Crazy For History

Host Adam Conover employs a combination of comedy, history and science to dispel widespread misconceptions about everything we take for granted.

This daring original series stars postmodern bad boys of magic Penn & Teller as they question many of our culture's most cherished and widely held beliefs. From the truth about palm readings and TV psychics to the reality behind Feng Shui and Ouija boards, the archly comic masters of misdirection host this eye-opening analysis of the middle-ground between perception and reality.

An Idiot Abroad is a British travel documentary television series broadcast on Sky1 and Science, as well as spin-off books published by Canongate Books, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and starring Karl Pilkington. The ongoing theme of both the television series and the books is that Pilkington has no interest in global travel, so Merchant and Gervais make him travel while they stay in the United Kingdom and monitor his progress.

British comedian Richard Ayoade (later taken over by Joe Lycett), accompanied by a celebrity guest, takes a ruthlessly efficient approach to travel, covering everything top tourist destinations have to offer in just 48 hours.

Host Alton Brown explores the origins of ingredients, decodes culinary customs and presents food and equipment trends. Punctuated by unusual interludes, simple preparations and unconventional discussions, he'll bring you food in its finest and funniest form.

Charlie Brooker's acerbic take on recent TV contains reviews of current shows, as well as stories and commentary on how television is produced.

A 2009 television documentary series in six parts that covers 40 years of the surreal comedy group Monty Python, from Flying Circus to present day projects such as the musical Spamalot. The series highlights their childhood, schooling and university life, and pre-Python work. The series featured new interviews with surviving members John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, alongside archive interview footage of Graham Chapman and interviews with several associates of the Pythons, including Carol Cleveland, Neil Innes and Chapman's partner David Sherlock, along with commentary from modern comedians.

With a construction crew, a legion of actors, and seemingly unlimited resources, Nathan Fielder allows ordinary people to prepare for life's biggest moments by "rehearsing" them in carefully crafted simulations of his own design. When a single misstep could shatter your entire world, why leave life to chance?

Now Karl’s turned 40 and has officially hit middle age, it’s time for him to re-assess his life. He’s not married, he doesn’t have kids, he’s got a job where he’s known as an ‘idiot’, and he’s known for being miserable. He’s classic ‘mid-life crisis’ material. As Karl attempts to put his life in order, he’ll be dispatched around the world on a crash course to find out how other cultures deal with life’s big questions. The ups and downs of Karl’s experiences will be contrasted against the beautiful geography of the countries he visits, captured on HD with stunning aerial photography.

Explore Marvel’s rich legacy of pioneering characters, creators and storytelling to reflect the world outside your window. Each documentary, helmed by a unique filmmaker, showcases the intersections of storytelling, pop culture, and fandom within the Marvel Universe.

Nathan Fielder uses his business degree and life experiences to help real small businesses turn a profit.

In a uniquely hilarious odyssey of self-discovery and cultural observation, documentary filmmaker and self-described "anxious New Yorker" John Wilson covertly and obsessively films the lives of his fellow New Yorkers while attempting to give everyday advice on relatable topics. The awkward contradictions of modern life are eased by Wilson’s candid, unpolished commentary. Building upon Wilson’s previously released "how to" short films, each episode takes wildly unexpected turns but is grounded in John's refreshing honesty.

Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987. The older version featured historical figures such as Helen Keller and Mark Twain, or long-dead entertainment figures such as Will Rogers or John Barrymore. The A&E series has placed the emphasis on such people as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Plácido Domingo, Freddie Mercury, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Eric Clapton, Pope John Paul II, Gene Tierney, Selena, Diego Rivera, Mao Zedong and Queen Elizabeth II, and fictional characters like The Phantom, Superman, Hamlet, Betty Boop, and Santa Claus. The program ended up profiling enough figures that in 1999, A&E spun it off into an entire network, The Biography Channel.

Infographics and archival footage deliver bite-size history lessons on scientific breakthroughs, social movements and world-changing discoveries.

The Awful Truth is a satirical television show that was directed, written, and hosted by filmmaker Michael Moore, and funded by the British broadcaster Channel 4.

The science of living and the randomness of death are combined with a dash of Darwinism. Forensic experts, pathologists, toxicologists, herpetologists, and other experts offer eloquent explanations of mortality.

This docuseries takes an unprecedented look at the enduring and influential legacy of DC, allowing fans to rediscover the universe of characters, as well as the iconic comic book company’s origins, its evolution and its nearly nine-decade cultural impact across every artistic medium.

Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode was broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly television episode on BBC One. The running time of the first two series was 30 minutes, being extended to 45 minutes in the third. BBC Three also broadcast a cut-down edition of the programme, lasting 15 minutes, shown after the repeats on Sundays and Fridays and after the weekday evening repeats of earlier seasons.

Brainiac is The Alternative science series that shows you the experiments you were never allowed to do in school. Richard Hammond aims to answer the scientific questions that have been bothering us all such as what you shouldn't put in a microwave and Do mobile phones really cause explosions in petrol stations.

Hosts Tanner Foust, Adam Ferrara and Rutledge Wood embark on adventures as they test cars in extreme stunts, intense challenges and first-person reviews using their unique perspectives.

