In its first season, IFC’s Documentary Now! brilliantly parodied six documentaries, including classics such as Gray Gardens (1975) and Nanook of the North (1922). Returning for a second season, the show’s creators and veteran comedians Seth Meyers, Bill Hader, and Fred Armisen have even more clever spoofs up their sleeves.
Documentary Now! celebrated fifty years of a fake production company’s excellence in documentary film making, presenting audiences with a different documentary each episode. The parodies closely follow the source material that inspires them, and they are made to look like they were made in the same decade as the original. Every episode stars Hader and Armisen, and they play roles such as crazy women or undercover journalists.
In April it was announced that three episodes of the second season will parody the documentaries The War Room (1993), Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011), and Salesman (1968). The three parodies promise to pack in many more laughs and clever comedy, especially with The War Room parody prompting Hader to reprise his role as James Carville, who he has portrayed on Saturday Night Live many, many hilarious times.
The episodes are titled “The Bunker,” “Juan Likes Rice and Chicken,” and “Globesman,” respectively and will star Hader and Armisen.
But that’s not all that’s in store for the upcoming season. IFC announced earlier this week that Season Two’s two-part finale will be a parody of the 2002 film The Kid Stays in the Picture, a documentary reflecting on the life of Godfather producer Robert Evans. In Documentary Now!’s take on the critically acclaimed film (titled “Mr. Runner Up”), Hader will take on the role of a washed up producer trying to make his big comeback.
There’s still plenty of time to catch up on Documentary Now!‘s seven-episode first season before the second season premiers later this year. The entire first season, which contains stories ranging from an Icelandic festival in honor of Al Capone to the rise and fall of a Chicago-based California soft-rock band, is available for streaming on Netflix.
If you’re still not convinced, watch the trailer for Season One below:
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