The Best TV Shows on History

Every History Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Explore our list of the top rated shows up to date from August 2026 that includes over 20 unique series. Notable series such as Modern Marvels and Spy Web from History first graced the screens in 1993 and 1999. A broadcaster of distinction, History has aired more than 20 shows between 1993 and 2025.

  • Modern Marvels
    Modern Marvels (1993)8.1

    HISTORY’s longest-running series moves to H2. Modern Marvels celebrates the ingenuity, invention and imagination found in the world around us. From commonplace items like ink and coffee to architectural masterpieces and engineering disasters, the hit series goes beyond the basics to provide insight and history into things we wonder about and that impact our lives. This series tells fascinating stories of the doers, the dreamers and sometime-schemers that create everyday items, technological breakthroughs and manmade wonders. The hit series goes deep to explore the leading edge of human inspiration and ambition.

  • Project Blue Book
    Project Blue Book (2019)8.1

    A chronicle of the true top secret U.S. Air Force-sponsored investigations into UFO-related phenomena in the 1950s and ’60s, known as “Project Blue Book”.

  • The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch
    The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch (2020)7.9

    There is a ranch in northern Utah. It is considered the epicenter of the strangest, and most disturbing occurrences on Earth: For two decades, the federal government investigated the property. Their findings have never been made public. Now a new team of independent scientists and researchers are taking over. They are uncovering evidence that the countless stories, of unidentified aerial phenomena, Bizarre energies, and portals that lead to other dimensions Might actually be true. They will stop at nothing to reveal The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch.

  • Forged in Fire
    Forged in Fire (2015)7.8

    Competitors re-create weapons from historical periods ranging from Japanese katanas to medieval broadswords to ancient throwing blades. Each entry is judged on its artistry as well as its functionality and accuracy.

  • History's Greatest Mysteries
    History's Greatest Mysteries (2020)7.8

    Investigates a wide range of historically compelling topics and the mysteries surrounding each including the Titanic, D.B. Cooper, Roswell, John Wilkes Booth, and more. Fresh, new evidence and perspectives will be showcased, such as never-before-released documents, personal diaries and DNA evidence.

  • The Bible
    The Bible (2013)7.4

    The story of God's creation of the Earth and the landmark events leading up to the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

  • SIX
    SIX (2017)7.3

    Action drama series inspired by the real missions of Navy SEAL Team Six.

  • The Proof Is Out There
    The Proof Is Out There (2021)7.3

    Each episode analyzes and passes verdicts on several seemingly impossible things “caught on film,” including giant beasts, UFOS, apocalyptic sounds, hairy humans, alleged mutants from the deep, conspiracies, and many other cases. Host and veteran journalist Tony Harris takes nothing for granted in a quest for answers, tracking down eyewitnesses, putting each photo or film through a battery of tests, calling out the hoaxes, and highlighting the most credible evidence in an attempt to better understand our world.

  • The Curse of Oak Island
    The Curse of Oak Island (2014)7.2

    Follow brothers Marty and Rick Lagina through their effort to find the speculated - and as of yet undiscovered - buried treasure believed to have been concealed through extraordinary means on Oak Island.

  • Alone
    Alone (2015)7.2

    Hardcore survivalists are put by themselves in the Vancouver Island wilderness, without camera crews, teams, or producers – on a single mission to stay alive for as long as possible.

  • Pawn Stars
    Pawn Stars (2009)7.1

    Go inside the colorful world of the pawn business. At the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop on the outskirts of Las Vegas, generations of the Harrison family run the family business, and there’s clashing and camaraderie every step of the way.

  • Ancient Aliens
    Ancient Aliens (2010)7.1

    Did intelligent beings from outer space visit Earth thousands of years ago? From the age of the dinosaurs to ancient Egypt, from early cave drawings to continued mass sightings in the US, each episode gives historic depth to the questions, speculations, provocative controversies, first-hand accounts and grounded theories surrounding this age old debate.

  • The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek
    The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek (2021)7.1

    In honor of the sci-fi franchise’s 55th anniversary this year and produced by The Nacelle Company, the project will feature interviews with cast, crew and experts as it explores pivotal moments in the franchise’s history, from its inception at Lucille Ball’s production company Desilu to recent film and television adaptations.

  • American Pickers
    American Pickers (2010)6.9

    Pickers like Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz are on a mission to recycle America, even if it means diving into countless piles of grimy junk or getting chased off a gun-wielding homeowner’s land. Hitting back roads from coast to coast, the two men earn a living by restoring forgotten relics to their former glory, transforming one person’s trash into another’s treasure.

  • Ice Road Truckers
    Ice Road Truckers (2007)6.7

    Take a trip to Yellowknife, Canada to experience one of the most dangerous careers around. In unfathomably cold conditions, truck drivers haul equipment and supplies to miners in the Canadian tundra in the dead of winter on a 350-mile highway of ice.

  • UFO Files
    UFO Files (2005)6.6

    UFO Files is an American television series that was produced from 2004 to 2007 for The History Channel. The program covers the phenomena of unidentified flying and submerged objects, close encounters with alleged extraterrestrial life, and alleged military and government cover-up conspiracies. In 2008, a following series called UFO Hunters premiered on the same channel.

  • The UnXplained
    The UnXplained (2019)6.6

    Explore the world’s most fascinating, strange and inexplicable mysteries. Each episode features compelling contributions from scientists, historians, witnesses and experiencers—each seeking to shed light on how the seemingly impossible actually can happen.

  • Secrets Declassified with David Duchovny
    Secrets Declassified with David Duchovny (2025)6.6

    From black ops and bizarre experiments to deadly cover-ups and nefarious gadgets, David Duchovny pulls the curtain back on all the government secrets in modern history we always suspected, but were never given the answers to.

  • Mountain Men
    Mountain Men (2012)6.5

    Profiles of some of the men who choose to live off the grid in the unspoiled wilderness, where dangers like mudslides, falling trees and bears are all part of everyday life.

  • Spy Web
    Spy Web (1999)N/A

    Spy Web: International Espionage uncovers some of the most fascinating spying and espionage stories of the 20th century.