Shows Like Independent Lens, Best Similar Series to Watch

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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.

Richard Hammond travels around the world exploring how engineers have designed and built some of the planet's largest structures and machines. Richard Hammond's BIG. sees him go behind-the-scenes of the largest structures and machines in the world to gain insight into the science of 'big'. Richard will investigate how engineers go about building, maintaining and using these superstructures. With each episode comes a new location and mega structure, which takes him around the globe exploring the likes of the world's longest underground railway tunnel to a cargo ship the size of four football pitches. Richard will meet the unsung heroes behind their development and delve into the science needed to create them via a series of incredible experiments, proving that it's the tiny that makes the truly massive possible.

It follows people who have tragic endings at the hands of husbands, wives, former friends, and lovers.

The phrase "ball and chain" takes on a whole new meaning in "Love After Lockup." Couples meet their potential future spouses for the first time once the bars are removed from the relationship. The way is full of bumps -- and some strong emotions -- along its rocky road, but these inmates are tasting freedom for the first time in a long while. Viewers follow along as they leave their paper and pen behind and jump straight into dating, meeting the family and experiencing other first-time, nerve-wracking moments.

Follow Barney the Dinosaur's furious reaction and what he says about the human need to hate. Something in American society was broken and never came back, or is it just who we were all along?

An in-depth look at the lives and crimes of some of the World's most evil killers including Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez, Cary Stayner, Leonard Lake, Dorothea Puente and more.

It follows Susan Zalkind as she tries to piece together the truth behind the murders of Erik Weissman, Brendan Mess and Raphael Teken in Massachusetts.

Actors Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish take road trips to discover the rich and complex heritage of their native Scotland and other countries.

From chef David Chang and Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville, "The Next Thing You Eat" is a six-episode docuseries that explores the seismic changes happening all around us and what they mean for the way we'll eat in the future. Chang and a diverse cast of characters dive headfirst into what lies ahead, including everything from robots, to lab-grown fish, to insect farms, to artificial intelligence calling all the shots.

NOVA Wonders follows researchers on the winding paths of uncertainty and the unknown revealing how far we've come, how we managed to get here and the remarkable scientists who are transforming our world and the future.

Incarcerated individuals at Eastern Correctional Facility and Taconic Correctional Facility are studying for either BA or AA degrees from Bard College as part of a prison education program. The documentary highlights important feats and milestones in the incarecerated individuals' college careers such as their thesis defenses, graduation, and victory over the Harvard debate team.