Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
WeirdThe 10 Best Mockumentaries On Netflix
By Brett White
@brettwhite
Published
Sep. 21, 2017, 9:00 p.m. ET
1 of
11
Netflix is home to dozens of mockumentaries, but these are the 10 that have the highest ratings on IMDB. (See more)
Photos: Everett Collection ; Illustration: Dillen Phelps
2 of
11
The Office (US; 2005-2013)
IMDb Score: 8.8
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%
The mockumentary format went mainstream with the debut and success of NBC's adaptation of the groundbreaking British comedy. The Scranton-based series followed the ups and downs of employees at a paper company, as they dealt with the cringeworthy management style of Michael Scott (Steve Carell). With 9 seasons and 201 episodes, The Office is the longest-running mockumentary series ever.
[Where to stream The Office]
IMDb Score: 8.8
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%
The mockumentary format went mainstream with the debut and success of NBC's adaptation of the groundbreaking British comedy. The Scranton-based series followed the ups and downs of employees at a paper company, as they dealt with the cringeworthy management style of Michael Scott (Steve Carell). With 9 seasons and 201 episodes, The Office is the longest-running mockumentary series ever.
[Where to stream The Office]
NBC
3 of
11
People Just Do Nothing (2014-2017)
IMDb Score: 8.6
The British love their mockumentaries, as you'll see from a few entries on this list. People Just Do Nothing is one such series, and it documents the lives of a group of MCs turned radio DJs as they bring their pirate radio station Kurupt FM to the (quasi) masses. The show, which just wrapped its fourth series, is a critical hit in the UK, having won the BAFTA for Best Scripted Comedy this year.
[Where to stream People Just Do Nothing]
IMDb Score: 8.6
The British love their mockumentaries, as you'll see from a few entries on this list. People Just Do Nothing is one such series, and it documents the lives of a group of MCs turned radio DJs as they bring their pirate radio station Kurupt FM to the (quasi) masses. The show, which just wrapped its fourth series, is a critical hit in the UK, having won the BAFTA for Best Scripted Comedy this year.
[Where to stream People Just Do Nothing]
Netflix
4 of
11
THE OFFICE, (from left): Martin Freeman, Lucy Davis, Ricky Gervais, MacKenzie Crook, 2001-03. © BBC Ltd. / Courtesy: Everett Collection
©BBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
5 of
11
Trailer Park Boys (2001-2017)
IMDb Score: 8.4
Before The Office changed TV in the UK, Canada had the Trailer Park Boys. This pioneer of the TV mockumentary genre flew under the radar in the US until Netflix relaunched it in 2014. New episodes of the show, which follows the exploits of three small-time crooks and the goings on of the Nova Scotian trailer park they live in. The series is all over Netflix, too, with a ton of specials and feature-length episodes existing alongside the main series.
[Where to stream Trailer Park Boys]
IMDb Score: 8.4
Before The Office changed TV in the UK, Canada had the Trailer Park Boys. This pioneer of the TV mockumentary genre flew under the radar in the US until Netflix relaunched it in 2014. New episodes of the show, which follows the exploits of three small-time crooks and the goings on of the Nova Scotian trailer park they live in. The series is all over Netflix, too, with a ton of specials and feature-length episodes existing alongside the main series.
[Where to stream Trailer Park Boys]
©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection
6 of
11
Little Lunch (2015-2016)
IMDb Score: 8.3
The mockumentary genre isn't just for adults, you know. Kids get in on the talking-to-camera action in this Australian comedy series, which takes places on the playground of a primary school. Originally a series of kids' books also called Little Lunch, this is a mockumentary series that you can enjoy alongside your kids.
[Where to stream Little Lunch]
IMDb Score: 8.3
The mockumentary genre isn't just for adults, you know. Kids get in on the talking-to-camera action in this Australian comedy series, which takes places on the playground of a primary school. Originally a series of kids' books also called Little Lunch, this is a mockumentary series that you can enjoy alongside your kids.
[Where to stream Little Lunch]
Netflix
7 of
11
Documentary Now! (2015-2017)
IMDb Score: 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
Saturday Night Live veterans Fred Armisen and Bill Hader cut loose in this anthology comedy series, taking the mockumentary genre to new heights. Unlike the other series on this list, each episode of Documentary Now! is a standalone designed to emulate a very specific doc style. Everything from to the classic Grey Gardens up to the in-your-face journalism of VICE News is parodied with laser precision and total commitment from comedy chameleons Hader and Armisen.
