What is the secret to a great mockumentary?

Over the past 20 years, the mockumentary format has become synonymous with the sitcom. From the office to parks and rec to modern family to Abbott Elementary, some of the most popular sitcoms have have been mockumentaries. What is it about this genre that attracts people like camera crews to paper companies?

One of the first mainstream mockumentaries is F for Fake, by Orson Wells where he documents the career of Elmyr de Hory a professional art forger, a real person. So it was a mostly fake documentary about a real person forcing the audience to consider for themselves what is truth and what is a lie, and whether it matters. But is every good mockumentary this meta? No.

So we set out to determine what makes a great mockumentary.