NoBadPicks

Shows Like How It's Made

If you loved How It's Made's Documentary storytelling, these series deliver a similar experience — chosen for tone, narrative quality, and viewer satisfaction. Each includes where to stream it now.

Top Picks

American Experience
6.6

American Experience

1988

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
6.8

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

2007

Host Guy Fieri takes a cross-country road trip to visit some of America's classic "greasy spoon" restaurants — diners, drive-ins and dives — that have been doing it right for decades.

Baseball
7.4

Baseball

1994

The history of the sport of baseball in America, told through archival photos, film footage, and the words of those who contributed to the game in each era. Writers, historians, players, baseball personnel, and fans review key events and the significance of the game in America's history.

How Do They Do It?
7.6

How Do They Do It?

2006

An insider's look at the engineering and scientific miracles behind the things that form the modern world.

Doctor Who Confidential
8.2

Doctor Who Confidential

2005

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.

Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian
7.4

Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian

2020

Executive producer Jon Favreau invites the cast and crew of The Mandalorian to share an unprecedented look at the making of the series. Each chapter explores a different facet of the first live-action Star Wars television show through interviews, never-before-seen footage, and roundtable conversations hosted by Favreau himself.

American Masters
7.2

American Masters

1986

American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.

Biography
6.5

Biography

1987

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.

More Shows Like How It's Made

MegaStructures
7.4

MegaStructures

2004

MegaStructures is a documentary television series appearing on the National Geographic Channel in the United States and the United Kingdom, Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, France 5 in France, and 7mate in Australia. Each episode is an educational look of varying depth into the construction, operation, and staffing of various structures or construction projects, but not ordinary construction products. Generally containing interviews with designers and project managers, it presents the problems of construction and the methodology or techniques used to overcome obstacles. In some cases this involved the development of new materials or products that are now in general use within the construction industry. MegaStructures focuses on constructions that are extreme; in the sense that they are the biggest, tallest, longest, or deepest in the world. Alternatively, a project may appear if it had an element of novelty or are a world first. This type of project is known as a Megaproject.

The Movies
6.5

The Movies

2019

Explore American cinema through the decades and the cultural, societal and political shifts that framed its evolution.

Man vs. Wild
7.0

Man vs. Wild

2006

Bear strands himself in popular wilderness destinations where tourists often find themselves lost or in danger.

Top Gear
7.9

Top Gear

1978

Motoring programme featuring reviews of and reports about cars of all types.

Prop Culture
7.8

Prop Culture

2020

Film historian and prop collector Dan Lanigan reunites iconic Disney movie props with the filmmakers, actors, and crew who created and used them in some of Disney’s most beloved films. Throughout this journey, Dan will recover lost artifacts, visit private collections, and help restore pieces from the Walt Disney Archives to their original glory.

Horizon
7.4

Horizon

1964

Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.

Frontline
7.0

Frontline

1983

Since it began in 1983, Frontline has been airing public-affairs documentaries that explore a wide scope of the complex human experience. Frontline's goal is to extend the impact of the documentary beyond its initial broadcast by serving as a catalyst for change.

Mountain Men
6.5

Mountain Men

2012

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.

NOVA
7.0

NOVA

1974

PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.

Gadget Man
7.0

Gadget Man

2012

Gadget Man shows the world's collection of handy gadgets throughout the ages, from today's smart devices to decades old electronics to even older mechanical devices.

The Story of Film: An Odyssey
7.7

The Story of Film: An Odyssey

2011

A worldwide guided tour of the greatest movies ever made and the story of international cinema through the history of cinematic innovation.

Earth at Night in Colour
8.1

Earth at Night in Colour

2020

Filmed across six continents, this docuseries uses cutting-edge camera technology to capture animals' nocturnal lives, revealing new behaviours filmed in full color like never before.

Why These Shows Are Similar

These recommendations share core qualities with How It's Made (2001): Documentary themes, similar pacing, and comparable production quality. NoBadPicks uses TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface series most likely to resonate with fans of How It's Made.

See full details for How It's Made (2001)

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