History Main / Mockumentary

* ''WebOriginal/HowItsActuallyMade'' is a parody of ''Series/HowItsMade'', an actual documentary series that documents... well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin how things are made]]. The difference here is that ''Actually'', rather than providing factual information about how things are made, is completely incorrect, riddled with unprofessional side comments thrown in, and it's all delivered in the exact same informative narration that the main series is known for.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': The "documentary" episode ''Behind the Laughter'' from the 11th season.

* ''Podcast/WhoIsCamCandor'' is another parody of investigative podcasts featuring B.K. Will, a "Cultural Obscurist" who investigates a mysterious podcast creator known only by their pseudonym, "Cam Candor", after finding a drive containing over a hundred of the pilot episodes of their podcasts.

* ''Get Ready to be Boyzvoiced'' is about the rise and fall of a Norwegian boyband that performed songs that would get them booed off {{Series/Eurovision|SongContest}}. It's all PlayedForLaughs of course.

* ''ARG/{{Interloper}}'' is an AlternateRealityGame with the premise of the mystery being primarily told through a series of documentary-style investigations, with the videos often providing leads that users can explore themselves.

** This series follows from ''Series/WalkingWithDinosaurs'' and its sequels ''Series/WalkingWithBeasts'' and ''Series/WalkingWithCavemen'', as well as its prequel, ''Series/WalkingWithMonsters''. All of these were filmed like National Geographic-esque nature documentaries, complete with CameraAbuse, except that they rotated around prehistoric life portrayed using a variety of special effects. Also in the series -- and far more mockumentary in tone -- was ''Series/ChasedByDinosaurs'', starring Nigel Marven again, which was basically ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''Series/CrocodileHunter''; and ''Series/SeaMonsters'', which also starred Nigel and featured a countdown of the seven deadliest prehistoric oceans and their top predators. Nigel even went shark-cage diving with a {{Megalodon}}, and [[Film/SharkAttack3Megalodon John Barrowman]] wasn't invited.

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* ''Series/Players2022'' follows the exploits of a professional gaming team while spoffing sports documentaries.

* The Creator/AnimalPlanet movie ''Werewolves: Dark Survivors'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY is a mockumentary about werewolves in the format of a]] Crime Drama.

* Harry Enfield starred in ''Norbert Smith: A Life'', about a fictional actor (with plenty of clips from horribly plausible bad British films) and ''Norman Ormal: A Very Political Turtle'', about a fictional Conservative cabinet minister.

* ''Series/NineteenEightyFive'' (1970) described an ecological catastrophe, with bulletins given by real-life newsmen of the day.

* ''Round Planet'' is a parody of ''Series/PlanetEarth'' featuring Series/LittleBritain's Matt Lucas as "Armstrong Wedgewood", a rather opinionated and self-important naturalist [[LemonyNarrator whose commentary is frequently interrupted by phone calls, arguments with his producer, and other unprofessional tangents]].
* ''Oil Gobblers'' (original title: ''Ropáci'') is a 20-minute-long Czech mockumentary film from 1988. It shows an expedition in search for a small animal that evolved in the industrial areas of Czechoslovakia, becoming extremely tolerant to pollution and feeding primarily on petroleum.

* ''Operation Good Guys'', a supposed fly on the wall documentary about an incompetent police unit.

* ''Alternative 3'' (1977) -- The final episode of ITV's documentary program ''Science Report'' was a mockumentary which, in the course of investigating the problem of leading British scientists moving abroad, reported, among other things, that they were actually being shuttled to Mars to avoid imminent environmental catastrophe. A video clip of the secret first Martian landing (''in 1962'') shows the presence of life. Despite all the clues about its true nature, a number of people ''still believe in the "documentary"''. On Website/YouTube, the Mars landing scene has the label "Reconstructed or real document?" Meaning either based on fact, or real footage. Also of note is its soundtrack, composed by Music/BrianEno, a portion of which appears on the album ''Music for Films''.
* ''The Canadian Conspiracy'' (1985) -- An HBO/CBC co-production, this comedy featured an "exposé" of the secret Canadian plan to overthrow the US through infiltration of the entertainment industry. All the people named as infiltrators who were "interviewed" or "ambushed" played themselves, from Eugene Levy, the defector revealing the conspiracy, to Lorne Greene, the godfather of the operation. Worked because, at least for the American audience, most probably weren't aware of how many Canadians there actually were (and are) working in Los Angeles and New York.
* ''Curse of The Blair Witch'' (1999) -- A Sci-Fi channel broadcast produced as a tie-in with ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject'', itself a mockumentary of sorts. The program investigated the film as though it were an actual document of real events, investigates the history of the Blair Witch and other disappearances, and features faux "experts" and townspeople reporting their experiences. Caused much public confusion over whether the story was true or not, and to this day visitors to Burkittsville, MD ask to see fictional landmarks such as the "Witch's Rock".

