Nathan Fielder has lost his mind in ‘The Rehearsal’
July 17, 2022
Fans of Comedy Central’s “Nathan For You” know that Nathan Fielder is not afraid to push boundaries. In his quest to help struggling businesses, Fielder dreams up outlandish — and sometimes illegal — solutions. In HBO’s “The Rehearsal,” Fielder continues his unconventional ploys as he shifts from assisting businesses to the lives of everyday people. From scouting restaurants inside of an arcade machine to playing hide-and-seek with a private investigator, it was clear that Fielder lost his mind, and it seems he still has not found it.
“The Rehearsal” premiered July 15, and is streaming on HBO Max. The show follows Nathan Fielder as he literally rehearses the lives of its participants.
In the show’s pilot episode titled “Orange Juice, No Pulp,” Fielder meets Kor, a history teacher from New York who needs help confronting a lie he has kept from his trivia team for over a decade. Instead of lending traditional advice to Kor to help rectify the situation in a logical, healthy way, Fielder begins his first rehearsal of the series, hiring a team of actors and building a set identical to the bar where Kor plays trivia. Per usual, Fielder goes overboard, jumping through outlandish hoops, such as setting up a fake interview between actor and subject, and giving the answers to Kor without him realizing, all in the name of healing the situation. This concept of trying to predict all possible outcomes for conflicts and creating zany situations in preparation for these possibilities continues throughout its episodes, creating a bizarre and highly entertaining viewing experience.
“The Rehearsal” pilot is a genre-bending 45 minutes that could be referred to as a reality show, comedy, social experiment or psychological thriller. The show contains Fielder’s signature awkward humor along with his equally wacky guests.
The emotional depth explored by “The Rehearsal” ultimately sets the show apart from other comedic reality programs. Many of the problems Fielder helps people with can be reflected in his own insecurities, with “The Rehearsal” exploring Fielder’s lack of confidence and conversational skills.
Delivering a similar meta concept to Charlie Kauffman’s “Synecdoche, New York,” “The Rehearsal” tackles psychological themes, including the inability to accurately anticipate the outcomes of various conversations and events. To perpetuate these themes in the show during the rehearsal segments, Fielder creates a flowchart attempting to encapsulate every possible outcome that can occur to test this theory. These aspects provide the show with emotional depth, as well as added humor.
“The Rehearsal” makes for a genre-defying, groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind show, whose concept remains an unparalleled television experience. Taking aspects from “Nathan For You” and “Synecdoche, New York,” Fielder provides viewers with one of the most fascinating experiments on television. Fielder continues to innovate, and as he matures, so do his concepts and ideas.
5 games of trivia out of 5
