‘Documentary Now!’ Returns in Fall 2022 — Which Documentaries Will the Show Spoof?
TL;DR:
- A new season of Documentary Now! premieres in fall 2022 on IFC and AMC+.
- “Season 53” spoofs documentaries such as The September Issue and My Octopus Teacher.
- Guest stars include Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, and Tom Jones.
Documentary Now! is returning to IFC for another season after a nearly three-year hiatus. “Season 53” of the series, which has previously spoofed famous documentary films and series such as Grey Gardens and Netflix’s Wild Wild Country, premieres in the fall of 2022.
‘Documentary Now! Season 53’ spoofs ‘The September Issue’ and ‘My Octopus Teacher’
The new season of Documentary Now! will poke fun at a grab-bag of well-known docs in its fourth outing. While IFC hasn’t released details on all six new episodes (or announced a premiere date), the network has shared details about three of the episodes, which will pay homage to movies such as The September Issue and 2021 Oscar winner My Octopus Teacher.
Documentary Now!, which premiered in 2015, was created by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Myers, and Rhys Thomas. Helen Mirren introduces each episode. The new episodes will air on IFC and stream on AMC+ in fall 2022.
Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies among guest stars for new season
Cate Blanchett, who appeared in the 2019 episode “Waiting for the Artist,” returns to Documentary Now! for “Two Hairdressers in Bagglyport.” The episode pays homage to two fashion documentaries: the 1994 BBC film 3 Salons at the Seaside and 2009’s The September Issue, which looks at the production of Vogue magazine’s biggest issue of the year. The Documentary Now! episode is a fly-on-the-wall portrait of a hair salon owner (Harriet Walter) and her staff (Blanchett) in the small coastal village of Bagglyport as they prepare for their yearly stylebook. Armisen will play George the Postman.
Welsh actors Trystan Gravelle, Jonathan Pryce, John Rhys-Davies, and Welsh singer Tom Jones star in “How They Threw Rocks.” It’s a nod to sports documentaries such as When We Were Kings and explores the Welsh sport of Craig Maes (aka Field Rock) and an iconic 1974 bout dubbed “The Melon vs. The Felon.”
Finally, “My Monkey Grifter” is inspired by the 2020 movie My Octopus Teacher. It stars Jamie Demetriou as Benjamin Clay, a filmmaker who develops a deep, emotional, and financially taxing relationship with a monkey. Armisen also appears in this episode as a character named Detective Blakely.
More guest stars and additional episode titles will be announced at a later date.
Bill Hader won’t be in the new season of ‘Documentary Now!’
While Armisen will appear in multiple episodes of Documentary Now!’s new season, Hader will again be missing. The SNL alum and Barry star didn’t appear in any season 3 episodes. His other commitments also meant he wasn’t free to film for season 4, Armisen told Consequence TV
Production for the new episodes took place in the U.K., the comedian explained. “Bill can’t even make it here, but he’s a producer and a creator and writer on it. And we’re all in touch about it — we have a good text thread going,” he said.
Armisen also described the process of making the episodes as “complete chaos.”
“We barely have it together. Sometimes it’s six [episodes]. Sometimes it’s more, sometimes it’s less. It’s always very last minute,” he said. “We sort of throw things together via email and it somehow works … And I think, for some reason, the chaos makes it feel more like a documentary. I almost feel like we do it on purpose without realizing it.”
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