* ''When Cars Attack'' -- Richard Belzer presents information and theories on alleged unprovoked assaults on humans by cars acting of their own accord. Quite hilarious.
* ''Jimmy Macdonald's Canada''

* ''T-Rex: A Dinosaur in Hollywood'' follows the artistic career of Mr. T-rex from his discovery to becoming one of the greatest stars in the world. Follows the real life story of how he became a cultural icon.

* ''Life Beyond The Box'' was a series of two [[Creator/TheBBC BBC]] mockumentaries looking at the lives of 1970s sitcom characters [[Series/{{Porridge}} Norman Stanley Fletcher]] and [[Series/TheGoodLife Margot Leadbetter]]. The former reunited the cast of the original; the latter didn't, with even Margot herself being [[TheOtherDarrin Other Darrined]].

* ''Operation Repo'' is a series on [=TruTV=] that is about repomen and it is filmed like Series/{{Cops}}, but it is also scripted.

* ''The Great Martian War 1913-1917'' had Creator/TheHistoryChannel jumping on the bandwagon. They later did it again in 2015 with ''Bigfoot Captured''.

* ''Film/PaulMcCartneyReallyIsDead'' based on the old [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_is_dead "Paul is Dead"]] UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories.

Also called a "fake documentary", a "mockumentary" is a fictional movie shot in the style of a {{documentary}}. While the name of the genre implies comedy (such as ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap''), the format can also work with horror (''Film/TheBlairWitchProject'' or other FoundFootageFilms) and disasters. [[NewscasterCameo Fake news reports done by real life newsreaders]] are common, along with interviews with 'experts', [[ShownTheirWork real]] or fictional. One thing you won't see, however, is famous actors in these movies unless they're [[TheCameo playing themselves]]. We might intellectually know this is a movie as scripted as any other, but having the camera follow Creator/BradPitt for 90 minutes would break immersion.

* ''WesternAnimation/SurfsUp'' -- a rare animated example. Your basic sports story done in documentary fashion... [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins with penguins!]] The series probably owes something to the Eighties-era animated sports mockumentary ''WesternAnimation/{{Animalympics}}''.

* ''WesternAnimation/SurfsUp'' -- a rare animated example. Your basic sports story done in documentary fashion... [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins with penguins!]] The series probably owes something to the Eighties-era animated sports mockumentary ''WesternAnimation/{{Animalympics}}''. With the major difference being that ''Animalympics'' had no central character, no unifying narrative, and was loaded to the brim with celebrity and pop culture references of the day. In contrast, ''Surfs Up'' follows a limited cast of characters on a definite story arc, with cultural references being narrowed to the archetypes often seen in sportsdocs.

* ''WesternAnimation/SurfsUp'' -- a rare animated example. Your basic sports story done in documentary fashion... [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins with penguins!]] The series probably owes something to the Eighties-era animated sports mockumentary ''WesternAnimation/{{Animalympics}}''. With the major difference being that ''Animalympics'' had no central character, no unifying narrative, and was loaded to the brim with celebrity and pop culture references of the day. In contrast, ''Surfs Up'' follows a limited cast of characters on a definite story arc, with cultural references being narrowed to the archetypes often seen in sportsdocs.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'' had season five's "The Powerpuff Girls: A Documentary." Also, part of "Meet The Beat-Alls" took the form of a documentary on how Mojo Jojo, Him, Fuzzy Lumpkins and Princess Morbucks attained success as the Beat-Alls (paralleling that of Music/TheBeatles).
* A film called ''The National Film Board of Mars Presents: WesternAnimation/WhatOnEarth'' is a mockumentary where the supposed propaganda board of the Martian government does a documentary about the dominant form of life on earth: automobiles. Makes fun of the organization that did create it, the Creator/NationalFilmBoardOfCanada, and the fact that the Martians have confused automobiles with the drivers that infest them.

* ''WesternAnimation/CityOfGhosts'' is presented in the style of a paranormal documentary where a group of kids interview people and ghosts around the city of Los Angeles.

* WebVideo/FascinatingHorror produced [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjyrjKM7rwM "The Amity Bay Shark Attacks"]] for April Fool's Day 2021. It presents the events of ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' as if they really happened, and in the style of the channel's usual short documentaries about real-life disasters and accidents.

A fictional movie shot in the style of a {{documentary}}. While the name of the genre implies comedy (such as ''Film/ThisIsSpinalTap''), the format can also work with horror (''Film/TheBlairWitchProject'' or other FoundFootageFilms) and disasters. [[NewscasterCameo Fake news reports done by real life newsreaders]] are common, along with interviews with 'experts', [[ShownTheirWork real]] or fictional. One thing you won't see, however, is famous actors in these movies unless they're [[TheCameo playing themselves]]. We might intellectually know this is a movie as scripted as any other, but having the camera follow Creator/BradPitt for 90 minutes would break immersion.

* ''Film/TheRomulanWar'' is a ''Franchise/StarTrek'' FanFilm set after the [[Film/StarTrek2009 destruction of Romulus]] in the Prime universe and presents itself as a war documentary covering the Earth-Romulan War that took place after Season 4 of ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''.

