A comedy series that parodies various documentaries is already a niche idea for a TV show, but for the makers of “Documentary Now!,” leaning into the specific is part of the fun – and part of what makes the show such a fan-favorite for its small but devoted fanbase.
“The good news is, I think we always make them knowing that it will be someone’s favorite,” executive producer, co-creator and writer Seth Meyers told TheWrap in an interview tied to Season 4. “And that is so true of the Agnes Varda [episode]. Like I think for some people, it might be a little bit denser to get into and it’s in French, but it’s gonna be for the people – and again, you’re leaving a lot of money on the table when you don’t go after Varda fans – but they’re gonna be blown away that this much care and attention was put into an Agnes Varda parody.”
The French film director is one of the subjects of “Documentary Now!” Season 4, which premieres on IFC on Oct. 19 and is streaming on AMC+. While past seasons tackled iconic documentaries like “Grey Gardens,” “The Thin Blue Line” and “Stop Making Sense,” in its fourth season, the show is embracing its niche nature with the aforementioned Varda episode and a take on Werner Herzog’s “Burden of Dreams.”
So what is IFC’s reaction when Meyers, Fred Armisen and directors/executive producers Rhys Thomas and Alex Buono pitch these ideas? Is there anything too niche for the network?
“IFC has been an incredible partner, and for real I can’t believe that they let us keeping making it,” Meyers said with a laugh. “With that said, I think it’s very fair that they didn’t jump through the roof with excitement when we said we were doing Agnes Varda.”
“It was a bit of a slower push up the hill,” added Rhys Thomas, who with Buono directs most of the episodes. “But I always felt like if we can figure out a confident take on this, that they’ll be behind us, which is a rare position to be in to know that they’re very permissive ultimately.”
And Season 4 isn’t without its recognizable documentaries. A standout episode is a take on the Oscar-winning Netflix documentary “My Octopus Teacher” called “My Monkey Grifter,” starring Jamie Demetriou (“The Afterparty”) as a filmmaker who forms a deep emotional bond with a monkey.
“The most difficult part of the whole process is always just coming up with what the five or six documentaries we’re going to do are, because they have to both inspire an idea and also not bump up against previous episodes,” Meyers said. “And so I think Alex and Rhys recognize that this was a unique case where it was a movie that I feel like, because it was on Netflix, so many people saw, it was that rare case of a documentary people were talking about. So when that came up, we realized it would be fun to do one where people would know the source material since one of the other ones is about a BBC documentary that’s only available on YouTube (laughs).”
Armisen appears in “My Monkey Grifter” in a memorable role and has been a consistent onscreen presence throughout the show’s run (Bill Hader co-starred in the first couple of seasons, and remains an EP and writer, but his acting efforts are currently focused on his HBO series “Barry.”) Given Armisen’s chameleon-like nature as a performer, has there ever been a “Documentary Now!” role he turned down?
“This season, the Agnes Varda one, I knew I couldn’t do it because it was in French. Because it’s a documentary, you just can’t fake it. I can’t do a bad version of French, I don’t speak the language well enough,” Armisen said before adding tongue-in-cheek, “I mean I speak it really well, but not well enough to be convincing in that episode.”
Armisen continued, displaying that passion for the genre that comes across in every episode: “I think what’s more important to me is that the episode is good. That it works on its own.”
Indeed, while “Documentary Now!” could crudely be described as a parody series, it’s clear every episode comes from a place of love for documentaries, and often results in genuinely emotional and compelling stories all their own (like the Season 2 standout “Juan Likes Rice and Chicken”).
It’s a testament to that passion that the show works as well as it does, and is no doubt part of the reason why performers like Cate Blanchett, Alexander Skarsgard and Tom Jones jumped at the chance to be part of Season 4.
“Documentary Now!” Season 4 premieres on IFC Oct. 19 and new episodes will be streaming on AMC+.