If you haven’t heard of The Rehearsal, created by Nathan Fielder, welcome to a whole new world in comedy.
Nathan Fielder is best known for his documentary-style comedy show, Nathan For You, and the dry and painfully honest persona he portrays in his shows.
He also recently starred in the Showtime show The Curse alongside Emma Stone.
Recently, Fielder has gotten plenty of buzz online for his new show The Rehearsal on HBO.
Similar to Nathan For You, The Rehearsal is a comedy docuseries that follows Fielder as he replicates real-life scenarios and helps ordinary people “rehearse” for events.
While the scenarios start small, such as coming clean about a lie about trivia, they gradually escalate to higher stakes, such as raising a child.
Each season follows a specific theme. Season 2 explored aviation, focusing on cockpit communication.
Fielder offers an insightful perspective by examining a common issue in depth. He ties in introspection about himself into the “plot” of the series.
Even though his tactics might be outlandish and unconventional, in the end, Fielder offers a surprisingly touching introspection on human connection.
Even better, he does this all while still winning laughs from the audience.
The Rehearsal is a Unique Creative Comedy
When we think of comedy, we often think of stand-up comedians and sitcoms.
The genre of comedy that Fielder occupies is outside of these expectations.
His style of hyper-reality involves bringing people in on the joke (though sometimes people aren’t willing to have him poke a little fun).
Fielder has a distinct knack for bringing out the quirky aspects for people. He does a great job at setting up comedic moments that feel naturally earned.
One unique aspect of Fielder’s comedy is the frequency of the unexpected.
As mentioned earlier, in The Rehearsal, he investigates a wide range of social situations. However, he always takes an unexpected, hilarious approach to the situations.
I’m hesitant to even offer examples because Fielder’s methods are so absurd that they’re best experienced firsthand rather than described.
He’s an expert when it comes to redirection. Especially in The Rehearsal, there are scenes that are completely unexpected.
As he explains his reasoning for his behavior, it becomes increasingly obvious that his attempts at helping people are always connected to some extended bit.
Most of the time, it just provides a few laughs.
The Rehearsal truly proves that Nathan Fielder will do anything for the bit and anything to make people laugh.
The Rehearsal Focuses on Human Connection
This show is listed as a comedy. Yet there are moments when I’m actually teared up a bit watching the episodes.
Some people have accused Fielder of using people for comedy. Arguably, he never makes anybody the butt of the joke on purpose.
At its core, The Rehearsal is Fielder trying to understand other people. He expresses how he often feels like a social outcast.
Fielder’s frustrations with himself for not conforming to social norms come across clearly.
It’s quite heartbreaking to see him document his struggle to understand what separates him from other people.
However, this honest portrayal is also what makes this show special.
Especially as someone who has felt this way, I felt that The Rehearsal made me feel extremely seen. For the first time, I really felt like I could personally connect with a show like this.
Fielder often narrates scenes as well, so we always get a look directly into his mind.
This helps viewers see his logic and also sympathize with him.
I feel like my article itself doesn’t even do The Rehearsal justice. There’s only one way to truly understand what a masterpiece of a show this is: tune in on HBO Max!
Fanatics, have you heard of this show before?
If you’ve watched it before, let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
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