Five Netflix documentaries to keep an eye out for in August
Of all the content Netflix is ready to blow our minds with this August, the documentary slate is snagging the majority of the attention and for good reason.
Although the documentary count is particularly high this month, each one calls for a watch party greater than the last.
While this is definitely not the only showbiz genre Netflix pays attention to, it is inevitably one of the most entertaining collections at any given time, which most recently churned out high-profile releases like The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare, A Toxic Love Story, and Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea, among others.
So, if the July slate left you spellbound, get ready with drumrolls for the five Netflix documentaries to keep an eye out for in August.
Five Netflix documentaries to watch out for in August:
Inside the Trustor Scandal (Karin af Klingberg, 2026)
Arriving on August 5th, Inside the Trustor Scandal is a forthcoming Netflix Original documentary that explores a seriously high-stakes 1997 Swedish financial fraud. It details how five individuals allied to acquire investment firm Trustor, and pulled off a scam worth north of 600million SEK. In this true-crime documentary, director Karen af Klintberg tails fugitive mastermind Joachim Posener, who comes out of hiding after nearly three decades.
Inside the Trustor Scandal tracks down the chief suspect in the 1997 scam, who originally vanished without a trace, throwing dirt in the eyes of Interpol and the Swedish authorities. But thanks to Klintberg’s relentless effort to figure out how the crime happened, where the money went, and how the people involved were affected, the most-wanted Posener now emerges from the shadows for his first interview in almost 30 years.
MOURINHO (Joe Pearlman, 2026)
Scheduled to hit Netflix shelves globally on August 11th, MOURINHO is a three-part docu-series that traces the equal parts iconic and controversial career-defining legacy of football manager José Mourinho. From his emergence in the world of football to his first Champions League triumph with FC Porto, the limited series captures his domestic dominance, exploring his upending of English football with Chelsea and his treble-winning campaign with Inter Milan, among other aspects.
MOURINHO has been filmed over the course of two long years, which alone underscores the dedication that went behind the upcoming documentary. It features never-before-seen behind-the-scenes access, personal insights from Mourinho as he takes a trip down memory lane to his illustrious trophy room, and interviews with MVPs of the sport, including Sir Alex Ferguson, Frank Lampard, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes (Joe Berlinger, 2026)
Next on the lineup is a true-crime documentary from director Joe Berlinger, The Charles Manson Tapes, which serves as the fifth and final instalment of the Conversations with a Killer docu-series. Slated for release on August 12th, Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes tracks the notorious titular serial killer’s rise as a cult leader, the 1969 Manson Family murders, and the media frenzy surrounding his trial via exclusive prison audio recordings.
Conversations with a Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes revolves around firsthand accounts of those who survived the era and its aftermath without an ounce of glorification of Manson’s mythos. While the documentary sheds light on how Manson relied on psychological control, charisma, and isolation as his primary weapons, it also explores how the case shaped and redefined true crime consumption in pop culture forever.
Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing (Rory Kennedy, 2026)
Serving as a sequel to 2022’s Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, one of the biggest eye-openers of all time, Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing is an investigative documentary scheduled for release on August 19th. The Netflix documentary opens with the deepening corporate crisis, addressing systemic safety failures at Boeing and specifically focusing on the tragic demise of whistleblower John Barnett alongside testimonies from other insiders.
Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing explores the personal and professional toll placed on individuals who chose to expose internal malfeasance. Meanwhile, the documentary also features employees from the Boeing 787 Dreamliner factory in South Carolina, who emerge to highlight concerning safety oversights and production pressures, detailing how the culture of cost-cutting and speed over quality control has not only left public safety on the edge but also Boeing’s reputation.
Chompoo: Lost & Forgotten (Nontawat Numbenchapol, 2026)
Inspired by the shocking 2020 true story of three-year-old Orawan ‘Nong’ Chompoo, Chompoo: Lost & Forgotten revolves around the toddler who went missing from her remote village in Mukdahan, Thailand, and was later found dead three days later on a mountain in Phu Pha Yon National Park, nearly two kilometres away from her home. The primary suspect in the case was her uncle-in-law, Chaipol ‘Uncle Phol’ Wipha.
Although he maintained his innocence on repeated public television appearances, Chompoo: Lost & Forgotten explores how the police investigation turned into an unexplained media frenzy, transforming the primary suspect into a celebrity. From amassing hundreds of thousands of online followers to appearing in music videos, the documentary, arriving on August 20th, captures how Uncle Phol experienced an irrational stardom before being found guilty of the crime years later.