Documentary Now!

:

Season 3
  • Network: IFC
  • Series Premiere Date: Aug 20, 2015
Season #: 4, 3, 2, 1
Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
Watch Now

Where To Watch

Buy on
Stream On
Stream On

Critic Reviews

  1. The Atlantic
    Reviewed by: Sophie Gilbert
    Feb 20, 2019
    100
    Documentary Now! is better than it’s ever been: absurd, joyful, and characteristically precise. And the new episodes still manage to pick thoughtfully at the intentions and methods of filmmakers, particularly when it comes to portraying genius.
  2. Collider
    Reviewed by: Adam Chitwood
    Feb 19, 2019
    100
    Season 3 shows that, while Hader and Armisen are missed, this series could go on for many, many years as long as the core writing, producing, and directing team remains. The show is as funny and fresh as ever.
  3. RogerEbert.com
    Reviewed by: Brian Tallerico
    Feb 20, 2019
    90
    Sure, there are orgy and drug jokes in “Batsh*t Valley,” but they never over-do any of their gags, often moving on to something else clever just as you’re getting the previous joke. ... Perhaps because the season starts so strongly, the final two episodes felt like a bit of a letdown to me, but they’re still smarter than most comedy television.
  5. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Matt Zoller Seitz
    Feb 20, 2019
    90
    [This Season] feels like an evolution of sorts, largely purging itself of pure delight in imitation/parody (as in an SNL sketch) and treating the exceptional writing, acting, and filmmaking as a way to portray and explore these strange and mesmerizing individuals.
  6. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Feb 14, 2019
    90
    Documentary Now! goes to new heights of comic inspiration. ... I mean this as the highest compliment when I say it's almost as good as the real thing. [18 Feb - 3 Mar 2019, p.14]
    All this critic's reviews
  7. Boston Herald
    Reviewed by: Mark A. Perigard
    Feb 20, 2019
    83
    Documentary Now! is smart TV.
  8. Slate
    Reviewed by: Sam Adams
    Feb 20, 2019
    80
    Along the way to its third season, which premieres Wednesday night, the series’ humor grew more attenuated, so its episodes started to feel less like extended Saturday Night Live sketches and more like covert conceptual art projects, where the joke, so to speak, is that such meticulously fetishistic re-creations exist in the first place.
  9. Salon
    Reviewed by: Melanie McFarland
    Feb 19, 2019
    80
    “Batsh*t Valley: Part I and Part II” airs as one back on back installment to open the third season of “Documentary Now!”, and it’s probably among the most accessible choices the series has made. ... Meyers' script is fast paced and sharp, and the prize here is Zadegan’s portrayal of Ra-Sharir, who hits all the right Sheela notes without making her character a carbon copy.

Awards & Rankings

9
#9 Best TV Season of 2019
37
#37 Most Shared TV Season of 2019

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 23 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 23
  3. Negative: 5 out of 23
  1. Scraper
    Mar 15, 2019
    4
    Documentary Now thinks it's premises are good enough that it doesn't really need to push the envelope with it's jokes. The humor is very mildDocumentary Now thinks it's premises are good enough that it doesn't really need to push the envelope with it's jokes. The humor is very mild and low-key, relying on it's concepts and now increasing amount of guest stars to carry it through. Few comedy television projects get the budget and creative control that DN has gotten and that's why it's so disappointing. There are a few chuckles but mostly I end up feeling bad because it could've been so much better.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »