The BEST episodes of Documentary Now!

Every episode of Documentary Now! ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Documentary Now!!

Documentary Now! is a comedy series that pays loving homage to the world's best-known documentaries. Each episode adopts a different style of nonfiction filmmaking to honor the most important stories that didn't actually happen.

Last Updated: 9/12/2024Network: IFCStatus: Ended
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Waiting for the Artist
star
8.26
124 votes

#1 - Waiting for the Artist

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/6/2019

An internationally-acclaimed performance artist prepares for a major career retrospective while reconciling her relationship with her former lover and performance partner, who she hasn't seen in two decades.

Writer: Seth Meyers
Watch Now:Amazon
Juan Likes Rice & Chicken
star
8.02
203 votes

#2 - Juan Likes Rice & Chicken

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/21/2016

Young Colombian chefs learn the tricks of the restaurant trade from their strict father Juan, whose celebrated restaurant only serves one dish: chicken and rice.

Writer: Seth Meyers
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee (2)
star
8.01
217 votes

#3 - Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee (2)

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 9/24/2015

Part two of the documentary chronicling the rise and fall of a seminal soft-rock band called the Blue Jean Committee.

Watch Now:Amazon
Batsh*t Valley (1)
star
7.88
145 votes

#4 - Batsh*t Valley (1)

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/20/2019

Self-appointed spiritual guru Father Ra-Shawbard starts a commune in rural Oregon with the help of overly devoted assistant Ra-Sharir; exasperated FBI agent Bill Doss dedicates himself to exposing the man behind the mantras.

Directors: Alexander Buono
Writer: Seth Meyers
Watch Now:Amazon
The Eye Doesn't Lie
star
7.87
274 votes

#5 - The Eye Doesn't Lie

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 9/10/2015

An investigation into the wrongful conviction of a man sentenced to death of the 1986 murder of John Patrick Winslow. Inspired by the documentary The Thin Blue Line.

Watch Now:Amazon
Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee (1)
star
7.85
257 votes

#6 - Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee (1)

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 9/24/2015

Part one of the documentary chronicling the rise and fall of a seminal soft-rock band called the Blue Jean Committee.

Watch Now:Amazon
The Bunker
star
7.79
244 votes

#7 - The Bunker

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/14/2016

A different and interesting look at the 1992 Ohio Gubernatorial campaign.

Writer: John Mulaney
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Any Given Saturday Afternoon
star
7.76
79 votes

#8 - Any Given Saturday Afternoon

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/27/2019

A profile of life at the top of the Professional Bowling League during the 2003 tournament season, shining a spotlight on the highs and lows of its three most beloved competitors.

Directors: Alexander Buono
Watch Now:Amazon
Batsh*t Valley (2)
star
7.72
67 votes

#9 - Batsh*t Valley (2)

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/20/2019

Directors: Alexander Buono
Writer: Seth Meyers
Watch Now:Amazon
Mr. Runner Up: My Life as an Oscar Bridesmaid (2)
star
7.66
101 votes

#10 - Mr. Runner Up: My Life as an Oscar Bridesmaid (2)

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/26/2016

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
My Monkey Grifter (2020)
star
7.59
39 votes

#11 - My Monkey Grifter (2020)

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/9/2022

A filmmaker forms a deep, emotional, and financially taxing relationship with a monkey.

Directors: Alexander Buono
Writer: Seth Meyers
Watch Now:Amazon
Original Cast Album: Co-Op
star
7.58
117 votes

#12 - Original Cast Album: Co-Op

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/27/2019

A fly-on-the-wall look at the marathon cast album recording of the ill-fated 1970 Broadway musical comedy centered around a cast of characters who work, live, or want to live in the same co-op.

Directors: Alexander Buono
Watch Now:Amazon
Parker Gail's Location Is Everything
star
7.56
137 votes

#13 - Parker Gail's Location Is Everything

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/28/2016

Monologist Parker Gail and director Harrison Renzi team up to present Gail's theater piece, "Location Is Everything".

