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Documentary Now!

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Documentary Now!
GenreMockumentary
Created by
Directed by
  • Rhys Thomas
  • Alex Buono
Presented byHelen Mirren
Starring
  • Fred Armisen
  • Bill Hader
  • Seth Meyers
Theme music composerJosh Moshier
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes3 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Fred Armisen
  • Bill Hader
  • Seth Meyers
  • Lorne Michaels
  • Rhys Thomas
  • Andrew Singer
Production companyBroadway Video
Original release
NetworkIFC
ReleaseAugust 20, 2015 (2015-08-20) –
present

Documentary Now! is an American mockumentary television series on IFC, created by and starring Saturday Night Live alumni Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers and director Rhys Thomas. The series spoofs celebrated documentary films by parodying the style of each documentary with a similar, but fictitious, subject. Helen Mirren serves as host for the series, which is executive produced by Armisen, Hader, Meyers, Thomas and SNL creator Lorne Michaels. The episode "The Hunt for El Chingon" premiered online on August 10, 2015,[1] followed by the regular television premiere on August 20.[2]

Development

On March 20, 2014, the series was announced under the working title American Documentary.[3] Documentary Now! parodies well-known documentaries—such as The Thin Blue Line and Grey Gardens—but with fictitious subjects.[4] British actress Helen Mirren serves as the host for the series, to add "gravitas" to each documentary. Each of the six episodes is shot using different styles of documentary filmmaking, and "honors some of the most important stories that didn't actually happen."[5]

The idea for the series was born on Saturday Night Live, where Armisen, Hader and Meyers were former cast members; in 2013, Armisen and Hader portrayed faded British punk rock stars in a segment, Ian Rubbish and the Bizzaros: History of Punk, made in the style of This Is Spinal Tap.[6]

Production

The producers made it a priority to realistically spoof famed documentaries, even going so far as to track down the original 1920s-era camera lenses used to film Nanook of the North (1922).[4] They declined to do another Spinal Tap-type mockumentary and consciously avoided any similarities in editing or style. “Spinal Tap set such a great precedent that we had to watch out for repeating any of those same beats," Armisen said. "It’s one of the greatest movies ever.”[7]

The six-episode order limited the first season of the show, Seth Meyers told Collider.com, stating that they were not able to spoof Michael Moore documentaries, or the phenomenally successful HBO miniseries The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. “The Jinx happened a little too late for us," Meyers said of the miniseries, that aired in February and March 2015. "We almost tried to pull it off. We talked a lot about that kind of documentary, where the filmmaker sets out to make a documentary, and then, very slowly, it becomes clear the documentary is about himself.”[7]

Two of the episodes were shot in Iceland and The Hunt for El Chingon filmed in Tijuana.[7]

Cast

Episodes

Season 1

No. in
series 		No. in
season 		Title Directed by Written by Subject parodied Original air date[8] U.S. viewers
(millions)
11"Sandy Passage"Alex Buono & Rhys ThomasSeth MeyersGrey GardensAugust 20, 2015 (2015-08-20)0.16[9]
Filmmaking brothers attempt to chronicle the everyday lives of two aging socialites living in squalor, only to discover their film subjects are responsible for the mysterious disappearances of the men in their lives.
22"Kunuk Uncovered"Rhys Thomas & Alex BuonoSeth MeyersNanook of the NorthAugust 27, 2015 (2015-08-27)0.25[10]
An investigation of the seminal documentary Kunuk The Hunter that attempts to separate fact from fiction.
33"DRONEZ: The Hunt for El Chingon"[13]Alex Buono & Rhys ThomasDuffy Boudreau, Bill Hader & Rob KleinVICE News documentaries[14]September 3, 2015 (2015-09-03)TBD

Self-satisfied[7] hipster reporters go to Juárez, Mexico, to try to find the head of a drug cartel, despite repeated dire warnings not to try to find him.[11] Jack Black guest stars as the founder of Dronez, a consortium of journalists who investigate in dangerous situations.

  • This episode was originally scheduled to air August 27, but IFC postponed its release due to a scene in which two journalists are killed on-camera, this following the live broadcast of two television station employees' murders in Virginia one day earlier. The episode "Kunuk Uncovered" aired in its place. "Dronez" was previously available online via the Vice website, which supported the episode, but later pulled it per an agreement with IFC.[12]
44"The Eye Doesn't Lie"[15]Rhys Thomas & Alex BuonoBill Hader & John MulaneyThe Thin Blue LineSeptember 10, 2015 (2015-09-10)TBD
55"A Town, a Gangster, a Festival"[15]UnknownUnknownHollywoodSeptember 17, 2015 (2015-09-17)TBD
66"Gentle & Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee"[15]UnknownUnknownHistory of the EaglesSeptember 24, 2015 (2015-09-24)TBD

References

  1. ^ Locker, Melissa (August 7, 2015). "Documentary Now! Takes You Inside the Republican Debates". IFC. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  2. ^ Whitney Friedlander (2015-05-11). "'Documentary Now' IFC Dates Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers Show". Variety. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
  3. ^ "IFC Unveils New Comedies From Fred Armisen, Seth Meyers & Rob Huebel As Part Of 2015 Slate". Deadline.com. March 20, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Saad, Nardine (July 31, 2015). "Hader, Armisen, Meyers comedy 'Documentary Now!' spoofs their favorite docs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  5. ^ "About". IFC. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  6. ^ Snierson, Dan (2015-05-15). "Bill Hader and Fred Armisen channel Grey Gardens in IFC's Documentary Now!". EW.com. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  7. ^ a b c d Radish, Christina (August 7, 2015). "13 Things to Know about DOCUMENTARY NOW! Starring Fred Armisen and Bill Hader". Collider.com. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  8. ^ "Docmentary Now! on IFC". The Futon Critic.
  9. ^ "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Thursday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 8.20.2015". Showbuzz Daily. Retrieved 2015-08-24.
  10. ^ "SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 100 Thursday Cable Originals (& Network Update): 8.27.2015". Showbuzz Daily. 2015-08-28. Retrieved 2015-09-10.
  11. ^ "Documentary Now! Dronez - The Hunt For El Chingon". IFC. July 30, 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  12. ^ "IFC’s ‘Documentary Now!’ Delays Episode Due to Virginia Shooting," from Variety, 8/27/2015
  13. ^ "Documentary Now!". IFC. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
  14. ^ "Jack Black as 'Dronez' Founder in IFC's 'Documentary Now!'". VICE News. YouTube. July 30, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  15. ^ a b c "Documentary Now! Season 1". IFC. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
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