The Worst Episodes of Documentary Now!
Every episode of Documentary Now! ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Documentary Now!!
Loving parodies of some of the world's best-known documentaries. Each episode is shot in a different style of documentary filmmaking, and honors some of the most important stories that didn't actually happen.
Lowest Rated Episodes Summary
The worst episode of "Documentary Now!" is "Long Gone", rated 6.4/10 from 243 user votes. It was directed by N/A and written by N/A. "Long Gone" aired on 3/20/2019 and is rated 0.7 point(s) lower than the second lowest rated, "A Town, A Gangster, A Festival".
6.4/10 243 votes#1 - Long Gone
Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 3/20/2019
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.1/10 503 votes#2 - 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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.1/10 301 votes#3 - 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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/10 398 votes#4 - 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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/10 219 votes#5 - 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 in an homage to documentaries 3 Salons at the Seaside and The September Issue.
Director: Rhys Thomas, Alexander Buono
Writer: Seth Meyers
7.6/10 146 votes#6 - My Monkey Grifter (2020)
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 11/9/2022
Drawing inspiration from My Octopus Teacher, filmmaker Benjamin Clay forms a deep, emotional, and financially taxing relationship with a monkey who may have ulterior motives.
Director: Alexander Buono
Writer: Seth Meyers
7.8/10 419 votes#7 - The Bunker
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 9/14/2016
A different and interesting look at the 1992 Ohio Gubernatorial campaign.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/10 430 votes#8 - 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".
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/10 317 votes#9 - Mr. Runner Up: My Life as an Oscar Bridesmaid (1)
Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 10/26/2016
A fun and candid docu-memoir of Hollywood Legend Jerry Wallach, and his forty-year quest to win an Oscar.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/10 633 votes#10 - 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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/10 674 votes#11 - 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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/10 357 votes#12 - 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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.9/10 147 votes#13 - 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. Inspired by Agnes Varda’s Gleaners and I and Beaches of Agnes.
Director: Alexander Buono, Micah Gardner
Writer: Matt Pacult, Tamsin Rawady
- 8.0/10 310 votes
#14 - Mr. Runner Up: My Life as an Oscar Bridesmaid (2)
Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 10/26/2016
A fun and candid docu-memoir of Hollywood Legend Jerry Wallach, and his forty-year quest to win an Oscar.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.1/10 510 votes#15 - 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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.1/10 443 votes#16 - 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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.1/10 375 votes#17 - Globesman
Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 10/5/2016
A landmark documentary from the Fein Brothers (Sandy Passage) follows four door-to-door salesmen as they travel across the country selling globes and battling rejection.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/10 251 votes#18 - Soldier of Illusion (1983) (1)
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. Inspired by the Werner Herzog-focused documentary Burden of Dreams.
Director: Rhys Thomas, Alexander Buono
Writer: John Mulaney
8.3/10 1,061 votes#19 - Sandy Passage
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 8/20/2015
An in depth look at the daily lives of two aging socialites and their crumbling estate. This mother and daughter live in extreme squalor, but the documentarians find more than just dirt and clutter on the property.
Director: Rhys Thomas, Alexander Buono
Writer: Seth Meyers
8.3/10 427 votes#20 - Batsh*t Valley (1)
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 2/20/2019
In 1980, enigmatic cult leader Father Ra-Shawbard and his followers descended on the small town of Chinook, Oregon, sparking a feud with the local residents that catapulted to national attention.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.3/10 645 votes#21 - 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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.3/10 213 votes#22 - Soldier of Illusion (1983) (2)
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. Inspired by the Werner Herzog-focused documentary Burden of Dreams.
Director: Rhys Thomas, Alexander Buono
Writer: John Mulaney
8.3/10 188 votes#23 - How They Threw Rocks (1996)
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 11/2/2022
A chronicle the Welsh sport of Craig Maes, also known as “Field Rock,” and the iconic 1974 bout dubbed “The Melon vs. The Felon” in the vein of When We Were Kingsand other great explorations of sport.
Director: Rhys Thomas, Alexander Buono
Writer: Seth Meyers
8.5/10 660 votes#24 - 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 for the 1986 murder of John Patrick Winslow.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.6/10 402 votes#25 - 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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A