IFC comedy Documentary Now! starring Bill Hader and Fred Armisen renewed ahead

Hader and Armisen stopped by Late Night With Seth Meyers on Monday so they could all talk about the show, and Meyers reportedly mentioned the two-season renewal at that time. Documentary Now! pays tribute to and parodies decades of classic documentary filmmaking, and will premiere on IFC on Thursday, August 20 at 10PM.

IFC is currently pre-premiering the second episode of Documentary Now! on VICE.com, IFC.com, YouTube, VOD, DISH channel 102, iGuide, and on TV Everywhere platforms across IFC’s distribution partners.

“Mockumentaries – fictional, often improvised and satirical films that are shot and presented like a true documentary – may be popular today, but the term was coined in the 1960s, with The Beatles” documentary-style scripted comedy A Hard Day’s Night as one of the first films of its kind. “We’re immensely proud of what they’ve created alongside Rhys, and thrilled with the buzz and critical acclaim the show is already receiving”.

After screening the first two episodes, Atlantic editor Steve Clemons and MSNBC’s Alex Wagner held a discussion with the creators, which often turned into a contest between the creatives over who could make each other laugh the most or cut Wagner’s questions off quickest. It has all the usual documentary trappings, including Errol Morris-like reenactments and grainy footage of weirdos a la the Maysles Brothers.

Just seeing the preview clip of the two-part season finale about the tortured souls of ’70s soft-rock band The Blue Jean Committee – a gloss on the massively successful “History of the Eagles” – elicits chuckles.

In addition to Thomas, the show is executive produced by Broadway Video’s Andrew Singer. SNL’s John Mulaney and Erik Kenward serve as consulting producer and supervising producer respectively.