100 best biography series

List of the best TV series in the biography genre, selected by visitors to our site: Carlos / Le prix du Chacal, The Emperor's Cook, Trotsky, Gentleman Jack, Domina, Listyev. Novyy vzglyad, BMF, The Red Sleeve, The Girl from Plainville, Pam & Tommy
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Set in the 18th century, the drama depicts the love story between King Jeongjo and royal concubine Seong Uibin.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genredrama, biography
CountryRussia
Duration02:26

The life pages of a man who changed the world but paid back everything he had. Leon Trotsky is being interviewed in Mexico city of the year 1940 by Canadian journalist Frank Jackson. During eight days they have eight interview sessions revealing the true face of Comrade Trotsky.

Markimdb: 8.2
Genrecomedy, melodrama, biography, history
CountryUnited Kingdom, USA
Duration00:56

Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, 1832. Anne Lister attempts to revitalize her inherited home, Shibden Hall. Most notably for the time period, a part of her plan is to help the fate of her own family - by taking a wife.

Markimdb: 7.9
Genredrama, biography, history
CountryJapan
Duration00:54

The drama series depicts the life of Tokuzo Akiyama, head chef of the Imperial Household Ministry’s Imperial Cuisine Division during the Taisho (1912-1926) and early Showa (1926-1989) eras. Based on a true story and book by Hisahide Sugimori, 'The Emperor’s Cook' follows the life of country boy, Akiyama, who arrives in Tokyo in pursuit of the culinary arts. Driven by a deep love for his wife and family, a great reverence for his teachers, strong reliance on friends and an abiding love for cooking, Akiyama eventually rises to become 'the Emperor’s cook'.

Markimdb: 7
Genredrama, biography, history
CountryUnited Kingdom, Italy

The extraordinary rise of Livia Drusilla, who overcame adversity to become the most powerful woman in the world. Follow Livia’s journey from a naïve young girl whose world crumbles in the wake of Julius Caesar’s assassination, to Rome’s most powerful and influential Empress.

Markimdb: 5.9
Genrebiography
CountryRussia

Investigation of the causes of death of Vladislav Listyev. 25 years passed, but the perpetrators of the highest-profile contract murder in Russia in the 1990s were not found. Or didn’t you want to? Or found, but silent? Rodion decided to conduct his investigation. He wants to know the name of the customer. Six months of work, dozens of interviews with colleagues, friends and relatives of Listyev, investigators who conducted the case. And everyone answers the main question: who killed Vlad Listyev?

Markimdb: 7.6
Genrethriller, drama, crime, biography, history
CountryFrance, Germany
Duration05:34

Carlos is a French-German television and cinema biographical film from 2010, about the life of the 1970s international terrorist Carlos the Jackal, from his first series of attacks in 1973 until his arrest in 1994. It premiered as a three-part TV mini-series on French pay channel Canal+, with the three parts airing on 19 May, May 26 and June 2, 2010. On the same day it premiered on Canal+, the full 5½ hour version was also shown out of competition at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Produced by Daniel Leconte of French production company Film En Stock and Jens Meuer of German production company Egoli Tossell Film, in association with Canal+ and French Arte, it was directed by Olivier Assayas from a screenplay by Leconte, Assayas and Dan Franck, and stars Édgar Ramírez as Carlos. The film exists both as a three-part mini-series and a feature film of various lengths between 338 and 319 minutes, but also in several abridged versions, from 187 minutes down to 166 minutes. Classified as a theatrical film as well as a TV film/TV mini-series, Carlos has been awarded both theatrical awards and TV awards; among them the 2010 Golden Globe award for the 'Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television', the 2010 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Director, the National Society of Film Critics 2010 award for Best Director, the New York Film Critics Circle 2010 award for Best Foreign Language Film, the 2010 European Film Award for Best Editor, the 2010 Critics Award for Best Film at the São Paulo International Film Festival, and Édgar Ramírez won the 2010 César Award for Most Promising Actor.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genredrama, crime, biography
CountryUSA

The drug trafficking drama is inspired by the true story of two brothers who rose from the decaying streets of southwest Detroit in the late 1980s and gave birth to one of the most influential crime families in the country. It revolves around brothers Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory and Terry "Southwest T" Flenory, who together took their vision beyond the drug trade and into the world of hip-hop. The drama, per Starz, will tell a story about love, family and capitalism in the pursuit of the American dream.

