IFC's Documentary Now! is a contemporary comedy tour-de-force. Created by big hitters Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, Seth Meyers, and Rhys Thomas, this mockumentary series pokes fun as both popular and critically acclaimed documentaries. Hader and Armisen act in most episodes. The series also features cameos from well-known celebrities. As if that isn't enough to entice you, Helen Mirren serves as host for Documentary Now!.
Documentary Now! debuted in 2015. Two subsequent seasons have since aired, and a fourth season is currently in the works. Don't have access to IFC? Don't worry because the entire run is currently available on Netflix. If you want to know where to begin, seek out one of the 10 best episodes of Documentary Now! featured below and ranked according to IMDb.
Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee Part 1 - 8.2
This first part of a two-part mockumentary about a fictional band called The Blue Jean Committee pokes fun at the 2013 documentary History of the Eagles. The personalities behind this popular soft rock band are given a comic twist under Fred Armisen and Bill Hader's watch.
Part one of "Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee" is the penultimate episode from season one. In addition to Armisen and Bader, it features fake interviews with well-known rock critics Cameron Crowe (who is also a director) and Chuck Klosterman.
Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee Part 2 - 8.2
The second installment of "Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee" continues the story of the faux soft rock band The Blue Jean Committee. While the first part of the mockumentary focuses on the band's rise, the second part documents its fall.
In addition to making fun of The Eagles, this spoof pays homage to other music mockumentaries like Rob Reiner's This is Spinal Tap. The episodes about The Blue Jean Committee even feature original music written just for the show, including the band's fake hit "Catalina Breeze."
Globesman - 8.2
The second season's fourth episode, "Globesman" is a direct parody of the 1969 documentary Salesman. Directed by Albert Maysles, David Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin, Salesman is a celebrated look into the life of traveling salesmen in the 1960s.
The men in the documentary sell Bibles door-to-door. In "Globesman," the salesmen sell, believe it or not, globes. Joe Howard and Bill Smitrovich play the fellow salesmen alongside Fred Armisen and Bill Hader.
Batsh*t Valley, Part 1 - 8.3
Season three's "Batsh*t Valley" satirizes Netflix's popular 2018 docuseries Wild Wild Country. Wild Wild Country focuses on the insane cult that formed around Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, now known as Osho. In the early 1980s, Bhagwan and his followers established a large intentional community in rural Oregon. An intense battle with locals and the federal government ensued.
Owen Wilson plays the Bhagwan character, Father Ra-Shawbard, in "Batsh*t Valley." The mockumentary doesn't stray far from the Netflix series's plot.
Original Cast Album: Co-Op - 8.3
"Original Cast Album: Co-Op" is a nod to Stephen Sondheim's 1970 conceptual musical comedy Company. Sondheim's play focuses on a group of New York City friends dealing with adult themes and issues. While Company was nominated for 14 Tonys during its original run, the spoof play Co-Op in Documentary Now! is canceled after its first day.
Written by and starring comedian John Mulaney, this episode follows the cast of the musical Co-Op as they record their cast album in a marathon take. The original cast recording for Company was actually documented by filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker as a pilot for a new television series, but the project failed and Pennebaker's pilot never aired.
Sandy Passage - 8.4
The very first episode of Documentary Now! showcases one of the most beloved documentaries of all time: Albert and David Maysles's 1975 character study Grey Gardens. The original documentary focuses on a formerly upper-class woman named Edith Beale who lives in her derelict East Hampton mansion with her daughter, also named Edith Beale.
Fred Armisen and Bill Hader co-star in "Sandy Passage," and their interpretation of Grey Gardens takes a much darker turn.
The Eye Doesn't Lie - 8.7
Errol Morris's groundbreaking true-crime documentary The Thin Blue Line is the inspiration for "The Eye Doesn't Lie," a season one episode about a man falsely convicted of murder. Fred Armisen plays the man and Dale Dickey co-stars.
The Thin Blue Line is the first documentary to incorporate dramatic reenactments in its storytelling, a standard feature in any true crime works these days.
Batsh*t Valley, Part 2- 8.7
The second part of Documentary Now!'s spoof of Netflix's Wild Wild Country is even better than its predecessor. In addition to Owen Wilson, "Batsh*t Valley" includes a memorable performance from Michael Keaton, who plays FBI director Bill Dawes.
In true documentary style, this parody includes current interviews and archival "footage" of the Shawbardite cult. Necar Zadegan plays Ra-Sharir, the mockumentary's homage to Bhagwan's right-hand woman Sheela.
Juan Likes Rice and Chicken - 8.8
Season two's "Juan Likes Rice and Chicken" parodies the seminal food documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. The 2011 feature-length documentary tells the story of sushi master Jiro Ono, owner of Toyko's Sukiyabashi Jiro restaurant.
In "Juan Likes Rice and Chicken," Fred Armisen plays the son of a restaurant owner in an isolated Colombian village. Juan only serves one dish, rice and chicken, and people flock from all over the world to eat at his exclusive restaurant. Armisen's character Arturo is following in his father's footsteps. The episode features fake interviews from foodie figureheads like David Chang.
Waiting for the Artist - 8.9
Cate Blanchett plays Izabella Barta, a character inspired by Serbian artist Marina Abramović, in "Waiting for the Artist." In 2010, Abramović performed a piece at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art entitled The Artist Is Present. Over three months, the artist welcomed bystanders to sit down at a table across from her while she sat silent and immobile.
This episode of Documentary Now! traces Izabella Barta's career, culminating in a career retrospective similar to Abramović's at the MoMA.