I no longer have a TV and don't watch much due to light sensitivity. But, I've always been a huge fan of
American Masters (PBS):
American Masters
My favorite episodes are Preston Sturges, Carol Burnett, Johnny Carson, Mel Brooks, J.D. Salinger, Miles Davis, Tyrus Wong, and Charles Schulz. I'm not a Bob Dylan fan, but his (directed by Martin Scorcese) was good, too.
The older ones, especially, are proper documentaries. Whenever I've seen documentaries on bands or people I like from the past 10 years, they've felt like 90-minute commercials. "Here's why you should like this person and what you should think." Then a bunch of talking heads saying, "There was nobody like them," over and over.
This YouTube channel collects old documentaries on authors. They're hit or miss, but there are some good ones:
https://www.youtube.com/@writelike/videos.
Of course, the old
South Bank Show from England. I love the J.G. Ballard episode.
The BBC series
Classic Albums was great. My favorite episodes are The Beatles, Steely Dan, The Sex Pistols, Frank Zappa, The Grateful Dead, Lou Reed, U2, and Nirvana.
The Noam Chomsky documentary
Manufacturing Consent.
I also adore this BBC miniseries,
Playing Shakespeare. I think it was nine episodes, on different ways to approach Shakespeare as an actor. It's from the 80s and has Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Judi Densch, Ben Kingsley, and others.
Also, the Brian Wilson documentary
I Just Wasn't Made for These Times. And The Beatles'
Anthology.