What is Documentary Now!'s IQ Score?

Documentary Now! has an IQ Score of 110/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient framework, placing it in the Competent tier. The score breaks down to 26/50 Cognitive Stimulation, 20/50 Educational Value, and 40/50 Craft & Quality.

Is Documentary Now! educational?

Documentary Now! is low on educational value, 20/50 on TVI's rubric. Watch for entertainment, not for learning.

How does TV Intelligentsia calculate IQ Score?

TV Intelligentsia's current published formula is round((Cognitive Stimulation × 0.4 + Educational Value × 0.35 + Craft & Quality × 0.25) × 4), scoring titles from 0 to 200 across five tiers. TVI publishes a three-dimension breakdown only when those values reproduce the displayed composite. The framework is published at tvintelligentsia.com/methodology/.

Documentary Now! IQ Score 110/200

Name: Documentary Now!
Genre: comedy

Documentary Now! has an IQ Score of 110/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient rubric, placing it in the Competent tier.

By Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH·Updated 2026-08-22·Methodology

comedy

110/ 200

Competent

Engages without demanding much, watchable and reasonably crafted

Score Breakdown

Legacy score. Published under our earlier workflow, before the current standard took effect in August 2026. A founder reviewed and approved it against our methodology, under a process that does not meet the standard we hold now. What this means →

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Cognitive Stimulation/50

Educational Value/50

Craft & Quality/50

IQ = round((Cognitive × 0.4 + Educational × 0.35 + Craft × 0.25) × 4) · How we score →

What these dimensions mean

Cognitive Stimulation: observable narrative complexity, conceptual density, ambiguity, inference, and sustained intellectual demands in the work.
Educational Value: the density and integration of substantive academic, historical, scientific, cultural, ethical, or practical information in the work.
Craft & Quality: production excellence in service of the work, its direction, writing, performance, and aesthetic intent.

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The Verdict

Best forDocumentary literates who will catch every Grey Gardens beat lovingly recreated

Skip ifThe parodies need their source films known; cold viewing can feel like an in-joke

Use it asA companion to the documentary canon doubling as a craft-appreciation course

Why you should trust this score

Scored under Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH

Physician and founding editor. Maintains the adult catalog against the published rubric and reviews the rubric application.

Methodology

Published rubric, v1.3.1

Formula

round((C × 0.40 + E × 0.35 + Q × 0.25) × 4)

Database scale

2,606 titles, version-controlled

How we stay independent. Editorial scores are not for sale. TVI may take on paid advisory or research work, but no commercial relationship buys coverage, advance access to scores, favorable treatment, or a change to a published finding. We pay for our own streaming subscriptions, and no reviewer sees sponsor data or affiliate revenue tied to a score. More about how we work →

The TVI Take

IFC's parody documentary anthology, each episode is a precise recreation of a specific famous documentary. Educational about documentary filmmaking conventions.

The 'Sandy Passage' (Grey Gardens parody) and 'Kunuk Uncovered' are both exceptional. A love letter to the documentary form.

People & Production Fred Armisen · IFC · United States 4 connections