Best TV Mockumentaries

COPS laid the groundwork for a whole genre of TV shows based around the adventures of real-life law enforcement personnel, but TruTV's Southern Fried Stings took it to the next level. The show features Jay Russell, a former State Trooper turned... well, I don't know what exactly. He and his "Jay Team" travel the country busting crooks, cheaters and other scumbags, but here's the rub: everything is a "re-enactment," which means that the whole thing is basically made up. It's still funny as hell though.

Travel shows are ripe material for mockumentary action, and the short-lived Gerhard Reinke's Wanderlust was one of our favorites. The titular German tourist (played by comedian Josh Gardner) criss-crosses the world with a camera crew in tow having a variety of idiotic adventures. The show combined obviously staged situations with some that were a little more chaotic. Alas, there were only six episodes produced, but I'm sure Herr Reinke is still out there somewhere.

It's sometimes easy to forget that Arrested Development was a mockumentary. There was really no reason for cameras to be following the Bluth family around, especially with all of the shady dealings that they got up to, but the show's trademark hand-held filming style was actually a major part of its charm, as it helped us get closer to the Bluth's. Add in the narrator - played by show producer Ron Howard - and you've got a classic. We can't wait for the new episodes to hit Netflix.

The Blair Witch Project showed that the mockumentary format could work well for horror, but it took a while for TV to catch on. MTV debuted Death Valley in 2011, and the grisly mockumentary has caught on like wildfire. Following the first outings of the UTF, a new branch of the Los Angeles Police Department assembled to deal with the growing problem of zombies, werewolves and vampires walking the streets, the show is fun and gory. The fake-COPS format makes it even more watchable.