Summary

• Netflix's best movies based on true stories capture pivotal moments in history with compelling realism.
• The diverse range of true stories told on Netflix, from WWII dramas to inspirational biographies, captivate audiences.
• These films shed light on overlooked heroes, challenging situations, and impactful historical events with depth and authenticity.

The best movies based on true stories on Netflix inspire, excite, and impact viewers like no other movie. The film industry loves true stories; for that reason, many of the productions are based on the lives of people who experienced extraordinary situations. Likewise, many of these films manage to capture moments in human history that are important to highlight. Cinema transforms those true stories into more artistic and entertaining elements, choosing the details to be told in order to captivate the audience.

Netflix has some of the best documentaries anywhere, and while there are plenty of true stories to entertain subscribers, there are also many based-on-true-story movies with some of the top actors in the world sharing these stories. Often, real events exist that are so incredible they sur any fictional story and seem almost too fantastical to be true. The best Netflix movies based on a true story give directors a chance to honor the truth in a way that works in a regular movie without going over the line when it comes to reality.

26 Mank (2020)

The Story Of The Unsung Hero Behind Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane is often regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made, and while it is only partially based on a true story, the tale behind the making of the movie is interesting enough to make for its own film. Mank sheds some light on one of the people associated with Citizen Kane who audiences might not be overly familiar with. Though Orson Welles often gets the credit for writing the classic movie, Herman J. Mankiewicz aka Mank (Gary Oldman) was the man Welles hired to write the project.

The stunning black and white movie brings Hollywood of the 1930s to life under the detailed eye of director David Fincher. The movie is a celebration of Mank’s wit as well as his demons while also exploring the turbulent time in Hollywood of the era. It is also an intriguing look behind the scenes of one of the most famous movies of all time with some information that might make audiences look at Citizen Kane a little differently.

25 Rustin (2023)

Colman Domingo Plays A Forgotten Civil Rights Hero

One of the great things about movies based on true stories is that they are able to give overlooked people in history their due. Such is the case with the biopic Rustin, which stars Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin, an openly gay man in the 1960s who was an instrumental part of the Civil Rights Movement and a close ally to Martin Luther King Jr. only to find himself being pushed out of the inner circle due to homophobia and prejudice.

Following his death, Rustin has been receiving more notoriety for the work he accomplished and this movie is the latest example of that long-overdue recognition. It is a powerful look at the multiple battles Rustin was fighting on many fronts while ensuring the world was a better place through his tireless work. Domingo earned an Oscar nomination for his layered performance that is powerful, funny, and heartbreaking all at once.

24 Unfrosted (2024)

Jerry Seinfeld's Absurd Comedy About The Creation Of Pop-Tarts

When it comes to movies based on true stories, the question is always asked how much the movie resembles the truth of the story. Unfrosted is one of the rare films that seems to have little to no interest in staying historically accurate. The absurd comedy tells the story of the creation of the toasted breakfast item, the Pop-Tart by Kellogg’s. The movie serves as a directorial debut from Jerry Seinfeld, who also stars as the Kellogg’s employee who comes up with the novel idea.

Unfrosted is a silly and irreverent imagining of this small moment in history, but it features much higher stakes than what it was in reality. The movie draws parallels from everything from the Cold War to the space race. As unserious as the movie takes itself, it is loosely based on a true story with Seinfeld’s character modeled on William Post. There are also a variety of real-life figures to fill out the zany story, from John F. Kennedy to Andy Warhol to Chef Boyardee.

23 Hit Man (2024)

Glen Powell Plays A Fake Hitman

There are some premises that are so wild that audiences can’t believe they are based on a true story. Netflix delivered one of the most entertaining movies of the year that also fit that category as an inventive caper that started out with a real-life story. Hit Man stars Glen Powell as a mild-mannered surveillance officer working with the police who finds he has a talent for undercover work and begins working as a fake hitman to catch suspects looking for a murderer for hire.

Powell and director Richard Linklater co-wrote the script, which is based on the true story of a college professor who did take on such a role for the police in the 1970s and 1980s. Hit Man takes that thrilling idea and uses it for a sexy and funny crime story that presents to lead character as a complex and flawed character. While it goes out of its way to insist in the postscript that the basis for the story is actually a nice guy, his unique story was enough to launch the movie.

22 Pain Hustlers (2023)

Loosely Based On The Insys Scandal

One of the best recent movies based on a true story available on Netflix is Pain Hustlers, which arrived in 2023 as an original for the platform starring Emily Blunt and Chris Evans. The screenplay, written by Wells Tower, is based on the book of the same name by Evan Hughes, which itself is a (loose) adaptation of the Insys scandal in 2018.

While Pain Hustlers is a comedy, it's still a shocking look at some of the worst and darkest aspects of the pharmaceutical industry, as the true story involved a Fentanyl spray being sold as a safe pain management medication. Fentanyl is, of course, incredibly dangerous. Andy Garcia's character in Pain Hustlers, Jack Neel, is likely inspired by Dr. John Kapoor, who founded Insys Therapeutics.

