Shows Like Independent Lens, Best Similar Series to Watch

The classic long-running prime time TV investigative news magazine.

Educator Henry Louis Gates Jr. has hosted several PBS series that examine U.S. history. In "Finding Your Roots," the Harvard professor continues his quest to "get into the DNA of American culture." In each episode, celebrities view ancestral histories, sometimes learn of connections to famous/infamous people, discover secrets, and share the emotional experience with viewers. Analyzing genetic code, DNA diagnosticians trace bloodlines and occasionally debunk long-held beliefs.

Mysteries involving notable historical events, people and locations are scientifically examined.

Mike Epps returns to his native Indianapolis and reflects on his days as a bad baller and worse drug dealer, as well as fond memories of his parents.

As only one episode (which featured a trip to Kenya with W. Kamau Bell, host of fellow CNN docuseries United Shades of America) was fully completed before Bourdain's death, four of the season's episodes (on Manhattan's Lower East Side, Indonesia, Spain's mountainous Asturias region, and the Texas "Big Bend" area bordering Mexico) were completed using narration and additional interviews provided by guests who were featured in each episode, while the other two episodes will act as retrospectives focusing on the show's production, and a tribute to the impact of Bourdain's life.

Harold Heaven, mysteriously disappeared from his remote cabin in Ontario, Canada, in the winter of 1934. Local police searched the nearby woods and dredged the adjacent lake, but Harold was never found. The case was unceremoniously closed as a likely suicide. 85 years later, his great-great-nephew, Mike, attempts to solve this coldest of cold cases, with the help of his extended family and true-crime-obsessed best friend, Jackson.

New seven-part docuseries spotlights internationally recognized World Surf League elite champions, Kelly Slater, Stephanie Gilmore, Gabriel Medina, Tyler Wright, Italo Ferreira, and Tatiana Weston-Webb

All in My Family is a 2019 American short documentary film directed by Hao Wu. The film follows a traditional heterosexual family where the son is a gay Chinese man who has chosen to have children via surrogates with their same-sex partner Eric.

From documentarian Hao Wu comes a heartfelt portrait of how he created a thoroughly modern family in America, only to face the dilemma of introducing his same-sex partner and their children to his deeply traditional parents and relatives in China.

Hidden amongst the rolling mountains and deep forests of the pacific northwest sits a breeding ground for one of the deadliest terrains in the world. Known as a serial killer's playground, this land once dubbed "Wonderland" due to its grandeur and summer beauty, washes away into nine dreary months of rain that bring gray skies and a falling mist that drives the demons among us to kill. These are THE WONDERLAND MURDERS.

This nature series' new technology lifts night's veil to reveal the hidden lives of the world's creatures, from lions on the hunt to bats on wings. When the sun goes down, a new world awakes. New technology reveals wonders of the planet in a completely new light. Across the globe we discover a hidden side to the world's greatest landscapes and animals.

A daring show documenting the first few crucial minutes of emergencies told through the lens of America's heroic 911 call takers. Host Luke Wilson focuses on the dramatic moments leading up to the arrival of help rather than the events after the firefighters, police or emergency medical service teams arrive. These stories of real-life heroes who are just regular people doing extraordinary things focus on the extreme, suspenseful and sometimes humorous stories that flood 911 call centers. The 911 call takers don't just save people, they calm and console people until they are safe.

Zac Efron and superfoods expert Darin Olien travel the world in search of the secrets to good health, a long life, and a higher level of eco-consciousness. Adventure, laughs and goat-milking ensue. This is a binge-worthy travelogue, food odyssey, and eco-warrior series that takes the star out of his comfort zone and into the far corners of the world. Though the series's focus on travel, life experience, nature, green energy and sustainable living practices is quite entertaining, some critics have questioned the validity of the health and science information.

"Lone Star Law" features the men and women of Texas Game Wardens.