This is a list of mockumentaries. Mockumentary or mock documentary is a genre of film and television, a parody presented as a documentary recording real life.
7 Days in Hell (2015), a fictional documentary-style exposé on the rivalry between two of the greatest tennis players of all time who battled it out in a 2001 match that lasted seven days.
ABBA: The Movie (1977), mockumentary comedy-drama film about the Swedish pop group ABBA's Australian tour.
AIC 23 (2013), mockumentary about Film Studies professor Alan Poole McLard on his journey to make a documentary about Alice in Chains interviewing other musicians who have been influenced by the band.
The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down (2006), a fictional guide to teach inexperienced youth about all things involved with "getting down", while also pointing out some of the pitfalls associated with the party lifestyle.
Comic Book: The Movie (2004), direct-to-DVD release about a comic book fanboy dealing with the unfaithful film adaptation of his favorite character, set to the backdrop of the 2002 San Diego Comic-Con.
Confessions of a Porn Addict (2008), about a man's quest to get his wife back after she left him for being addicted to porn.
Confetti (2006), British mockumentary about a fashion magazine wedding competition.
Death to 2020 (2020), British mockumentary by Black Mirror creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones which features a series of fictional characters discussing US and UK events of 2020 including the COVID-19 pandemic and US presidential election.
Dva kapitana II [ru] (1992) – Russian mockumentary about the events of the early 20th century.
Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo (2008), Les Claypool plays the role of drummer-singer Lapland "Lapdog" Miclovik of rising jam-band Electric Apricot, heading to the holy grail of festivals, Festeroo.
Everybody Dies by the End (2022), a film crew follows a cult director for the creation of his final picture.
The Falls (1980), by Peter Greenaway, documenting the cases of 92 victims of the fictional VUE (violent unknown event).
Fear of a Black Hat (1994), the story of the fictional rap group Niggaz with Hats (N.W.H.), as it evolves alongside the genre, from its popular origins to the advent of gangsta rap.
Fudge 44 (2005), an Irish mockumentary about six puppets in a financially impoverished children's puppet theater in Tokyo, who locals believe came to life and robbed a nearby bank to avoid being put out of business.
G-SALE (2003), mockumentary about garage sale fanatics.
I'm Still Here (2010), satirical film parodying America's fascination with the reality television phenomenon of the 2000s; revolves around the life of Academy Award-nominated actor Joaquin Phoenix; disheveled and perpetually clothed in dark suits and sunglasses, he announces his retirement from acting in favor of a career as a professional hip-hop artist.
Incident at Loch Ness (2004), about a filmmaker (Werner Herzog, who's also writer and producer for the film) attempting to make a documentary about the mythological Loch Ness Monster while a documentary about his life is, in turn, being filmed.
Interview with the Assassin (2002), about a cameraman who obtains the confession of the actual assassin who shot John F Kennedy.
It's All Gone Pete Tong (2004), comedy following the tragic life of legendary DJ Frankie Wilde; takes us through Wilde's life from being one of the best DJs alive, through subsequent battle with a hearing disorder, culminating in his mysterious disappearance from the scene.
I, Tonya (2017), black comedy focusing on the life and career of figure skater Tonya Harding and the physical assault on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan preceding the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Jackie's Back (1999), comedy chronicle of the life and career of Jackie Washington (Jenifer Lewis), a 1960s/1970s R&Bdiva as the diva/singer vies for another comeback.
Kenny (2006), the life of a portable toilet installer in Melbourne, Australia.
Killing Gunther (2017), about a group of disgruntled and eccentric assassins banding together to kill the world's greatest hitman, Gunther (Arnold Schwarzenegger).
LolliLove (2004), a story about a husband and wife team, played by James Gunn and Jenna Fischer, who form a charity to give each homeless person a lollipop with a cheery slogan on the wrapper, but who are really only serving themselves.
Man Bites Dog (1992), Belgian black comedy/satire in which a film crew follows a serial killer documenting his crimes.
Man of the Year (1995), a satirical look directed by former Playgirl magazine Man of the Year Dirk Shafer, about his Man of the Year reign as a closeted gay man.
Mascots (2016), Netflix film about the competition for the World Mascot Association's Gold Fluffy Award.
Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful (1992), "behind the scenes" exposé of fictional pop singer and sex symbol Medusa, on her "Blonde Leading the Blonde" concert tour.
A Mighty Wind (2003), the story of three groups of folk singers who come together at a tribute concert in honor of their recently deceased manager; one of several mockumentaries written and directed by Christopher Guest.
Mister America (2019), Tim Heidecker plays a fictionalized version of himself running for a district attorney position in order to unseat the incumbent who previously attempted to imprison him on a mass murder charge.
Punishment Park (1971), a pseudo-documentary set in the U.S.A. purporting to be a film crews's news coverage of a team of soldiers escorting a group of hippies, draft dodgers, and anti-establishment types across the desert in a mix of punishment and game.
Real Life (1979), mock documentary directed by Albert Brooks about a year in the life of an average American family (headed by Charles Grodin); it spoofs the PBS-style documentaries.
Reboot Camp (2020), a mockumentary by Ivo Raza, about a fake self help group full of Hollywood celebrities that turns into a cult
Shooting Bokkie (2003), about a South African film crew creating a documentary on a 13-year-old assassin (a bokkie) and the people living in the impoverished and crime-ridden area of Cape Flats.
Savageland (2015), a horror mockumentary about a mysterious massacre in a small town in Arizona.
Sons of Provo (2004), musical mockumentary about a Mormon boy-band and its rise to local fame in Utah.
State of Bacon (2013), about all things bacon, including the world's largest festival dedicated to bacon, the men who put it on, and some fun folks who attend.
Surf's Up, animated mockumentary that follows the progress of a surfer penguin as he enters a surfing competition.
Sweet and Lowdown (1999), by Woody Allen and starring Sean Penn, includes elements of mockumentary depicting the life of a fictional jazz guitarist from the 1930s.
Tanner '88 (1988, with a follow-up sequel in 2004), the campaign of fictional former Michigan U.S. representative Jack Tanner (played by Michael Murphy) in his bid to secure the Democratic party's 1988 nomination for President; written by Garry Trudeau, directed by Robert Altman.
Theater Camp (2023), about the staff of an eccentrically-run theater camp trying to keep the business afloat when its owner falls into a coma.[2][3]
This Is Spinal Tap (1984), a film crew follows a British hard rock band attempting to revive their popularity;[1] the first of several mockumentaries written by Christopher Guest.
Tour de Pharmacy (2017), an HBO mockumentary that chronicles doping in the professional cycling world.
The Tunnel (2011), a documentary crew encounters a ghoul in the tunnels below Sydney.
Waiting for Guffman (1996), a small Missouri town's celebration of its sesquicentennial; one of several mockumentaries co-starring, and written and directed by Christopher Guest.
We Make Movies (2017), about an egotistical student filmmaker who gathers his friends together to help make a movie for their local film festival.
World War III (1998), a German film depicting what might have transpired if, following the overthrow of Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet troops, under orders from a new hard-line regime, had opened fire on demonstrators in Berlin in the fall of 1989 and precipitated World War III.
Zelig (1983), by Woody Allen, about a man who changes his physical appearance in order to fit in.
All Aussie Adventures (AU, 2001), follows the Australian outback adventures of Russell Coight, who believes he is one with the land but constantly has mishaps that could only happen to him.
American Horror Story: Roanoke (US, 2016) follows supernatural experiences around a haunted house and its surroundings in North Carolina. The first half of the season is presented as a paranormal documentary entitled My Roanoke Nightmare, which reenacts the experiences of a married couple who lived in the house. The second half is presented as found footage and depicts the doomed production of the documentary's sequel.
American Vandal (US, 2017–2018) follows an amateur high school filmmaker who believes an expelled senior may be innocent of vandalizing the school with penis drawings.
Arrested Development (US, 2003–2006, 2013–2019), a fly-on-the-wall series filmed in mockumentary style; follows the story of the dysfunctional Bluth family, primarily Michael, after his father is imprisoned.
Come Fly with Me (UK, 2010), fly-on-the-wall comedy which follows the antics of many characters on a normal day at a UK airport; most characters are played by comedian duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas.
Cunk on Britain (UK, 2016-2018), a comedy series created by and starring Diane Morgan as Philomena Cunk, a dim-witted and ill-informed interviewer who travels Britain interviewing various specialists and historians. Most of the time Philomena seems vapid and unbothered, entirely missing the point of most interviews. Aired on the BBC.
Cunk On Earth (UK, 2022), a comedy series created by and starring Diane Morgan as Philomena Cunk, who travels the earth interviewing historians and specialists about humanity's greatest inventions and works. As with the other "Cunk" series, her questions are often misguided and have no relevance, she often misinterprets main ideas, and her humor parodies David Attenborough and Brian Cox.
The Day Today (UK, 1994), spoof news series created by Chris Morris and Armando Iannucci, often featuring documentary-style inserts such as 'The Pool' and 'The Office'.
Dog Bites Man, parody of local news coverage; follows the misadventures of a struggling news team as they travel around the country producing news segments.
Dora the Explorer (live-action series), adventure series, follows a 16-year-old Dora Marquez and her high school friends, Boots the monkey, and her talking backpack on wild adventures, based on the animated series of the same name. It is being filmed and coming to Paramount+.
Dorm Life (US, 2008–2009), webseries following the fictional lives of the inhabitants of the college dorm floor 5 South.
Drama Club (2021), a comedy series where students at Tookus Middle School prepare for their musical.
The Games (Australia, 1998 and 2000), comedy, follows the mayhem and bureaucratic snafus faced by the organisers of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney
Gerhard Reinke's Wanderlust (US, 2003), travel show following the misadventures of a bumbling German backpacker as he travels the globe in search of reasonably priced culturally enriching experiences.
Hardy Bucks (Ireland, 2010), small-town exploits of misbehaving young men.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (2019-2023), inspired by the High School Musical film series, the East High drama teacher decides to stage a performance of High School Musical: The Musical for her first winter theater production to celebrate the school's affiliation with the original films. The students cast in the musical learn to navigate their interpersonal relationships and form bonds with each other, to overcome the challenges they face in their lives at school and home.
Les Invincibles (Canada, 2005–2009), French Canadian dramedy about four thirty-year-old men signing a pact that says they have to break up with their girlfriends and embrace a common routine-free life.
Jimmy MacDonald's Canada (Canada, 2005), lost episodes of a mid-1960s public affairs show hosted by Jimmy MacDonald who was played by Richard Waugh; combined new segments with authentic news and human interest archive footage.
Little Lunch (Australia, 2015) created by Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope on ABC Me set in a suburban primary school in Australia and follows the adventures of six Grade 5 students at recess time.
Look Around You (UK, 2002 and 2005), parody of educational TV (season 1) and documentary about "the world and future of science and technology" (season 2), set roughly 25 years before the actual release dates.
Lunatics (Australia, 2019–present), the series explores the lives of six different and eccentric characters in their own distinctive settings.
Parks and Recreation (US, 2009–2015), follows Leslie Knope, head of the Parks and Recreation department in a small town in Indiana.
Paths to Freedom (Ireland, 2000), fly-on-the-wall spoof about two prisoners leaving prison, both from different backgrounds, one an esteemed gynaecologist and the other an inner-city Dublin rapper.
People Like Us (UK, radio 1995–1997, and television 1999-2001), British comedy featuring an inept interviewer (played by Chris Langham) who interviews people in various jobs.
Summer Heights High (Australia, 2007), about three characters at a public high school.
This Country (UK, 2017–present), comedy series about the day-to-day lives of two young people living in a small village in the Cotswolds. Later remade for the US.
Total Drama (Canada, 2007–2014), animated parody of reality shows, about a group of teens competing for $1,000,000.
