6 MUST-SEE documentaries

Our round-up of the factual shows that got everyone talking, all available now on streaming services...

- REBECCA FLETCHER

1 OUR UNIVERSE

NETFLIX EPISODES:6

Prepare for an epic journey of cosmic discovery as the dulcet tones of narrator Morgan Freeman relay the story of the universe over billions of years and its inextricable link to life on Earth. Seamlessly mixing CGI with breathtaking wildlife footage, the visually stunning six-parter explores how spectacular celestial forces have shaped the natural world as we know it today.

The series begins with the birth of the sun and its impact on a cheetah's search for food in the sweltering plains of the Serengeti, with later highlights including a gorgeous green sea turtle searching the ocean in episode four, and the blossoming romance between two king penguins in the final instalment.

2 SINS OF OUR MOTHER 

NETFLIX EPISODES: 3

Not for the faint-hearted, this true-crime docuseries examines the case of a doting mother, Lori Vallow, apparently brainwashed by a cult leader and accused of killing her two youngest children. Still an ongoing case in America, the story unfolds largely through the eyes of her surviving son, Colby Ryan, who talks of his picture-perfect mum and the family life they enjoyed before she met religious preacher Chad Daybell, who believed the Apocalypse was coming. An expertly structured series that gets more shocking by the episode.

3 INSIDE OUR AUTISTIC MINDS