The company was a prominent name in the pharmaceutical industry, but went into bankruptcy in 2019. While Pain Hustlers changes many elements of the true story, it is true that Insys bribed and coerced many medical professionals to promote their dangerous product with such tenacity and disregard for the law that Kapoor was sentenced to 5 and a half years in prison.

21 Maestro (2023)

Bradley Cooper's Leonard Bernstein Biographic

Many of the best movies on Netflix based on true stories are also biographicals that focus on a specific individual and their life story, whether due to their acclaim or infamy. One of the most recent arrived in 2023 — Maestro, the black-and-white film documenting the life and cultural influence of classical composer Leonard Bernstein directed, written by, and starring Bradley Cooper. Cooper brings Bernstein to life in the movie, which showcases why the figure was so important to classical music in America and how he gained international acclaim.

However, a key focus of Maestro isn't just Bernstein's legacy, but also his relationship with his wife Felicia Montealegre (played by Carey Mulligan). The pair collaborated extensively across their careers, and her influence on her husband is unquestionable. An intriguing figure in her own right, Maestro perfectly captures the true story of how the lives and legacies of Bernstein and Montealegre intertwine, making for a truly gripping drama.

20 The Good Nurse (2022)

The Chilling Tale Of Serial Killer Charles Cullen

Since the streaming platform is known for its many true-crime offerings, it's unsurprising that many of the best Netflix movies based on a true story focus on serial killers. 2022's The Good Nurse is one of the best of the bunch in this regard and tells the harrowing story of Charles Cullen, the convicted serial killer who used his position as a nurse to murder hundreds of patients during his 16-year career. Eddie Redmayne brings his dramatic prowess to the movie as Cullen, and his performance throughout is truly chilling.

A shocking look at just how easily istrative shortcomings in medical environments made it for Cullen to fulfill his twisted desires.

The movie is based on the book The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber, and both give a shocking look at just how easily istrative shortcomings in medical environments made it for Cullen to fulfill his twisted desires. Jessica Chastain stars alongside Redmayne in the cast of The Good Nurse as fellow nurse Amy Loughren, one of the first of Cullen's colleagues to suspect him of malpractice and, eventually, proved essential when he was brought to justice.

19 Harriet (2019)

The Awe-Inspiring Story Of Harriet Tubman

The Slave Trade was a stain on the history of the United States. However, from these incredibly dark and dangerous times came some stories of true heroism, and one of the best movies on Netflix based on a true story focuses on one such case — that of Harriet Tubman, the former slave turned abolitionist who risked her life to rescue scores of slaves from plantations across the Confederate south. 2019's Harriet brings Tubman's incredible life story to screens with The Color Purple star Cynthia Erivo in the lead role as the titular character.

Erivo was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Harriet Tubman, and Harriet was critically acclaimed. It has an invigorating pace, managing to feature far more action than most historical biographic movies. Just how easily her true story became a riveting movie shows how incredible the life she led was, and Harriet is sure to satisfy any Netflix subscribers who want to learn more about an undersung American hero while being thoroughly entertained at the same time.

18 Lost Girls (2020)

A Shocking Mystery About An Infamous Unidentified Serial Killer

The Long Island serial killer is one of the most infamous uncaught serial killers in the US. They operated between 1996 and 2011, with their activity only discovered when the remains of 11 women and girls (the youngest of whom was a toddler) were discovered on Gilgo Beach. Director Liz Garbus's film Lost Girls doesn't focus on the killer themselves but on the true story of activist Mari Gilbert (played by Amy Ryan), the mother of one of the missing girls whose search for her child unearths key details about the unsolved murders.

Unlike many of the other true-crime movies on Netflix focusing on serial killers, Lost Girls spends its time focusing on the impact that these heinous crimes have on the families of the victims

Like many of the Netflix movies based on a true story, Lost Girls was adapted from a nonfiction book — Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker. It's an incredibly gripping drama, and unlike many of the other true-crime movies on Netflix focusing on serial killers, Lost Girls spends its time focusing on the impact that these heinous crimes have on the families of the victims, rather than glorifying the killer.

17 Nyad (2023)

A Sports Drama About Unparalleled Determination

2023's Nyad is another Netflix movie based on a true story that brings one of the most interesting narratives in the history of sports and athletics to the screen. It tells the story of Diana Nyad, based on her own book Find a Way, and her repeated attempts to swim the Straits of Florida. The Straits would require an incredible 110 miles of uninterrupted swimming, taking Nyad from Cube to Florida. Nyad had attempted the journey decades prior and decided at age 60 that she wouldn't be able to rest unless she tried once again, this time successfully.

Nyad accomplished her goal, successfully making the swim on her fifth attempt in 2013. The movie adaptation of her story on Netflix stars Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee Annette Bening as Diana Nyad. She is ed in the Nyad cast by the likes of Jodie Foster as Nyad's fellow athlete, Bonnie Stoll, as well as Rhys Ifans as John Bartlett, the navigator Nyad hires to assist her in her journey.