Wiseman

The Wiseman reference betokens a certain seriousness on the part of the creators, an awareness that people might be watching who know a thing or two about the subject.

The marquee reads “Frederick Wiseman’s Ballet & La Danse,” two real-world documentaries on the dance world by our greatest documentarian; the first, from 1995, looks at the American Ballet Theater and the second, from 2009, the Paris Opera Ballet, actual institutions whose shadows are cast on the wall of this comedy — with a dramatic turn or two — from Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino.

You’re not going to find a series by Ken Burns, the country’s most famous documentary filmmaker, or a film by Frederick Wiseman, its greatest living documentarian, just dropping on YouTube — unless PBS posts it there.

Initially, Lund intended to have him play an on-camera role, but Wiseman’s advanced age — he is 95 — complicated his involvement.

“It wasn’t just that I liked his voice,” Lund says about reaching out to Wiseman.