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I remember watching “Documentary Now!” when it first premiered in 2015 and thinking that its hyper-specific parody would only work for a small audience. I include myself in that audience of connoisseurs of classic and contemporary documentary films, but I underestimated the extent to which others would appreciate the spot-on spoofs from “Documentary Now!” creators Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, Seth Meyers and Rhys Thomas.
The viewership for documentaries has greatly expanded in the decade or so since “Documentary Now!” debuted, and the show has generated enough interest for four seasons of gentle mockery of the nonfiction art form. One of the main reasons for the increased popularity is their proliferation on Netflix, and “Documentary Now!,” which originally aired on cable channel IFC, has been right at home streaming on Netflix.
Article continues below‘Documentary Now!’ is a meticulously crafted parody
It’s immediately apparent from any episode that the creators of “Documentary Now!” have made a detailed study of their inspirations. Even if you haven’t seen the particular documentary that a given episode is parodying, you can clearly spot the stylistic quirks that are being subverted and exaggerated.
Alex Buono and co-creator Rhys Thomas directed or co-directed every episode of the series, and their command of multiple distinct visual styles is astonishing. “Documentary Now!” can easily emulate everything from the early cinematic techniques of pioneering 1922 silent documentary “Nanook of the North” (for the episode “Kunuk Uncovered”) to the slick modern approach of Netflix's true-crime series.
It’s not just the visuals that are impeccably recreated. The show’s writers, including “Saturday Night Live” alums Hader, Armisen, Meyers and John Mulaney, craft characters and storylines that mirror their inspirations in clever and unexpected ways, without simply making fun of the most obvious elements.
The show’s versions of well-known documentary figures like Werner Herzog and Agnès Varda aren’t just sillier copies of the real people. They’re fully realized oddball characters of their own, and the stories around them are often intricately and ingeniously plotted.
“Batsh*t Valley,” the third season’s two-part parody of “Wild Wild Country,” perfectly nails the modern docu-series trend of the episode-ending rug-pull, as everything that was previously presented is suddenly shown in a new context thanks to a startling reveal. It doesn’t simply reflect the way that the technique is deployed in actual documentaries — it provides a truly surprising twist of its own, setting up the second part with new characters and a new layer of humor.
For several episodes with musical subject matter, “Documentary Now!” features fully realized original soundtracks, including songs that stand on their own as catchy and sophisticated. In the episode “Original Cast Album: Co-Op” (a parody of D.A. Pennebaker’s “Original Cast Album: Company”), Mulaney, Meyers and Eli Bolin compose a miniature version of a full Broadway musical, which is easy to envision as an actual stage production — and was released as an album as well as a collection of sheet music.
The fictional bands from both “Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee” (parodying “History of the Eagles”) and “Final Transmission” (parodying “Stop Making Sense”) also exist on their own, via a Blue Jean Committee album and an actual complete concert staged for “Final Transmission.” That commitment to verisimilitude could only come from creators who have genuine love for the works that they’re parodying, and “Documentary Now!” is more effective because it’s steeped in that honest respect.
‘Documentary Now!’ is a hilarious watch even without knowledge of the source material
With their backgrounds in sketch comedy, the creators of “Documentary Now!” know how to come up with hilarious situations and characters, and “Documentary Now!” is funny regardless of the viewer’s level of expertise about documentaries. I admit that when watching many “Documentary Now!” episodes for the first time, I hadn’t seen the corresponding documentaries, and watching the comedic takes only made me more interested in seeking out the originals. Returning to the episodes with the experience of seeing their inspirations made me appreciate the humor and craftsmanship even more.
Some of the episodes are more broadly comedic than others, and over time the creators seem to trust both themselves and their viewers more, as the humor becomes even more deadpan and absurd. It’s possible to watch some of these episodes for quite a while before fully realizing that they’re parodies, and the handful of episodes that are either wholly original or based on highly obscure source material function as sweet slice-of-life comedies.
Although it’s been more than three years since the end of the fourth season, “Documentary Now!” has never officially been canceled, and there’s a wealth of material still waiting to be parodied. While the show is leaving Netflix now, it would be a great fit alongside Netflix’s documentary lineup if the streaming service ever wanted to produce a new season — even one devoted entirely to parodying Netflix documentaries.
For now, it’s both a brilliantly funny comedy series and a condensed education in the history of documentary filmmaking, which can conveniently be binged over the next few days.
“Documentary Now!” is streaming on Netflix until May 9.
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