Canadian cringe comedy genius Nathan Fielder gets a whole lot of mileage out of just how unpredictable humans can be. It’s the driving force behind all the laughs and discomfort of Nathan For You, as Tim Batt recently broke down in this enthusiastic piece.
Nevertheless, Fielder tries to reign in human nature in his latest, critically lauded series by HBO: The Rehearsal, an excruciatingly elaborate attempt to plan out big, unplannable human moments. Like confessing a big lie to your volatile friends, or asking your brother for money, or raising a kid. If you’ve missed out on the buzz around The Rehearsal, season one is available on NEON from August 27.
The first episode introduces us to the basic concept, and to HBO’s wildly large-scale budget for the whole project. Fielder and his hardworking team lavishly recreate a trivia nerd’s favourite bar, down to an errant balloon on the ceiling and askew art on the walls.
But from there, things get personal. And very uncomfortable. Fielder becomes parasitically involved in a deeply religious woman’s quest to test out parenthood, becoming a robot kid’s “pretend daddy” and ultimately screwing with every scene partner’s emotions…whether they’re really acting or not.
The series’ nebulous line between non-scripted reality TV and painstakingly orchestrated moments has caused some audiences to question its ethics. Is it fair that these real people are exploited, for the manipulative Fielder’s ultimate enlightenment?
Maybe the man himself says it best, in one of the last episodes where an actor breaks down (in character…maybe) and questions whether this thing is all a big joke at her expense. “It’s silly and serious”, he tries to explain. “I mean, it’s complicated—life can be more than one thing, right?” It can, The Rehearsal proves. And it can also be stomach-achingly hilarious.
