Grey Gardens Sendup in IFC's 'Documentary Now!' Debut

IFC’s six-episode mockumentary series, Documentary Now!, debuts this Thursday, August 20 with a tribute to David and Albert Maysles‘ 1975 cult classic Grey Gardens, which was filmed in the crumbling East Hampton estate of eccentrics Edith “Big Edie” Bouvier Beale and her daughter “Little Edie” Beale, relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

Hosted by a deadpan serious Dame Helen Mirren, the IFC version, called Sandy Passage, stars the show’s creators Bill Hader (Superbad) and Fred Armisen (Portlandia) as similarly eccentric and reclusive women in a very similarly neglected home. And, from what can be seen in the one-minute preview, they really do a terrific job recreating the feel of the Maysles brothers’ original.

This obviously much funnier update, with executive producer Seth Meyers, features conversations about sandwich-stealing squirrels and lost marriage opportunities. There’s even an errant opossum. But who is Barry?

We’ll have to tune in on Thursday to find out.

To see a full episode of Documentary Now!, go to IFC.com now and watch Episode 2, Dronez: The Search for El Chingon, an excellent sendup of HBO’s hard-hitting, hipster-rich news series Vice.

Watch the Sandy Passage preview below.