The wait is almost over. After having to sit through a global pandemic with virtually no news of one of the best shows in television, Documentary Now! fans will soon be able to enjoy Season 53 – also known as Season 4, but who’s counting? – of the acclaimed series. Today, IFC revealed the slate of guest stars that will populate the upcoming episodes, and, as always, they only make the show more of a must-watch. Once again, the anthology series will feature mockumentaries that both pay homage and satirize famous and celebrated documentaries, most of them starring co-creators Bill Hader and Fred Armisen, and all introduced by Helen Mirren (The Queen).
Cate Blanchett (Thor: Ragnarok), Jamie Demetriou (The Afterparty), Trystan Gravelle (Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power), Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes), John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of The Rings trilogy), Harriet Walter (Succession) and Grammy Award-Winning singer Tom Jones are all confirmed to guest star in the new season.
Blanchett returns after starring in the Season 3 episode “Waiting for the Artist”, but she won’t play the same character. This time, the two-time Academy Award winner is set to star opposite Harriet Walter in the episode titled “Two Hairdressers in Bagglyport”, which is a funny take on fashion documentaries such as 3 Salons at the Seaside, and The September Issue, the famous Vogue documentary.
In addition, Gravelle, Pryce, Rhys-Davies, and legendary Welsh singer Tom Jones will star in “How They Threw Rocks”. The sports mockumentary’s approach is similar to the 1996 Academy Award-winning film When We Were Kings, which chronicled the heavyweight boxing championship that featured George Foreman and then-underdog Muhammad Ali. In the episode, though, the subject will be 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 AKA “The Melon.”
Previously announced episode “My Monkey Grifter” will have Jamie Demetriou playing a filmmaker who forms a deep, emotional, and financially taxing relationship with a monkey who may have ulterior motives. The episode satirizes My Octopus Teacher, about a man who forms a surprisingly deep bond with an octopus. Armisen is set to co-star as Detective Blakely, which suggests the episode will have the usual twist that we’ve come to expect from the series.
Documentary Now! is created by Armisen, Hader, Seth Meyers, and Rhys Thomas. It premiered back in 2015 to high praise, and ever since then it has earned multiple nominations across several awards, including six in the Emmys. The series has featured several notable guest stars, including Cameron Crowe, Alana Haim, Owen Wilson, Michael Keaton, Michael C. Hall, Jack Black, and Anne Hathaway.
IFC is yet to announce more guest stars and episode summaries for Season 53, as well as when the series premieres – so far, we just know it will have a Fall release window on IFC and AMC+.