The BEST Episodes of Documentary Now!
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: Jan 14, 2022
Network: IFC
From the minds of Fred Armisen, Bill Hader and Seth Meyers comes a new new series that looks back on 50 years of excellence and integrity in documentary filmmaking. See Fred and Bill investigate drug cartels, join an indifferent ‘70s rock band, reenact Iceland’s annual Al Capone Festival, take part in a dramatic exposé of the world’s first documentary about the Inuit and much more.
#1 - Waiting for the Artist
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired Mar 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.
8.32 
#2 - Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee, Part 2
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired Sep 24, 2015
Part two of the documentary chronicling the rise and fall of a seminal soft-rock band called the Blue Jean Committee.
8.05 
#3 - Juan Likes Rice & Chicken
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired Sep 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.
8.04 
#4 - The Eye Doesn't Lie
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired Sep 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.
7.92 
#5 - Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee, Part 1
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired Sep 24, 2015
Part one of the documentary chronicling the rise and fall of a seminal soft-rock band called the Blue Jean Committee.
7.86 
#6 - The Bunker
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired Sep 14, 2016
A different and interesting look at the 1992 Ohio Gubernatorial campaign.
7.83 
#7 - Batshit Valley: Part 1
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired Feb 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.
7.80 
#8 - Any Given Saturday Afternoon
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired Mar 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.
7.80 
#9 - Mr. Runner Up: My Life as an Oscar Bridesmaid, Part 2
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired Oct 26, 2016
An in-depth look at Hollywood legend Jerry Wallach and his 40-year quest to win an Oscar.
7.70 
#10 - Original Cast Album: Co-Op
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired Feb 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.
7.56 
#11 - Parker Gail's Location Is Everything
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired Sep 28, 2016
Monologist Parker Gail and director Harrison Renzi team up to present Gail's theater piece, "Location Is Everything".
7.56 
#12 - Batshit Valley: Part 2
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired Feb 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.
7.54 
#13 - DRONEZ: The Hunt for El Chingon
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired Sep 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.
7.49 
#14 - Mr. Runner Up: My Life as an Oscar Bridesmaid, Part 1
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired Oct 26, 2016
An in-depth look at Hollywood legend Jerry Wallach and his 40-year quest to win an Oscar.
7.43 
#15 - Final Transmission
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired Oct 12, 2016
A new wave band from the late 1970s and early 1980s play their final concert.
7.41 
#16 - Globesman
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired Oct 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.
7.39 
#17 - A Town, a Gangster, a Festival
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired Sep 17, 2015
A documentary crew travels to Arborg, Iceland for the annual festival honoring American gangster Al Capone.
7.34 
#18 - Searching for Mr. Larson: A Love Letter From the Far Side
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired Mar 13, 2019
A fan sets out to make a documentary about the comic strip that changed his life and personally deliver the film to its reclusive creator.
7.33 
#19 - Kunuk Uncovered
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired Aug 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.
6.96 
#20 - Sandy Passage
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired Aug 20, 2015
An in depth look at the daily lives of two aging socialites and their crumbling estate. Inspired by the documentary Grey Gardens.
6.84 
#21 - Long Gone
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired Mar 20, 2019
An impressionistic look at the turbulent life of American jazz guitarist Rex Logan, who became a cultural icon in Eastern Europe when his music provided the soundtrack for the 1991 revolution in the Republic of Sárdasovinia.
6.78