Trailer Park Boys (Canada, 2001–present), follows Julian, Ricky, and Bubbles, as they commit crimes and hatch crackpot schemes to make money, most of which are illegal and often involve growing marijuana.
Trial & Error (US, 2017–2018), a parody of true crime documentaries which follows the cases of Josh Segal, a New York transplant who moves to East Peck, South Carolina to take the case of Larry Henderson.
Twenty Twelve (UK, 2011), a mockumentary following the organisation of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London
Yacht Rock (US, 2005–2010), Channel 101 series following the fictionalized lives and careers of American soft rock stars of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous (US, 2013), follows a teenager who hires a camera crew to document his journey to overnight stardom, despite being completely talentless.
Introducing Tony Ferrino: Who and Why?: A Quest, Steve Coogan's parody of cheap promotional videos which went alongside the arrival of his Portuguese singer character; written with Peter Baynham, co-writer of Borat, The Day Today, who appears as an interviewer eventually killed by the sinister Ferrino.
Norbert Smith - a Life, a personal project by English comedian Harry Enfield, satirising TV arts show biographies, British films of the 20th century, and the British acting fraternity; Enfield later provided two other mockumentaries, Smashie and Nicey: The End of an Era (which took us through the glory days of British radio) and Normal Ormal: A Very Political Turtle (a scatter-gun attack on politics).
Oil Gobblers (Ropáci), a film by Jan Svěrák about creatures that live in underground mines and feed on oil, plastic, and rubbish.
Morto Troisi, viva Troisi! [it] (1982), a fake report about Massimo Troisi's death, with the direction of Troisi himself; a long of list people greet the Italian comedian.
Pat Paulsen for President (1968), TV special about the fictional presidential campaign of comedian Pat Paulsen.
"The Loud Solomon Family: a Dickumentary", season 5, an episode presented in an entirely documentary style, taking a look into the lives of the Solomon family.
"And Now for a Word" (1995), framed as a documentary by the fictional news network ISN for the Babylon 5 station; every act in the episode starts with effects similar to those used by news channels, and ends with the reporter acknowledging the cut to advertisements; there is also a fake advertisement; this is the first documentary-styled episode in the science fiction genre.
"The Movie in the Making" (2016), made to look like an episode of fictional documentary TV show focusing on the work of the FBI and Jeffersonian Institute, including interviews with characters.
"Monsters of Everlock" (2018), an episode that delves into the different monsters that were featured in the show. It's stated at the start that it takes place before the events of the show and that the crew behind were never seen again.
"A Constellation of Doubt", Season 4, Episode 17, most of the episode consists of a fictional documentary detailing humanity's reaction to Moya's recent visit to Earth; it is occasionally seen that John Crichton is watching the documentary on a television set in his quarters on board the ship; end credits of the episode include a trailer to the next episode of the fictional documentary.
"Ugly", Season 4, Episode 7, A camera follows a patient around the hospital as Dr. House treats him. Some of the episode is filmed in the standard format (such times include differentials etc.) but scenes including the patient are mostly viewed through the in-show camera. The cameras are differentiated by the official camera being in colour and the in-show camera being in grayscale.
"Mr. Monk's 100th Case" (2008) 100th episode featuring a fictional TV special (mockumentary style) about Monk's 100th case including interviews with past characters on the show. Core characters are at a viewing party (standard format) for the special and Monk has second thoughts about his conclusion about the case.
"Modern Wedding", Season 3, Episode 14, Sabrina's mother hires the film crew of her favorite show, Modern Family, to document her wedding as a wedding gift to Sabrina and Jimmy.
"Access" (2004), fake behind-the-scenes documentary about a day in the White House of President Josiah Bartlet, supposedly released after his term in office has ended.
Late Night with the Devil, a 1970s talk show, who on Halloween night inviting an allegedly possessed girl onto the program in an attempt to boost ratings, accidentally unleashing evil into the nation's broadcasting.
