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Documentary series · Netflix

Explained

American documentary television series

Verification status: Imported automatically from public Wikidata and Wikipedia records; not yet reviewed by an editor. Fields we could not find are marked “Not verified”.

Research date: 2026-11-08

Synopsis

Explained is an American documentary television series on the streaming service Netflix. The show is produced by Vox Media and is based on Vox's previous YouTube video series which followed a similar format. The show's episodes averaged between 16 and 24 minutes, with each focusing on a different topic. Each episode is voiced by a different guest narrator. The series premiered on Netflix on May 23, 2018 with episodes released on a weekly basis. The second season premiered on September 26, 2019 and the third season on July 16, 2021.

The show has also spawned five spin-off series. On September 12, 2019, Netflix released the first season of The Mind, Explained, a series focused specifically on topics related to the human brain. On January 4, 2020, a follow-up titled Sex, Explained was released, with episodes centered around the theme of sex. On April 26, 2020, the 3-episode miniseries Coronavirus, Explained was released, which focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic. On September 28, 2020, the 3-episode miniseries, Whose Vote Counts, Explained was released, which details this history and current context of voting in the United States. Money, Explained, a 5-episode miniseries released on May 11, 2021, focused on financial scams, credit cards, student loans, retirement and gambling. On November 9, 2021, a second season of The Mind, Explained was released.

Text from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Key facts

Official title
Explained
Alternative titles
Not verified
Original release
2018-05-23
Country of production
United States
Language
English
Genres
documentary television program
Seasons
3
Episodes
34
Directors
Not verified
Producers
Not verified
Production company
VOX
Official website
Not verified
Official trailer
Not verified

Streaming

Listed service
Netflix
Original or licensed
Original — public records list Netflix as the original network or distributor (Netflix, Netflix).
Available now in UK
Not yet checked
Available now in Ireland
Not yet checked
Available now in US
Not yet checked
Past availability
Not verified

Episodes, events and timeline

Episode titles, summaries, running times, key events and a timeline have not been researched for this series yet. We'll add them only once they can be checked against reliable sources.

Sources