Netflix remains the best streaming service out there because of the sheer amount of content on offer, from dramas to comedies to great shows you’ve never heard of until they suddenly blow up out of nowhere. But not all of that content stays on the service forever. A lot of the best stuff on Netflix isn’t actually made in house, which means it’s subject to licensing agreements, which means it may come and go from the service over time. One of the funniest series on Netflix is about to leave, and it deserves the spotlight before it goes.
Documentary Now! is a hysterical series
And it’s about to leave Netflix
Documentary Now! premiered on IFC, a cable channel dedicated to independent film, in 2015. It’s an anthology series where almost every episode stands alone, so you can hop in at any point without fear of getting lost. The gimmick is that each episode parodies a different documentary film, from Netflix hits like Wild Wild Country (parodied as “Batsh*t Valley”) to deep cuts like Nanook of the North, a 1922 movie widely considered to be the first documentary ever.
One of the things that distinguishes Documentary Now! is its unwavering commitment to the bit. For instance, the Season 1 episode “The Eye Doesn’t Lie” parodies the seminal 1988 true crime documentary The Thin Blue Line, which investigates how the Dallas police department railroaded a guy into taking the fall for a murder even though he (probably) didn’t do it. As you can see in the clip above, the show sticks very close to the style of the original documentary, and that’s just one example. The people behind this show genuinely love documentaries, and it shows.
Of course, that wouldn’t matter if the series wasn’t funny, but that’s rarely a problem. In “The Eye Doesn’t Lie,” Don Lentile (Fred Armisen) is a hapless rube who obviously didn’t commit the crime he’s being accused of, but he’s so annoying you kind of don’t mind that he’s being set up. Meanwhile, Bill Hader turns the shiftiness up to 11 as a hitchhiker who’s allowed to skate by despite clearly being the real murderer.
The amount of talent behind Documentary Now! is insane
A parade of celebrities
Saturday Night Live alums Fred Armisen and Bill Hader appear in most episodes of Documentary Now!, at least for the first few seasons. Between Armisen’s deadpan delivery and Hader’s deep well of impressions, there’s little they can’t do. They come out swinging in the very first episode, “Sandy Passage,” a parody of the 1975 documentary Grey Gardens, about an eccentric mother and daughter who live in a crumbling Hamptons mansion. That’s probably my personal favorite episode.
But the talent pool on the show is very deep. Latenight host Seth Meyers is one of the creators and writes a lot of the episodes. Comedian John Mulaney drops by to contribute a few scripts and do his best Stephen Sondheim impression in the season 3 episode, “Original Cast Album: Co-Op.” Guest stars over the run of the show include Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Michael Keaton, Anne Hathaway, Mia Farrow, Faye Dunaway, Maya Rudolph, and Dexter’s Michael C. Hall. And the whole thing is hosted by Helen Mirren, to give it that authentic high-minded documentary feel.
In “Gentle & Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee,” the show’s best two-parter, Documentary Now! parodies music documentaries from the ’70s, and gets era-appropriate stars like Kenny Loggins and Daryl Hall to sit as talking heads. I don’t know how Meyers, Hader, and Armisen were able to convince so many big names to participate in a pretty small-scale series, but they must have liked doing it, because they kept coming back.
The best of Documentary Now!
What’s your favorite episode?
“The Story of the Blue Jean Committee” stars Hader as Clark, a singer in a soft rock and roll band who nevertheless wants to project a super macho image. “Falsetto is a very phallic form of singing,” he explains.
Ultimately, the best recommendation for Documentary Now! is the show itself. Here are a few of the best episodes:
- “Dronez: The Hunt for El Chingon” (Season 1, Episode 3): A parody of VICE-style investigative journalism documentaries, Hader and Armisen play incompetent reporters who keep getting themselves while investigating a drug lord. Then they play their replacements.
- “The Bunker” (Season 2, Episode 1): A send-up of the campaign documentary The War Room, where a pair of political strategists struggle to understand what’s wrong with an attack ad about their opponent that goes, “This Sunday is Governor Lester’s birthday. Let’s hope it’s his last.”
- “Juan Likes Rice & Chicken” (Season 2, Episode 2): In this parody of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the exacting head of a chicken restaurant hopes to pass on his business to his son, who is deathly afraid of chickens.
- “My Monkey Grifter” (Season 4, Episode 5): A parody of the Oscar-winning documentary My Octopus Teacher, this episode tracks a self-involved filmmaker’s budding relationship with a monkey before shifting unexpectedly into true crime.
- “Trouver Frisson” (Season 4, Episode 6): A French filmmaker goes on an existential journey to discover why she’s lost her lust for life. Ends up it’s because there’s black mold in her house.
Not every episode of Documentary Now! will work for everyone, but you’re free to skip around…until May 9, 2026, when all four seasons leave Netflix.
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Where else can you watch Documentary Now?
After the show leaves Netflix, you’ll still be able to stream it on AMC+, but that’s a much more obscure service that not nearly as many people have. Also, there are several episodes available in full on YouTube.
Doctumentary Now! is one of those comedy shows that always deserved more attention than it got, so you might as well try it out while it’s still readily available. And if you miss it, there are other Netflix comedies worth checking out.
- Release Date
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2015 – 2022-00-00
- Network
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IFC
- Writers
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John Mulaney, Duffy Boudreau
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Alexander Skarsgard
Rainer Wolz
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Bill Hader
Various Characters
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