"Mankind : The Story of All of Us" is an epic 12-hour television event about the greatest adventure of all time—the history of the human race. It takes 10 billion years for the ideal planet to form and 3 billion more for the right conditions to emerge before it finally happens: mankind begins. From there unfolds a fast-paced story told here through key turning points—stepping stones in our journey from hunter-gatherer to global citizen. It’s a tale of connections—why some ideas take hold and spread around the globe, and how the lives of people in one part of the world are shaped by events in another.

Political tensions in Panama burst with the rumors of the rejection of the Herran-Hay Treaty, that'd grant the U.S.A. the rights to build the Canal. José Agustín Arango decides it's time to start a secret revolution for Independence, joining forces with prominent isthmian businessmen and politicians, and getting help from strong international figures like Theodore Roosevelt, William Nelson Cromwell and Philippe Bunau-Varilla in a "chess game" that some call "the Greatest Revolution of all time".

From wagon trains crossing the untamed frontier to man's first steps on the moon, this series offers a compelling look at the people, inventions and events that helped forge the United States of America.

Alice embarks on her most ambitious journey to date, in search of the Roman Empire, travelling 1300 miles through Italy, France and Spain to discover the origins and secrets of Rome’s success.

July 2014. When Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 crashes in Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board, the circumstances are shrouded in mystery. With a regional war beginning to rage around the crash site, disinformation is everywhere. Western governments are left scrabbling for detail while one civilian is leading the hunt for answers – Dad of two and amateur blogger Eliot Higgins. And with an unlikely team of online detectives by his side, he’s ready to fight all the way to the truth.

Egypt's Cosmic Code charts Bradley Walsh's first trip to Egypt in search of answers to some of Ancient History's biggest mysteries - who built the pyramids, why and how? Could Ancient Egyptians have supernatural abilities, and is the Great Sphinx much older than we think? This three-part series sees Bradley fulfil a lifetime’s ambition to visit the monuments of Ancient Egypt and try to understand how it could have been possible to produce such 'wonders of the ancient world' 4,500 years ago. Apprenticed to Rolls Royce long before he embarked on his stellar TV career, Bradley has had an enduring fascination with ancient engineering and with the idea that the construction feats of our ancient forebears could only have been possible with the participation of some 'other worldly' or extraterrestrial influence.

The teletheater series "Katb Azam" is an adaptation of the book "Confessions of a Killed Scribe" written by Sasan Natiq from Surah Mehr Publications, which has an Ashura story and narrates the events of the evening until the night of Ashura.

The Richard Pryor Show is an American comedy variety series starring Richard Pryor. It premiered on NBC on Tuesday, September 13, 1977 at 8 p.m. opposite ABC's popular television shows Laverne & Shirley and Happy Days. The show was produced by Rocco Urbisci for Burt Sugarman Productions. It was conceived out of a special that Pryor did for NBC in May 1977. Because the special was a major hit, both critically and commercially, Pryor was given a chance to host and star in his own television show. TV Guide included the series in their 2013 list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon".

Where the Girls Are was a music and comedy special that aired on NBC in 1968. Noel Harrison, fresh from his role in the NBC series Girl From U.N.C.L.E., hosted the hour-long special. Comic skits were performed by Professor Irwin Corey and Don Adams, who was starring in the NBC series Get Smart. Musical numbers were performed by The Association, Barbara McNair, Cher and The Byrds. The "Close-Up" for the program in the April 20–26, 1968 TV Guide also notes: "The goings-on include antic camerawork and a bevy of mini-clad beauties." Celanese Arnel was a major sponsor. The special was broadcast on Tuesday, April 23, 1968. It pre-empted the Jerry Lewis Show on NBC's network schedule.

Five-time Emmy Award winner Neil Patrick Harris is coming to NBC on a new primetime variety series based on the U.K.'s hugely popular "Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway." The show will feature comedy sketches, musical numbers, mini game shows, hidden camera pranks on celebrities and appearances by A-list stars. Harris, who has served as an Emmy and Tony Award host and was recently announced as host of the 2015 Academy Awards, will bring his multi-dimensional skills to the forefront of this new hour-long series. Harris recently co-starred in David Fincher’s "Gone Girl," and finished a run on Broadway as the lead in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," for which he won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. For nine seasons he played the role of Barney Stinson on "How I Met Your Mother," for which he received four Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations.

Yu Jae-seok, Lee Kwang-soo and Kim Yeon-koung travel all over Korea to learn from the best traditional masters in a bid to become the No. 1 Apprentice.

Throughout history certain civilisations, events and objects have fascinated and inspired us, causing those involved to dig deeper and go further on a ceaseless quest to be the first to finally uncover the truth.

Donny & Marie is an American variety show which aired on ABC from January 1976 to January 1979. The show stars brother and sister pop duo Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond. Donny had first become popular singing in a music group with his brothers, The Osmonds, and Marie was one of the youngest singers to reach #1 on the Billboard Country Music charts. The siblings were offered a weekly show by ABC-TV President Fred Silverman after he saw the duo co-host a week on The Mike Douglas Show which followed their series of popular remakes of oldies, such as "I'm Leaving It Up To You", "Morning Side Of The Mountain", "Deep Purple" and "Make The World Go Away". Donny and Marie were the youngest entertainers in TV history to host their own variety show. A year later, The Keane Brothers would break this record.