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.
#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.
#2 - 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.
#3 - 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.
#4 - 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.
#5 - 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.
#6 - 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.
#7 - The Bunker
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/14/2016
A different and interesting look at the 1992 Ohio Gubernatorial campaign.
#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.
#9 - Mr. Runner Up: My Life as an Oscar Bridesmaid (2)
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/26/2016
An in-depth look at Hollywood legend Jerry Wallach and his 40-year quest to win an Oscar.
#10 - Batsh*t Valley (2)
Season 3 - Episode 2 - 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.
#11 - 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.
#12 - 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.'
#13 - Soldier of Illusion (1) (1983)
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.
#14 - 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.
#15 - 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.
#16 - 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".
#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.
#18 - 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.
#19 - 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.
#20 - 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.
#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.
#22 - Soldier of Illusion (2) (1983)
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.
#23 - 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.
#24 - Two Hairdressers in Bagglyport (1994)
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/26/2022
A fly-on-the-wall portrait of a hair salon in the small coastal town of Bagglyport as they prepare their annual stylebook.
#25 - 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.
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