Television is making more documentaries than ever—but skipping the journalism

Hillary Clinton was ready to bare her soul, or so Hulu subscribers were told in March. After missing her shot at the presidency, Clinton would, at last, let her guard down. A four-part documentary promised to reveal the true Clinton, anchored by two thousand hours of fly-on-the-wall footage from her 2016 campaign and thirty-five hours of interviews with director Nanette Burstein. “Nothing was off-limits,” Clinton said while promoting the series. Critics marveled at her “remarkable frankness” and “surprisingly candid new public persona.” The film received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding...