An accessible messenger providing entertaining but accurate snippets and overviews is very useful to the sciences or other misunderstood disciplines. It inspires interest in future experts and the young. It raises a more general maybe shallower interest, but also general appreciation and funding. In some cases it’s also quite lucrative to the charismatic expert doing the outreach, I think “A Brief History” paid for decades of Stephen Hawking’s medical care.

The cool work only happens if industry pays when there’s a profit to be had, or when society as a whole pays because it inspires and seems culturally valuable. Someone has to present that case for sponsorship.

Yes good scientific content in the form of accessible documentaries is awesome. What I find debasing is someone pointing to a preposterous bundle of claims from a bad movie saying "this is entertaining! debunk this in a fun way and I will listen!". That's just entitled. The burden of having correct information about reality is on you.