Yet, while mockumentaries, such as This is Spinal Tap or The Office, poke fun at a certain topic, Documentary Now! aims to deconstruct definitive aspects of well-known documentaries out of admiration, with half-hour episodes taking heavy inspiration from films like Grey Gardens, Salesman, and the Talking Heads concert doc Stop Making Sense.
The mockumentary had existed long before SNL veterans Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, and Seth Meyers teamed up to create Documentary Now! for IFC in 2017.