* The "Trope Of The Week" series ''WebVideo/EchoChamber'' is a ShowWithinAShow - the characters are creating a vlog for Website/TVTropes, and ''WebVideo/EchoChamber'' details the process the characters go through in order to make that vlog happen. [[spoiler: It doesn't.]]
* The amazing Literature/HarryPotter fanfilm [[http://rhettswanson.com/Battle_of_Hogwarts__Harry_Potter_Documentary.html The Battle of Hogwarts]], a fictional documentary, set in the present, that chronicles "the lives and stories of those who survived the fateful battle [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows 20 years ago]]".
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj8UOdFs5Go&context=C3de6871ADOEgsToPDskKNlqODDsL4mW0GosRCicuu Hearts of Dorkness]], which has a WebOriginal page in progress, is a mockumentary akin to ''Film/TropicThunder'''s "Rain of Madness", a satire of ''Film/HeartsOfDarkness'', in this case being a teenager-produced shoestring-budget short that chronicles four geeks and their catastrophic efforts to create a 200 million dollar Skyrim film... on a budget of their pocket change.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjQEYy8YJc9eWjNUGk5p9ig The Professionals]], a comedy series about a tech support company that kills people.
* ''WebVideo/TalkingClassics'' is presented as a documentary about a video game nerd named Keith Apicary.
* ''WebVideo/BecomingYouTube'' is a mix between this and a real documentary.
* ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' gives us "Marvels of the Science", based on the premise of "What if nature documentaries used RuleOfFunny?"
* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO4pYtfhVqY The Follower]]'' poses as a [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos Slender Man]] documentary. It does fairly well up until Slendy hijacks the behind-the-scenes... which is fairly early and in no small part thanks to the fact [[TemptingFate the Behind the Scenes guy and his girlfriend actually went looking for him.]]
* ''WebVideo/WalkingInCircles'': The first season includes elements of this, like interviews with the various characters.
* [[https://youtu.be/7YDYL6oECjU TRUTH IN JORNALISM]], a documentary by a bunch of french film-makers following the day-to-day life of reporter Eddie B[[spoiler:[[{{Comicbook/Venom}} rock]]]] in New York.
* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyeq-1UGc8o The Knudson Menace]]'' chronicles the life of ''Franchise/StarWars'' [[LoonyFan fan Curtis Knudson,]] and how his [[spoiler: and his sister's]] antics effect the lives of workers at a Star Wars fan film festival.
* ''Literature/AnExaminationOfExtraUniversalSystemsOfGovernment'' is written as a travelogue of a scholar traveling TheMultiverse, exploring and studying various forms of government in AlternateUniverse versions of real countries.

* WebVideo/FascinatingHorror produced [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjyrjKM7rwM "The Amity Bay Shark Attacks"]] for April Fool's Day 2021. It presents the events of ''Film/{{Jaws}}'' as if they really happened, and in the style of the channel's usual short documentaries about real-life disasters and accidents.
* WebOriginal/HowItsActuallyMade is a parody of Series/HowItsMade, an actual documentary series that documents... well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin how things are made]]. The difference here is that Actually, rather than providing factual information about how things are made, is completely incorrect, riddled with unprofessional side comments thrown in, and it's all delivered in the exact same informative narration that the main series is known for.

* ''Film/{{I'mStillHere}}'' chronicles Creator/JoaquinPhoenix's transition from actor to aspiring rap artist, which involved Phoenix's public persona and appearance changing drastically; he became introverted, mumbled uncomfortably through interviews, and apparently put a moratorium on personal grooming as evidenced by his disheveled hair and new, gnarly beard. During the filming period, it was generally assumed that the entire thing was a [[Creator/AndyKaufman Kaufmanesque]] ruse. When the film premiered, Phoenix confirmed that the ordeal was a hoax, and he began appearing in interviews as his old, well-groomed, clean-shaven self.

* ''Film/I'mStillHere'' chronicles Creator/JoaquinPhoenix's transition from actor to aspiring rap artist, which involved Phoenix's public persona and appearance changing drastically; he became introverted, mumbled uncomfortably through interviews, and apparently put a moratorium on personal grooming as evidenced by his disheveled hair and new, gnarly beard. During the filming period, it was generally assumed that the entire thing was a [[Creator/AndyKaufman Kaufmanesque]] ruse. When the film premiered, Phoenix confirmed that the ordeal was a hoax, and he began appearing in interviews as his old, well-groomed, clean-shaven self.

* ''Film/ImStillHere'' chronicles Creator/JoaquinPhoenix's transition from actor to aspiring rap artist, which involved Phoenix's public persona and appearance changing drastically; he became introverted, mumbled uncomfortably through interviews, and apparently put a moratorium on personal grooming as evidenced by his disheveled hair and new, gnarly beard. During the filming period, it was generally assumed that the entire thing was a [[Creator/AndyKaufman Kaufmanesque]] ruse. When the film premiered, Phoenix confirmed that the ordeal was a hoax, and he began appearing in interviews as his old, well-groomed, clean-shaven self.