One of the most delightful—and refreshing—additions to the TV landscape in the last few years is the IFC comedy seriesDocumentary Now!. The brainchild ofBill Hader,Fred Armisen,Seth Meyers, andRhys Thomasis based on a conceit that I’m still kind of shocked actually made it to television: each episode is a parody of a famous documentary. The first season took on such classics asGrey GardensandThe Thin Blue Line, with Hader and Armisen taking the lead roles in each episode, and the result was some of the funniest comedy filmmaking we’ve seen in years. And the best part about the series is that although a familiarity with the documentary being “spoofed” enhances the comedy, it’s not necessary to still find the show unbelievably funny.
IFC, bless them, quickly renewed the series for two more seasons, and now our first look atDocumentary Now!Season 2 has arrived with a clip from the premiere episode “The Bunker.” This is a parody of the 1993 documentaryThe War Room, which chronicledBill Clinton’s presidential campaign, and in theDocumentary Now!episode we follow the inner-workings of an Ohio gubernatorial race in hilarious fashion.
The show’s second season also sees Hader, Armisen and Co. taking onJiro Dreams of Sushi(titled “Juan Likes Rice and Chicken”) as well as the 1969 docSalesman, a concert documentary take on theTalking HeadsdocStop Making Sense, and a two-part spin onThe Kid Stays in the Pictureabout a filmmaker trying to make Oscar-bait films.
This all sounds incredibly delightful, and based on this debut clip, we’re in for one hell of a treat when the show returns to IFC on September 14th at 10pm ET/PT.
