As Alan Partridge reintegrates into life in Britain after a year working in Saudi Arabia, he sets off on a quest to understand his funk and to share what he learns with the nation. And if he ends up being seen as a mental health champion for the middle-aged, who's also a good fit to present other issues-led documentary strands, so be it.
For Valerie Cherish, no price is too high to pay for clinging to the spotlight. Desperate to revive her career, she agrees to star in a reality TV series, allowing cameras to follow her every move as she lands a part on a new network sitcom.
Set in the year 2031, this mockumentary looks back at events that ostensibly happened during the first 30 years of the 21st century. The series follows a format that co-creator Armando Iannucci previously used in his satirical year-in-review programme '2004: The Stupid Version'.
This partially unscripted comedy brings viewers into the squad car as incompetent officers swing into action, answering 911 calls about everything from speeding violations and prostitution to staking out a drug den. Within each episode, viewers catch a "fly on the wall" glimpse of the cops' often politically incorrect opinions, ranging from their personal feelings to professional critiques of their colleagues.
Birds of a Feather is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC One from 1989 until 1998 and on ITV from 2013. Starring Pauline Quirke, Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph, it was created by Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, who also wrote some of the episodes along with many other writers. The first episode sees sisters Tracey Stubbs and Sharon Theodopolopodos brought together when their husbands are sent to prison for armed robbery. Sharon, who lived in an Edmonton council flat, moves into Tracey's expensive house in Chigwell, Essex. Their next-door neighbour, and later friend, Dorien Green is a middle-aged married woman who is constantly having affairs with younger men. In the later series the location is changed to Hainault. The series ended on Christmas Eve 1998 after a 9-year-run.
Musicians Matt and Jay attempt to achieve their dream of playing at a small Toronto venue, the Rivoli, through a series of various schemes and publicity stunts.
Anyone for Pennis?
L'Gros Show is a Canadian situation comedy/mockumentary television series which is broadcast on the Canadian French language music television station Musique Plus. The show stars Mike Ward as Chabot, a comedy character he had previously developed in 2000, and Martin Perizzolo as his friend Poudy. Chabot and Poudy are very much stuck in the 1980s, an obsession which is evidenced by their hairstyles and clothes. Both live in Poudy's mother's basement, where they spend their time playing air guitar and drinking. Part of the show is shot in black-and-white in a mock documentary style.
Nobody's Watching is a television program that was never aired. It originated with and was written by Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence, as well as Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan, writers for Scrubs and Family Guy.
People Like Us was a British radio and TV comedy programme, a spoof on-location documentary written by John Morton, and starring Chris Langham as Roy Mallard, an inept interviewer. Originally a radio show for BBC Radio 4 in three series from 1995 to 1997, it was made into a television series for BBC Two that aired from September 1999 to June 2000.
The First Years is a Dutch series for young people in which real-life situations are recreated. The series sheds light on subjects that pupils in the first year of secondary school may be confronted with.
In 1988, renegade filmmaker Robert Altman and Pulitzer Prize–winning Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau created a presidential candidate, ran him alongside the other hopefuls during the primary season, and presented their media campaign as a cross between a soap opera and TV news. The result was the groundbreaking Tanner ’88, a piercing satire of media-age American politics.
Common As Muck is a gritty BBC comedy drama serial focusing on the lives of a crew of bin men and their management staff. It ran for two series. The first series was screened in 1994 and the second in 1997. Both were nominated for a BAFTA for Best Drama.
When disaster strikes the set of a first-time director, a behind-the-scenes film crew captures everything as mishaps, blackmail and sabotage ensue.
That Peter Kay Thing is a series of six spoof documentaries shown on Channel 4 in January 1999. Set in and around Bolton, these follows the lives of different characters and stars Peter Kay as the subject of each documentary. All of the episodes display Kay's penchant for nostalgic humour and unsympathetic lead characters. The series was narrated by Andrew Sachs. Many of the plot lines were based around actual events from Kay's life. At least six of the characters appear in the spin-off series Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights.
The Games was an Australian mockumentary television series about the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The series was originally broadcast on the ABC and had two seasons of 13 episodes each, the first in 1998 and the second in 2000. 'The Games' starred satirists John Clarke and Bryan Dawe along with Australian comedian Gina Riley and actor Nicholas Bell. It was written by John Clarke and Ross Stevenson. The series centred on the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and satirised corruption and cronyism in the Olympic movement, bureaucratic ineptness in the New South Wales public service, and unethical behaviour within politics and the media. An unusual feature of the show was that the characters shared the same name as the actors who played them, to enhance the illusion of a documentary on the Sydney Games.
Les Karineries
By Ana Milán
Kpop star Seungri, BIGBANG youngest member, tries to lead a team of blumbing staff at YG's Future Strategy Office in this mockumentary sitcom.
MoCap, LLC presents a dark, hysterical, behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of a low-rent motion capture studio willing to do just about anything to find work in the video game industry.