[Where to stream Documentary Now!]
IMDb Score: 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
Saturday Night Live veterans Fred Armisen and Bill Hader cut loose in this anthology comedy series, taking the mockumentary genre to new heights. Unlike the other series on this list, each episode of Documentary Now! is a standalone designed to emulate a very specific doc style. Everything from to the classic Grey Gardens up to the in-your-face journalism of VICE News is parodied with laser precision and total commitment from comedy chameleons Hader and Armisen.
[Where to stream Documentary Now!]
©IFC Films/Courtesy Everett Collection
8 of
11
Houston, We Have A Problem! (2016)
IMDb Score: 8
The genre-breaking Houston, We Have A Problem! is unlike anything else on this list, and also probably unlike anything you've seen before. The film, which comes from HBO Europe, posits that Yugoslavia was an active but forgotten participant in the space race of the '50s and '60s and actually sold its space program to the US. The film weaves real facts (the US really did team up with Yugoslavia) with hilarious fiction (a pig was not really a rocket's test pilot) to create a bizarre yet compelling narrative. Plenty of people have watched this and thought it was the real deal!
[Where to stream Houston, We Have A Problem!]
IMDb Score: 8
The genre-breaking Houston, We Have A Problem! is unlike anything else on this list, and also probably unlike anything you've seen before. The film, which comes from HBO Europe, posits that Yugoslavia was an active but forgotten participant in the space race of the '50s and '60s and actually sold its space program to the US. The film weaves real facts (the US really did team up with Yugoslavia) with hilarious fiction (a pig was not really a rocket's test pilot) to create a bizarre yet compelling narrative. Plenty of people have watched this and thought it was the real deal!
[Where to stream Houston, We Have A Problem!]
Everett Collection
9 of
11
W1A (2014-2017)
IMDb Score: 7.7
Timed with London's hosting of the 2012 Olympic Games, the BBC aired the mockumentary series Twenty Twelve about the organization of the games. The series proved popular enough to continue even after the Olympics moved on, and thus W1A was born. Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) and Jessica Hynes (Spaced) reprise their roles in this series, which tracks daily life at the BBC.
[Where to stream W1A]
IMDb Score: 7.7
Timed with London's hosting of the 2012 Olympic Games, the BBC aired the mockumentary series Twenty Twelve about the organization of the games. The series proved popular enough to continue even after the Olympics moved on, and thus W1A was born. Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) and Jessica Hynes (Spaced) reprise their roles in this series, which tracks daily life at the BBC.
[Where to stream W1A]
©BBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
10 of
11
Best In Show (2000)
IMDb Score: 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
The oeuvre of director Christopher Guest forms the backbone of the entire mockumentary genre. Waiting For Guffman, A Mighty Wind, and the Netflix original Mascots all create excitement from mundanity and create characters so real you forget they're Catherine O'Hara or Eugene Levy. Of all his films, Guest's dog show documentary Best In Show is perhaps his best regarded-and rightly so. Adorable dogs and kooky owners hungry for first prize, what's not to love?
[Where to stream Best In Show]
IMDb Score: 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
The oeuvre of director Christopher Guest forms the backbone of the entire mockumentary genre. Waiting For Guffman, A Mighty Wind, and the Netflix original Mascots all create excitement from mundanity and create characters so real you forget they're Catherine O'Hara or Eugene Levy. Of all his films, Guest's dog show documentary Best In Show is perhaps his best regarded-and rightly so. Adorable dogs and kooky owners hungry for first prize, what's not to love?
[Where to stream Best In Show]
©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
11 of
11
American Vandal (2017)
IMDb Score: 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Netflix made a name for itself in the true crime genre thanks to original docu-series like Making a Murderer and The Keepers. Now Netflix is taking aim at the doc style it helped popularize with the mockumentary American Vandal, a series that examines the fallout of a prank that left 27 faculty cars covered in spray-painted penises. Did Dylan do it? Should he have been expelled? The premise may seem silly, but this series takes it very seriously-and that makes it hilarious.
[Where to stream American Vandal]
IMDb Score: 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Netflix made a name for itself in the true crime genre thanks to original docu-series like Making a Murderer and The Keepers. Now Netflix is taking aim at the doc style it helped popularize with the mockumentary American Vandal, a series that examines the fallout of a prank that left 27 faculty cars covered in spray-painted penises. Did Dylan do it? Should he have been expelled? The premise may seem silly, but this series takes it very seriously-and that makes it hilarious.
[Where to stream American Vandal]
Tyler Golden/Netflix
