The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements is a 2014 American documentary miniseries,[1][2][3] which premiered nationwide on August 19, 2015.

The series, which took ten years to make,[7] describes the search for the basic chemical elements that form matter by focusing on the lives and times of seven scientific visionaries.

[4] The documentary is narrated by Michael Emerson and includes the following participants (alphabetized by last name): According to Carman Drahl of Forbes magazine, "Chemists will quickly recognize the life stories of giants in their field.

"[5] The series, based on a National Science Foundation project description, tells "a 'detective story' of chemistry, stretching from the ancient alchemists to today's efforts to find stable new forms of matter".

[9] Mark Dawidziak, of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, quotes the historical advisor, Alan Rocke: "[The series] portrays science as [a] very human process.