‘Documentary Now!’ Season 4 Preview: Cast, Episode Details, and Trailer

IFC’s critically acclaimed mockumentary Documentary Now! returns for its fourth season on October 19, 2022 with a two-part premiere. The two-parter is titled “Soldier of Illusion” and will star Alexander Skarsgard (The Northman), Nicholas Braun (Succession), and August Diehl (Inglourious Basterds), with Skarsgard channeling German filmmaker Werner Herzog.

Additional season four – or season 53, depending on if you’re playing along with the running gag – stars include two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine, Carol), Liliane Rovère (Call My Agent!), Ronald Guttman (Godfather of Harlem), Emmy nominee Harriet Walter (Succession), Trystan Gravelle (Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power), Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes), John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of The Rings), and Jamie Demetriou (The Afterparty).

Documentary Now! was created by executive producers Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and Rhys Thomas. Alex Buono, John Mulaney, Broadway Video’s Andrew Singer, and Lorne Michaels also executive produce the new season. Lee Groombridge, Matt Pacult, Tamsin Rawady, and Broadway Video’s Eddie Michaels and Andrew Garland produce. Thomas and Buono are the directors.

New episodes of the six-episode season will arrive on Wednesdays and be available on both IFC and AMC+.

Season 4 Episode Descriptions:

• The two-part, season premiere episode, “Soldier of Illusion,” written by John Mulaney and starring Alexander Skarsgård, Nicholas Braun, and August Diehl, was inspired by the Werner Herzog-focused documentary Burden of Dreams. In the early 1980s, a visionary German filmmaker (Skarsgård) tries to will his magnum opus into existence while working in the remote, punishing conditions of the Russian Ular mountains. Kevin Bishop (Miracle Workers), Gana Bayarsaikhan (Wonder Woman), Matthias Rimpler (Ludzie i Bogowie), and Fred Armisen will also star, with Documentary Now! ensemble alumni Deb Hiett returning as narrator.
• “Trouver Frisson” features French actor Liliane Rovère and Ronald Guttman. Inspired by Agnes Varda’s Gleaners and I and Beaches of Agnes, celebrated French filmmaker Ida Leos (Rovère) searches for why she no longer experiences “frisson” – the goosebumps that have always been her guide. Written by series producers Matt Pacult and Tamsin Rawady and co-directed by Micah Gardner, the episode also stars Documentary Now! alumni Gary Kraus.
• “Two Hairdressers in Bagglyport” will star two-time Academy Award-winner and Documentary Now! alumni Cate Blanchett, as well as Emmy-nominated actress Harriet Walter. Paying homage to documentaries 3 Salons at the Seaside and The September Issue, the episode is a fly-on-the-wall portrait of a hair salon owner (Walter) and her staff (Blanchett), in the small coastal village of Bagglyport as they prepare their yearly stylebook. Fred Armisen will also star as George the Postman.
• “How They Threw Rocks” will feature Welsh actors Trystan Gravelle, Jonathan Pryce, and John Rhys-Davies, as well as legendary Welsh singer Tom Jones. In the vein of When We Were Kings and other great explorations of sport, the episode chronicles the Welsh sport of Craig Maes, also known as “Field Rock,” and the iconic 1974 bout dubbed “The Melon vs. The Felon (Gravelle).” Fellow Welsh actor Sam C. Wilson (Dodger) joins as infamous Craig Maes competitor Sior Strawboss or “The Melon.”
• “My Monkey Grifter” will be helmed by actor Jamie Demetriou. Drawing inspiration from My Octopus Teacher, the episode follows Benjamin Clay (Demetriou), a filmmaker who forms a deep, emotional, and financially taxing relationship with a monkey who may have ulterior motives. Fred Armisen also joins as Detective Blakely.