Markimdb: 6.3
Genredrama, crime, biography
CountryUSA

Inspired by the true story of Michelle Carter's unprecedented "texting-suicide" case. Explores Carter's relationship with Conrad Roy III and the events that led to his death and, later, her conviction of involuntary manslaughter.

Markimdb: 7.4
Genremelodrama, drama, biography
CountryUSA

This comedic series takes on the true story behind the release of the first ever viral video in history — the sex tape of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.

Markimdb: 8.4
Genredrama, biography
CountryUSA

Inspired by Julia Child’s extraordinary life and her show The French Chef, which essentially invented food television.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genredrama, biography
CountryUSA

Each season of this anthology series explores a story that rocked the business world to its core and changed culture. The first season tells the story of Uber, one of Silicon Valley’s most successful and most destructive unicorns.

Markimdb: 6.4
Genredrama, biography, history
CountryUSA

A revelatory reframing of American leadership through the lens of the First Ladies. Exploring everything from their journeys to Washington, family life, and world-changing political contributions, the impact of the White House's women is no longer hidden from view.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genredrama, biography
CountryUSA

The story of Elizabeth Holmes, the enigmatic Stanford dropout who founded medical testing start-up Theranos. Lauded as a Steve Jobs for the next tech generation and once worth billions of dollars, the myth crumbled when it was revealed that none of the tech actually worked, putting thousands of people's health in grave danger.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genredocumentary, biography, sport
CountryUSA, Brazil

Beloved worldwide but also a lightning rod for criticism, Neymar shares the highs and lows of his personal life and brilliant football career.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genredrama, biography
CountryUSA

Inspired by actual events — and the love story at the center of it all. WeWork grew from a single coworking space into a global brand worth $47 billion in under a decade. Then, in less than a year, its valuation dropped $40 billion. What happened?

Markimdb: 8.5
Genreaction, melodrama, drama, adventure, biography, history
CountryUSA
Duration00:52

Spartacus is an American television series inspired by the historical figure of Spartacus, a Thracian gladiator who from 73 to 71 BCE led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic departing from Capua.

Markimdb: 7.7
Genrethriller, drama, biography, history
CountryNetherlands

The story of Dutch journalist Hans Knoop's 1970s struggle to uncover the truth about World War II war criminal Pieter Menten.

Markimdb: 7.6
Genrethriller, drama, crime, detective, biography
CountryUnited Kingdom

The remarkable story of how murderer Charles Sobhraj was captured. As the chief suspect in unsolved murders of young Western travellers across India, Thailand and Nepal’s ‘Hippie Trail’ in 1975 and 1976, Sobhraj had repeatedly slipped from the grasp of authorities worldwide to become Interpol's most wanted man, with arrest warrants on three different continents.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genrethriller, drama, crime, biography, sport
CountryArgentina

This gritty dramatization of the life of Carlos Tevez shows his rise to soccer stardom amid the harrowing conditions in Argentina's Fuerte Apache.

Markimdb: 6.8
Genredocumentary, biography
CountryUSA

An inventive and cinematic approach to biographies of the most iconic figures in society today by using letters written by those whose lives have been changed through their work.

Markimdb: 7.8
Genredrama, biography
CountryBrazil

Hebe Camargo is one of the most emblematic entertainments in Brazil. At her 60s, she went on to control her own career and, despite the criticism, the dreadful husband and the powerful and sexist bosses, she revealed herself to the public as an extraordinary woman, capable of overcoming any personal or professional crisis.

Markimdb: 8.7
Genredrama, biography
CountrySpain

Adored for her charisma and her free, explicit and fun way of expressing herself, La Veneno gained popularity thanks to her television appearances in the 90s. However, her life and especially her death remain an enigma.