V/H/S/99: Ozzy's Dungeon (2022), A dangerous children's TV game show called "Ozzy's Dungeon," whose prize is a wish granted by the mysterious Ozzy, is cancelled after a contestant is brutally injured due to the show's host doesn't stop the challenge. Years later, the parents of the injured contestant kidnap the host and force him to endure a similar, yet deadlier, obstacle challenge in their basement — and discover the true nature of Ozzy.
Series 7: The Contenders, a movie is presented as a marathon of the seventh series of an American reality television show in which six people, picked at random from a national lottery, are each given a gun and forced to hunt and kill each other for the camera.
Siberia, a horror/drama series about a fictional reality television show in which 16 contestants must survive in the remote Siberian territory of Tunguska for a 500,000 dollar prize; things go horribly wrong and the contestants are left stranded in a dangerous forest full of things they don't understand.
Countdown to Looking Glass (1984), a cable-TV docu-drama presented as a series of news reports concerning an escalation in the Middle East between the US and the USSR, that eventually leads to nuclear war (not completely a documentary/mockumentary, as it includes dramatic interludes).
Ghostwatch (1992), BBC television special in which a fictitious "live" paranormal investigation goes awry.
Local 58 (2015–present), a web series and spin-off of Kris Straub's Candle Cove, hosted on the YouTube channel LOCAL58TV, each video in the series is presented as footage of a fictional public access television channel, which is continuously hijacked over a period of decades with a series of ominous and surreal broadcasts.
Not For Broadcast (2022), a full-motion simulated video game in the form of a national television news program, developed by British video game studio NotGames; set in an unnamed European country (resembling the United Kingdom) in the mid-1980s, where a new populist political party named Advance has won a surprise landslide election victory and begins to handle the country in an increasingly authoritariandystopian fashion.
Special Bulletin (1983), NBC made-for-TV movie, portrayed a live broadcast from a fictional American broadcasting network on a nuclear terrorism incident in Charleston, South Carolina as it occurred; its realism caused a minor panic in Charleston at the time of its first airing, despite disclaimers shown after each commercial break.
V/H/S/94: Storm Drain (2021), a film segment in the form of cable news reports; covered the details of an urban legend cryptid known as the "Rat Man" who lives in the storm drains, only to be attacked by sewer-dwelling people who worship the humanoid and bring the news crew to it for sacrifice.
Without Warning (1994), TV film in the form of a mock newscast, produced by CBS; covered an apocalyptic alien attack scenario as seen through the eyes of a network TV news crew; like Special Bulletin, reports of panic were also associated with its broadcast.
The Blair Witch Project, 1999 horror film about three student filmmakers who disappear while hiking to film a documentary about a local legend, the Blair Witch.
Cannibal Holocaust, 1980 horror film about an anthropologist from New York University who leads a rescue team into the Amazon rainforest to locate a crew of filmmakers.
Chronicle, 2012 science fiction movie about three high-school seniors who form a bond after gaining telekinetic abilities from an unknown object.
Cloverfield, 2008 monster thriller film following six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night a gigantic monster attacks the city.
Creep (film series) (2014–2017), American psychological horror films about videographers recording eccentric people. A third film, currently titled Creep 3, is being made.
The Devil Inside, 2012 horror movie tracing the purported exorcism of a possessed woman convicted of a triple murder.
Gang Tapes, 2001 When a brutal carjacking yields a videocamera, a teenage boy decides to document his life and the lives of his fellow gangbangers.
The Last Exorcism, 2010 horror film about a fictional evangelical minister who participates in a documentary that films his exorcism.
Paranormal Activity, 2007 supernatural horror film centered on a young couple who are haunted by a supernatural presence in their home.
Project X, 2012 comedy film whose plot follows three friends who plan to gain popularity by throwing a party, a plan which quickly escalates out of their control.
The Troll Hunter, 2010 Norwegian comedy-drama film made by a team of film students, documenting the work of a troll hunter with the secret Norwegian Troll Service.
V/H/S (film series) (2012–present), American anthology horror films featuring a series of found-footage shorts.
Zero Day, 2003 American indie film by Ben Coccio based on the Columbine High School shooting.