Television series
(Un)Well
(Un)Well is a Netflix docuseries that examines trendy wellness practices—from jade eggs to energy healing—with a skeptical eye. Each episode investigates whether a specific wellness trend actually works or preys on hope. Sharp, entertaining, and occasionally furious, it's for anyone who's been sold snake oil or suspects they might be.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you enjoy skeptical investigations that pull apart a booming industry's claims, with sharp scepticism and a willingness to test promises rather than just repeat them.
Skip it if you want uplifting wellness inspiration or a gentle lifestyle guide, since this series spends its six short episodes poking holes in the very ideas it might tempt you to adopt.
What it asks of you: Six episodes of roughly 53 minutes each, one season, with a brisk, investigative rhythm that wants your attention on evidence rather than a relaxed background watch.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
The Toys That Made Us2017
Nostalgia-driven docuseries about how consumer goods became cultural touchstones. If you enjoyed (Un)Well's dissection of marketing and desire, this explores how we're convinced to want things we didn't know existed.
But It's gentler and more celebratory than (Un)Well—less interrogation, more affection. If you want consistent skepticism throughout, this veers toward fondness.
Fyre2019
A masterclass in how charisma and marketing can convince thousands to believe in something false. The mechanics of hype and delusion are identical to wellness grifts, just applied to a music festival.
But It's more about spectacle and chaos than analysis. If you want deeper investigation into how we're fooled, this prioritizes entertainment.
The Social Dilemma2020
Examines how technology and algorithms are weaponized to manipulate behavior and belief. Wellness trends thrive on social media; this shows you exactly how the amplification works.
But The dramatized segments are clunky, and some interviews feel self-serving. The documentary portions are stronger than the narrative framing.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from (Un)Well
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Stalker1979
Both interrogate what we actually want versus what we think we want, but Tarkovsky trusts the audience to sit with the question rather than answer it.
Tarkovsky's philosophical science fiction about desire and the search for meaning. A man guides clients into a mysterious zone seeking a room that grants wishes—a perfect metaphor for why wellness promises seduce us.
But It's 163 minutes of slow, meditative Russian cinema. Watching it requires patience that feels alien in the era of (Un)Well's brisk episodes.
More like this (4)
Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult2020
Deep investigation into a cult built on pseudoscience wellness language. Shows how similar rhetoric to what (Un)Well exposes becomes dangerous when combined with isolation and control.
But It's substantially darker and more disturbing than (Un)Well. This deals with real abuse and trauma, not just marketing nonsense.
WHAM!2023
Behind-the-scenes music documentary about image construction and the industry machinery that manufactures desire. Different subject, identical themes about how we're persuaded.
But It's a straightforward documentary about pop stardom. If you're looking for debunking or skepticism, this is more of a tribute.
The Pharmacist2020
Follows a pharmacist investigating the opioid epidemic and the corruption behind it. Companion piece to (Un)Well about how 'wellness' and pharmaceutical marketing overlap in harming people.
But It's slow-burn and serious. This is tragedy, not entertainment. The tone is entirely different from (Un)Well's lighter touch.
Sick Note2017
Same subject—the wellness industry and its predatory appeal—but told through character and emotion rather than documentation, making it stick differently.
British comedy-drama about a man mistakenly diagnosed with terminal cancer who falls into wellness and alternative medicine. Hilarious, dark, and cuts through wellness rhetoric with the precision of satire.
But It's melodramatic and silly where (Un)Well is journalistic. The tone is absurdist farce, not investigation. If you want facts over comedy, this won't land.
Recommended by
Diagnosis, How to Change Your Mind, Daily Dose of Sunshine, The God Committee, The Alzheimer's Project