ancient Apocalypse had been thoroughly debunked prior to the show even airing, and many have called Netflix to categorize the show as science fiction instead of fact, so bear that in mind when you're watching it. If that doesn't matter to you, and if you prefer some silly entertainment, it's (unintentionally) a very funny show.