Markimdb: 7.7
Genredrama, crime, biography
CountryUSA

A prisoner becomes a lawyer, litigating cases for other inmates while fighting to overturn his own life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit.

Markimdb: 8.2
Genredrama, biography, history
CountryUnited Kingdom

The Caesars is a British television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network in 1968. Made in black-and-white and written and produced by Philip Mackie, it covered similar dramatic territory to the later BBC adaptation of I, Claudius, dealing with the lives of the early emperors of Ancient Rome, but differed in its less sensationalist depictions of historical characters and their motives.

Markimdb: 6.9
Genredrama, music, biography
CountryMexico, USA

As Mexican-American Tejano singer Selena comes of age and realizes her dreams, she and her family make tough choices to hold on to love and music.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genredrama, biography
CountrySpain

We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genredocumentary, biography
CountryUnited Kingdom

Friends, associates and critics reveal the truly American story of Donald Trump, the brash businessman who defied the odds to become U.S. president.

Markimdb: 7.8
Genredrama, biography, history
CountryUSA

The true story of the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, and the unexpected backlash led by a conservative woman named Phyllis Schlafly, aka “the sweetheart of the silent majority.”

Markimdb: 7.8
Genredocumentary, crime, biography, history
CountryUSA
Duration02:00

A unique look inside the mind of an infamous serial killer with this cinematic self-portrait crafted from statements made by Ted Bundy, including present-day interviews, archival footage and audio recordings from death row.

Markimdb: 8.1
Genreaction, drama, crime, biography
CountryIndia

Shiv Prakash Shukla a 25 year age boy from Gorakhpur becomes the deadliest gangster of Uttar Pradesh in 1990s. He works for powerful politicians and involves in organised crimes. The state government felt danger from him and form STF to get him killed in a police encounter by tracking his mobile phone location.

Markimdb: 7.9
Genredrama, biography, history
CountryFinland, Chile

Invisible Heroes tells the heroic tale of young Finnish diplomats in Chile during 1973’s infamous military coup. Finnish diplomats Tapani Brotherus and Ilkka Jaamala along with Tapani’s wife Lysa Brotherus helped over 2000 left-wing Chileans escape the military junta’s persecution. The Finns acted without official authorization while Swedish ambassador Harald Edelstam was the most visible defendant of human rights with the backing of Sweden’s Prime Minister, Olof Palme.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genrebiography, history
CountryUSA
Duration01:33

When social upheaval sweeps Russia in the early 20th century, Czar Nicholas II resists change, sparking a revolution and ending a dynasty.

Markimdb: 8
Genredrama, documentary, crime, biography
CountryUSA

Documentary series that examines the Jonestown Massacre 40 years later.

Markimdb: 7.6
Genredrama, crime, detective, biography
CountryUnited Kingdom

The story of how Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher deliberately breached police procedure and protocol to catch a killer, a decision that ultimately cost him his career and reputation.

Markimdb: 8
Genredrama, music, biography
CountryMexico

The series dramatizes the life story of Mexican superstar singer Luis Miguel, who has captivated audiences in Latin America and beyond for decades.

Markimdb: 8.8
Genrethriller, detective, biography, history
CountryIndia

The man. The legend. The mystery. He fascinated us in life, and long after his "death". This is the story of India's biggest cover-up: Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the mystery of his alleged death.

Markimdb: 6.2
Genremelodrama, drama, biography, history
CountryUnited Kingdom
Duration00:49

This four-part historical drama follows the end of Catherine the Great's reign and her affair with Russian military leader Grigory Potemkin that helped shape the future of Russian politics.

Markimdb: 8.1
Genredocumentary, biography
CountryUSA

When a controversial cult leader builds a utopian city in the Oregon desert, conflict with the locals escalates into a national scandal.

Markimdb: 7.9
Genredrama, biography, history
CountryFrance
Duration02:12

In the 1960s, Israeli clerk-turned-secret agent Eli Cohen goes deep undercover inside Syria on a perilous, years-long mission to spy for Mossad.

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