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
How They Threw Rocks (1996)
star
7.52
44 votes

#14 - How They Threw Rocks (1996)

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/2/2022

A chronicle of the iconic 1974 Craig Maes (Field Rock) showdown dubbed 'The Melon vs. The Felon.'

Writer: Seth Meyers
Watch Now:Amazon
Soldier of Illusion (1983) (1)
star
7.50
52 votes

#15 - Soldier of Illusion (1983) (1)

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/19/2022

In the early 1980s, a visionary German filmmaker tries to will his magnum opus into existence while working in the remote, punishing conditions of the Russian Ular mountains. Part I.

Writer: John Mulaney
Watch Now:Amazon
DRONEZ: The Hunt for El Chingon
star
7.49
291 votes

#16 - DRONEZ: The Hunt for El Chingon

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/3/2015

The hipster media empire DRONEZ sends two of its notoriously fearless journalists to track down Mexico's most wanted drug lord. Inspired by VICE News documentaries.

Watch Now:Amazon
Mr. Runner Up: My Life as an Oscar Bridesmaid (1)
star
7.48
122 votes

#17 - Mr. Runner Up: My Life as an Oscar Bridesmaid (1)

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/26/2016

An in-depth look at Hollywood legend Jerry Wallach and his 40-year quest to win an Oscar.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Trouver Frisson (2000)
star
7.47
30 votes

#18 - Trouver Frisson (2000)

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/16/2022

Celebrated French filmmaker Ida Leos searches for why she no longer experiences "frisson" - the goosebumps that have always been her guide.

Watch Now:Amazon
Globesman
star
7.36
171 votes

#19 - Globesman

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/5/2016

A tribute to the 1968 Maysles documentary "Salesman" that followed a wearied quartet of door-to-door Bible salesmen, "Globesmen" shares a similar story about four hard-working business men trying their best to sell globes to a community of people who find them too expensive and ultimately prefer atlases. Feeling pressure from their regional manager, and dealing with the constant rejection from customers, the salesmen do anything they can to reinvent the globe as a need-to-have household item.

Writer: Seth Meyers
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Final Transmission
star
7.30
125 votes

#20 - Final Transmission

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/12/2016

A new wave band from the late 1970s and early 1980s play their final concert.

Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
A Town, A Gangster, A Festival
star
7.30
223 votes

#21 - A Town, A Gangster, A Festival

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 9/17/2015

A documentary crew travels to Arborg, Iceland for the annual festival honoring American gangster Al Capone.

Watch Now:Amazon
Searching for Mr. Larson: A Love Letter from the Far Side
star
7.27
79 votes

#22 - Searching for Mr. Larson: A Love Letter from the Far Side

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/13/2019

A superfan sets out to make a documentary about the comic strip that changed his life and personally deliver the film to its reclusive creator.

Directors: Alexander Buono
Watch Now:Amazon
Soldier of Illusion (1983) (2)
star
7.26
47 votes

#23 - Soldier of Illusion (1983) (2)

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/19/2022

In the early 1980s, a visionary German filmmaker tries to will his magnum opus into existence while working in the remote, punishing conditions of the Russian Ular mountains. Part II.

Writer: John Mulaney
Watch Now:Amazon
Kunuk Uncovered
star
6.92
306 votes

#24 - Kunuk Uncovered

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 8/27/2015

An investigation into the seminal documentary "Kunuk The Hunter" that attempts to separate what is real from what is fabrication. Inspired by the documentary Nanook of the North.

Writer: Seth Meyers
Watch Now:Amazon
Sandy Passage
star
6.84
435 votes

#25 - Sandy Passage

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 8/20/2015

An in depth look at the daily lives of two aging socialites and their crumbling estate. Inspired by the documentary Grey Gardens.

Writer: Seth Meyers
Watch Now:Amazon