# Fishing with John (1991)

> Musician John Lurie, who knows nothing about fishing, sets out with famous friends to angle in exotic locations.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/55065

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 6
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, documentary
- Created by: John Lurie
- Network: IFC
- Cast: John Lurie, Robb Webb, Jim Jarmusch, Tom Waits, Matt Dillon, Willem Dafoe, Leon Mordacai, Dennis Hopper
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139776/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: deadpan, whimsical, irreverent, earnest, breezy

## Synopsis

Fishing with John (1991) is a American cable documentary comedy miniseries created by John Lurie for IFC. Musician John Lurie plays a version of himself, a host who knows nothing about fishing yet insists on casting lines in exotic locations alongside a rotating cast of famous friends. Jim Jarmusch, Tom Waits, Matt Dillon, Willem Dafoe and Dennis Hopper each appear in an episode or two, bringing their own offbeat energy to the trips. A narrator voiced by Robb Webb gives the proceedings a faux-documentary frame while Lurie's ignorance and self-absorption drive nearly every scene. The engine of the show is the gap between the grand, almost spiritual tone Lurie adopts about fishing and the mundane, often comic reality of his failures on the water. Each thirty-minute episode is a self-contained outing, with the jungle and other remote settings providing a backdrop for banter among friends. The series runs six episodes and is a compact, one-season limited series. Its deadpan, low-key register rewards viewers who enjoy the work of comedians like Comedy Bang Bang and the travel humor of The Trip, along with fans of art house mockumentaries. Fans of Documentary Now! will find a similar spirit of offbeat, self-aware documentary parody here.

## Shows like Fishing with John

- [Trailer Park Boys: Out of the Park: Europe (2016)](https://ember.film/tv/60023)
- [An Idiot Abroad (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/31304)
- [Conan Without Borders (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/1105124)
- [The Trip (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/31700)
- [Documentary Now! (2015)](https://ember.film/tv/56427)
- [River Monsters (2009)](https://ember.film/tv/16813)
- [Conan O'Brien Must Go (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/145134)
- [The Moaning of Life (2013)](https://ember.film/tv/52595)
- [Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends (1998)](https://ember.film/tv/3850)
- [Underdogs (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/138233)

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