The Man With 1000 Kids viewers recommend this “troubling” documentary next

If your jaw is now back off the floor after watching The Man With 1000 Kids, it might be time to give this “troubling” yet overlooked documentary a watch next. 

The Man With 1000 Kids centers on Jonathan Meijer, a prolific sperm donor who claims to have fathered 550 children – although some experts say the figure could be as high as 3,000.

Meijer’s activities form the basis for the new true crime’s exploration of the wider issue of fertility fraud, the biodiversity risks associated with mass donoring, and the legal ambiguities in such cases. 

It’s for this reason viewers are recommending to watch Spermworld next.

Spermworld is a completely different experience to The Man With 1000 Kids, with the film – created by Some Kind of Heaven documentary maker Lance Oppenheim – taking a cinematic, nuanced approach to the topic.

However, it similarly delves into the so-called Wild West of baby making: online forums where sperm donors connect with hopeful parents.

Over on Reddit, while discussing Netflix’s offering, one viewer wrote, “I’ve watched a lot of documentaries in my time and this one scared the crap out of me.

“The fact that these psychopathic narcissists go around producing kids and ruining lives for their own agenda and there are absolutely no laws against that.

“Also, how insecure is the sperm donation industry? And yet there is no system in place to correct this mess.”

In response, another said, “Watch Spermworld – it is equally troubling,” while a third agreed, “It is from the donor’s point of view and just really disturbing on many levels.”

Over on X/Twitter, following the release of The Man With 1000 Kids, one user said, “@hulu has an interesting documentary about sperm donors who don’t charge for their services. It’s called SpermWorld.”

But this isn’t the only documentary on the divisive subject, with viewers also recommending Netflix’s 2022 release Our Father. 

The film examines the twisted crimes of Donald Cline, a former fertility doctor who fathered dozens of children by artificially inseminating his sperm into women without their knowledge or consent. 

Taking to Reddit, one described The Man With 1000 Kids as “similar” to Our Father, with another agreeing, “That was a very messed up story.”

A third said, “Our father – that one was worse in my opinion. Because many of the couples who went to him were supposed to be getting inseminated with their husband’s sperm and instead the doctor threw the husband’s sample in the garbage and used his own. At least in this doc, they all knew they were getting a donor.”

The Man With 1000 Kids and Our Father are streaming on Netflix now, while you can watch Spermworld on Hulu. For more true crime, take a look at the best serial killer documentaries, who Smegma is in relation to the Sherri Papini case, and where Janie Lynn Ridd is now.