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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...
Genre:Comedy
Network:IFC

Worst Episodes Summary

"Long Gone" is the worst rated episode of "Documentary Now!". It scored 6.4/10 based on 246 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 3/20/2019. This episode scored 0.7 points lower than the second lowest rated, "A Town, A Gangster, A Festival".

  • Long Gone
    6.4/10246 votes
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    #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

  • A Town, A Gangster, A Festival
    7.1/10505 votes
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    #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: Rhys Thomas, Alexander Buono

    Writer: Seth Meyers, Fred Armisen

  • Searching for Mr. Larson: A Love Letter from the Far Side
    7.1/10304 votes
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    #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

  • Final Transmission
    7.4/10402 votes
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    #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

  • Two Hairdressers in Bagglyport (1994)
    7.5/10222 votes
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    #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

  • My Monkey Grifter (2020)
    7.6/10149 votes
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    #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

  • The Bunker
    7.8/10421 votes
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    #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

  • Parker Gail's Location Is Everything
    7.8/10433 votes
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    #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

  • Mr. Runner Up: My Life as an Oscar Bridesmaid (1)
    7.8/10321 votes
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    #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

  • Kunuk Uncovered
    7.9/10635 votes
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    #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: Rhys Thomas, Alexander Buono

    Writer: Seth Meyers

  • DRONEZ: The Hunt for El Chingon
    7.9/10677 votes
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    #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: Rhys Thomas, Alexander Buono

    Writer: Duffy Boudreau, Bill Hader, Rob Klein

  • Any Given Saturday Afternoon
    7.9/10361 votes
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    #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

  • Trouver Frisson (2000)
    7.9/10150 votes
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    #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

  • Mr. Runner Up: My Life as an Oscar Bridesmaid (2)
    8.0/10314 votes
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    #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

  • Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee (1)
    8.1/10512 votes
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    #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: Rhys Thomas, Alexander Buono

    Writer: Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, Erik Kenward

  • Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee (2)
    8.1/10445 votes
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    #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: Rhys Thomas, Alexander Buono

    Writer: Bill Hader, Fred Armisen, Erik Kenward

  • Globesman
    8.1/10378 votes
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    #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

  • Batsh*t Valley (1)
    8.2/10431 votes
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    #18 - 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

  • Soldier of Illusion (1983) (1)
    8.2/10255 votes
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    #19 - 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

  • Sandy Passage
    8.3/101,067 votes
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    #20 - 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

  • Original Cast Album: Co-Op
    8.3/10651 votes
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    #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

  • Soldier of Illusion (1983) (2)
    8.3/10216 votes
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    #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

  • How They Threw Rocks (1996)
    8.3/10192 votes
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    #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

  • The Eye Doesn't Lie
    8.5/10664 votes
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    #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: Rhys Thomas, Alexander Buono

    Writer: John Mulaney, Bill Hader

  • Batsh*t Valley (2)
    8.6/10406 votes
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    #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