Documentary series · Netflix
Explained
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
Joss Fong
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Maria Bello
Narrator (voice)
2 eps
Christian Slater
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Estelle Caswell
Narrator (voice)
3 eps
LeVar Burton
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Nick Kroll
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Aasif Mandvi
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Kevin Smith
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Coleman Lowndes
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Yara Shahidi
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Kristen Bell
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Rachel Bloom
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Jerry Springer
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Rachel McAdams
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Kyle MacLachlan
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Carly Rae Jepsen
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Tablo
Self
1 eps
Jimin
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
SUGA
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
V
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
Jin
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
RM
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
Jung Kook
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
j-hope
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
Park Chung-hee
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
Yang Hyun-suk
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
DJ Tukutz
Self
1 eps
Mithra Jin
Self
1 eps
Lee Soo-man
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
Kim Dae-jung
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
PSY
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
Hillary Clinton
Self
1 eps
Valentine Rugwabiza
Self
1 eps
Elizabeth Warren
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
Kirsten Gillibrand
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
Sandra Day O'Connor
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
Anderson Cooper
Self (archive footage)
1 eps
Hilary Swank
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Maggie Siff
Narrator (voice)
1 eps
Abigail Disney
Self
1 eps
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Explained actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Explained reads strongest on Character Depth, Bingeability and Emotional Weight.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The story
What it's about
This enlightening series from Vox digs into a wide range of topics such as the rise of cryptocurrency, why diets fail, and the wild world of K-pop.
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.
S02E07
The Next Pandemic
If you're not worried about a looming global pandemic, you probably should be. Are we prepared for an outbreak? Bill Gates and other experts weigh in.
S02E08
The Future of Meat
The planet's current rate of meat consumption is unprecedented -- and becoming unsustainable. In the future, will meat alternatives be the answer?
S01E02
Designer DNA
Scientific feat or terrifying social experiment? Specialists in the field discuss the high stakes and ethical controversies of gene editing.
S02E03
Animal Intelligence
What goes on inside an animal's mind? Figuring out how they think and feel might just be the key to understanding our own place in the world.
S01E06
Why Diets Fail
Atkins. Paleo. Keto. Do any work in the long term? Experts look at marketing, food environments and genes to explain why diets are often unsuccessful.
S01E01
The Racial Wealth Gap
Cory Booker and others discuss how slavery, housing discrimination and centuries of inequality have compounded to create a racial wealth gap.
Recently aired
Latest Episodes
Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Ezra KleinExecutive Producer
- Claire GordonExecutive Producer
- Cleo AbramProducer
- Joe PosnerExecutive Producer
- Emily KassieProducer
Direction
- Emily KassieDirector
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- NetflixStreaming
- Netflix Standard with AdsStreaming
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