The Best TV Shows on National Geographic

Every National Geographic Show Ranked From Best To Worst

National Geographic has delivered an expansive roster of over 20 shows, dating from 1985 all the way to 2023. Highlighting National Geographic’s quality programming, Explorer and Treasure Seekers stand out, premiering in 1985 and 2000. Discover the best of National Geographic with our list of over 20 series, meticulously updated for July 2026.

  • Treasure Seekers
    Treasure Seekers (2000)10.0

    This is a tale of hidden treasure and the scientific shaping of our past, told through the stories of the adventures and discoveries of great archaeologists.

  • Cosmos
    Cosmos (2014)8.5

    Famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson provides clarity for the vision of the cosmos as he voyages across the universe with never-before-told stories that delve into the scientific concepts of the laws of gravity and the origins of space and time.

  • Drugs, Inc.
    Drugs, Inc. (2010)8.3

    Drugs: A multi-billion-dollar industry that fuels crime and violence like no other substance on the planet. Turning cartel leaders into billionaires, the illegal drug industry also provides vital income to hundreds of thousands of poor workers across the globe. While some users sacrifice their lives to an addiction they can't escape, others find drugs to be their only saving grace from physical or emotional pain almost impossible to overcome. Where should the lines be drawn in this lucrative industry?

  • A Small Light
    A Small Light (2023)7.9

    Miep Gies didn't hesitate when her boss Otto Frank came to her and asked her to hide his family from the Nazis during World War II. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan, and the other helpers watched over the eight souls in hiding in the Secret Annex. And it was Miep who found Anne's Diary and kept it safe so Otto, the only one of the eight who survived, could later share it with the world as one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust.

  • To Catch a Smuggler
    To Catch a Smuggler (2015)7.7

    Following the police of Latinoamerica & Europe airports in and their fight against crime.

  • Brain Games
    Brain Games (2011)7.6

    Get ready to have your mind messed with! "Brain Games" is a groundbreaking series that uses interactive experiments, misdirection and tricks to demonstrate how our brains create the illusion of seamless reality through our memory, through our sensory perception, and how we focus our attention.

  • Genius
    Genius (2017)7.5

    The life stories of history's greatest minds. From their days as young adults to their final years we see their discoveries, loves, relationships, causes, flaws and genius.

  • Life Below Zero
    Life Below Zero (2013)7.3

    Viewers go deep into an Alaskan winter to meet six tough and resilient residents as they try to stay one step ahead of storms and man-eating beasts to make it through to spring. The closest neighbor to Sue Aikens is more than 300 miles away. Eric Salitan subsists solely on what he hunts and forages. Chip and Agnes Hailstone catch fish for currency in bartering for supplies, and Andy and Kate Bassich use their pack of sled dogs for transportation.

  • The Hot Zone
    The Hot Zone (2019)7.2

    In this anthology series, heroic scientists risk all to deal with deadly outbreaks.

  • Mars
    Mars (2016)7.1

    The maiden crew of the Daedalus spacecraft must push itself to the brink of human capability in order to successfully establish the first sustainable colony on Mars. Set both in the future and in the present day, this series blends scripted elements set in the future with documentary vérité interviews with today’s best and brightest minds in modern science and innovation, illuminating how research and development is creating the space technology that will enable our first attempt at a mission to Mars.

  • Drain the Oceans
    Drain the Oceans (2018)7.0

    Maritime mysteries—old and new—come to life in this series, combining scientific data and digital re-creations to reveal shipwrecks, treasures, and sunken cities on the bottom of lakes, seas and oceans around the world.

  • Running Wild with Bear Grylls
    Running Wild with Bear Grylls (2014)6.9

    The famed survivalist takes A-list celebrities on journeys into the wildest locations around the world, forcing the stars to push their bodies and minds to the limit to successfully complete the adventure of a lifetime.

  • Dog Whisperer
    Dog Whisperer (2004)6.8

    Cesar Millan has been called the Dr. Phil for Dogs. With an uncanny ability to rehabilitate problem dogs of all shapes and sizes. Each episode of the Dog Whisperer documents the remarkable transformations that take place under Cesar's guidance and teaching, helping dogs and their owners live happier lives together.

  • Wicked Tuna
    Wicked Tuna (2012)6.7

    Fishing is a hard life, and harder with bluefin stocks depleted. In Gloucester, Massachusetts, there's a special breed of fishermen. For generations they've used rod and reel to catch the elusive bluefin tuna. They depend on these fish for their livelihood, and the competition is brutal. Over the next 10 weeks, the most skilled fishermen will set out in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic in hopes of catching the valuable bluefin tuna. When one bluefin can bring in as much as $20,000—they'll do whatever it takes to hook up.

  • StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson
    StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson (2015)6.7

    Host Neil deGrasse Tyson brings together celebrities, scientists and comedians to explore a variety of cosmic topics and collide pop culture with science in a way that late-night television has never seen before. Weekly topics range from popular science fiction, space travel, extraterrestrial life, the Big Bang, to the future of Earth and the environment. Tyson is an astrophysicist with a gifted ability to connect with everyone, inspiring us all to to "keep looking up."

  • Storm Rising
    Storm Rising (2021)6.5

    A landmark series that packs an entire year's worth of the world most epic storms into one season. From tornadoes in March in the US to mudslides in December in Central America, we'll embed with storm chaser Reed Timmer and his team as he heads straight into Mother Nature's fury unraveling the world's most dangerous weather events as they are happening.

  • Doomsday Preppers
    Doomsday Preppers (2012)6.4

    Doomsday Preppers is an American reality television series that airs on the National Geographic Channel. Dräger Equipment, Wise Food Storage Company and the United States Gold Bureau are sponsors of the show.

  • American Genius
    American Genius (2015)6.4

    Behind every great genius was a great rival - an unstoppable adversary whose incredible vision, determination, and ambition is their match. Out of their struggles came the world's most brilliant inventions, the spoils of the heated battle between competitors.

  • Science of Stupid
    Science of Stupid (2014)6.2

    This show combines cold hard science with some of the craziest, most spectacular and painful user generated clips ever recorded. Richard Hammond introduces all manner of mishaps featuring brave, if misguided individuals from around the world and then explains the science behind their failure and humiliation with the use of bespoke animations and super slo-mo cinematography. Every episode features between 50 and 60 clips of misadventure – ordinary folk making extraordinary mistakes. Each week watch stunts involving weightlifting, shooting guns or jumping over cars, that have gone wrong, paused, re-wound, and re-played and analysed to determine exactly what went wrong and why. Richard explains the physics, chemistry and biology at play, then presents forensic details to explain the stupidity that resulted in failure. He’ll look at everything including weight, volume, momentum, combustion and even how the brain operates. This is misadventure explained. This is the Science of Stupid.

  • Explorer
    Explorer (1985)6.0

    National Geographic's Explorer gives viewers special access to the issues of the day.