Latest news with #NathanForYou
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Office' Spin-Off Series ‘The Paper' Sets Fall Release Date
Welcome back, 2005 — well, kinda. NBC announced the release date for The Office spin-off series, The Paper, on Thursday, revealing a Sept. 4 premiere. The Paper will debut on NBC's streaming service, Peacock. The Paper is created by The Office creator Greg Daniels, who partnered with Michael Koman, the brain behind Nathan Fielder's Comedy Central show, Nathan For You. While The Paper is officially being marketed as a spin-off from the beloved mockumentary, which ran for nine seasons from 2005 to 2013, there are some notable changes. For starters, the show doesn't follow a fictional paper company like The Office's Dunder Mifflin. Instead, the premise for The Paper revolves around a fictional newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, called The Truth Teller, whose publisher is turning to volunteer reporters in an attempt to revive the paper. The show is set in the same universe as The Office, with the same mockumentary crew filming yet another dying company in the Midwest. More from Rolling Stone 'Traitors' Season Four Brings Donna Kelce, Lisa Rinna, Tara Lipinski to the Castle Jenna Fischer Dispels Misconception That 'The Office' Got Worse Over Time It's the Last Week to get Peacock for Nearly 70% off Last year, the show's cast was revealed. The Paper will be led by Domhnall Gleeson, who plays new employee Ned, and Sabrina Impacciatore, who will act as The Truth Teller's managing editor. Gleeson is known for his leading roles in the 2013 film About Time and the 2015 sci-fi Ex Machina, while Impacciatore made a name for herself in the whirlwind Season Two of The White Lotus. Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young, and Tim Key will also star in The Paper with yet-to-be-revealed roles. So far, the only returning cast member from The Office will be Oscar Nuñez, who played accountant Oscar Martinez in the original. In The Paper, Nuñez's character has moved to Toledo and has traded the failing finances of a dying paper company for the failing finances of a shrinking newspaper. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Best 'Saturday Night Live' Characters of All Time Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best 70 Greatest Comedies of the 21st Century
Mint
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
‘The Rehearsal' season 2: The flying comedian
Comedians mine insights. That's the job. They observe something nobody has explored in quite the same way, finding a different vantage point, a different take, a different hypothetical what-if tangent, to make a greater—or a more amusing—point. 'What's the deal with airline food?" is the line used to distil (and mimic) the observational stylings of Jerry Seinfeld, for instance. The question now is what a comedian does with that point. Mostly, a nugget of insight gets polished into an episode, a film, a concept. What if a comedian could do more? Much more. What if—as shown on The Rehearsal—the insight of a comedian could actually make a difference, even to an infinitesimal degree, to improve the dynamic within the cockpit of an airplane? 'I believe that any human quality can be learned," says Nathan Fielder, 'Or at least emulated." The Canadian comedian first broke onto the scene with Nathan For You, where he pitched and executed absurd ideas to help small business owners. It's a small, mad series I have previously described in this column as 'Borat with a business degree." Armed with an HBO budget, Fielder's ambitions get supersized in The Rehearsal (JioHotstar), where he constructs a painstakingly exact replica of a pub in order to help a person practice confessing a lie to a friend. That fascinating season gets progressively wilder, right up to rehearsing parenthood. The second season literally soars. Fielder himself, deadpan and awkward, is a personality-less cipher. He's the straight man arguing that everything can be practised till it is perfected—or till it appears perfect enough. In the second season, Fielder approaches an air safety expert who has advised multiple US presidents and tells him that, as someone obsessed with air crashes, Fielder has researched the material deeply and genuinely believes he has found a factor common to most plane crashes. A factor that the series then tries to address. This is unlike any comedy—in intent and in execution. The Rehearsal is frequently funny, taken to incredible extremes, and full of great lines, but it's seatbelted in place by earnestness and curiosity. Fielder's own commitment is absolute and astonishing, putting himself not only in mortifying situations but going to tremendous lengths: through the six episodes this season, Fielder is a diaper-clad infant suckling from the teats of a giant animatronic puppet, Fielder is a man nervously skirting where he himself may stand on the autism spectrum, and finally—most breathtakingly—he becomes a licensed airline pilot, flying a planeful of passengers in a real Boeing 737. The comedian's fundamental observation is that on board a commercial flight, the pilot and the first officer don't speak. The system draws so many lines of status, hierarchy and seniority between the two people sitting in the cockpit of a plane that the junior doesn't feel empowered to address the senior—which removes a basic check-and-balance between two qualified and experienced professionals that could potentially save a dire situation. Can the comedian, and his all-naturalistic 'Fielder method", encourage the two people at the helm of a plane to speak freely? It's a remarkable challenge, and while Fielder tackles it with all his might and insight, it's the what-if tangents that make The Rehearsal sensational. To illustrate nature and nurture, he takes a dog that has been cloned and tries to recreate the upbringing its 'parent" dog got—right down to importing truckloads of air (!!) from another state. He tries to set up a first officer on dates and tries to resolve shyness and insecurity in a different kind of high-pressure situation: a first kiss. At one point, he literally recreates famed pilot Sully Sullenberger's memoir in order to learn what made him so exemplary. Was it his love for the alt-metal band Evanescence? This sounds far-fetched, but we each contain multitudes, even in our playlists. Fielder looks at everything. The comedian finds learning to fly extremely hard. This is where the constant and copious pretending comes in handy, as he sits in a chair at home and imagines himself as a pilot who isn't afraid of anything. As he eventually passes his tests, Fielder gets overwhelmed by the fact that—after logging in all their solo hours flying single-seater aircraft—pilots are certified for commercial flight only after conquering… a simulator. 'I was in awe," Fielder gushes. 'A simulation so good, they were willing to bet every passenger's life on it. It was the ultimate rehearsal." The premise of The Rehearsal is massively seductive. The chance to practise everything—a job interview, a deposition, heartbreak, childbirth—before actually doing it offers the illusion of a second chance at life itself, a command-Z option that allows us to undo what we got wrong. Yet the very fact that we know it is a rehearsal surely must affect our behaviour during the experiment itself: without the HBO cameras and the actors and the multiple retakes, would the co-pilot attempt to kiss the girl? Maybe he would. Maybe it doesn't matter if he would as long as he thinks he can. Which is what the simulation allows. 'When you practise being other people for long enough," Fielder says, 'you can forget to be yourself." The Rehearsal, miraculously, keeps forgetting to be any one thing. It is a treatise on mental health, on hierarchical issues, on shyness in the workplace, on the importance of feedback. Just because it's a joke doesn't mean it can't say something. 'I'm going to be in the Captain's seat," Fielder says, 'so there's really nothing to be worried about." He then pauses for two beats, instantly creating the aforementioned worry. That masterful pause is The Rehearsal, unique and unpredictable and awkward, capable of leading anywhere at all. As a viewer, I genuinely believe this show has given me more empathy and compassion for pilots. Theirs is a job of impossible pressure, and we owe them this understanding. Hats off. Raja Sen is a screenwriter and critic. He has co-written Chup, a film about killing critics, and is now creating an absurd comedy series. He posts @rajasen. Also read: One nation under the mango: Why are Indians obsessed with the king of fruits?
Straits Times
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
What we know about The Paper, the upcoming spin-off of American sitcom The Office
What we know about The Paper, the upcoming spin-off of American sitcom The Office NEW YORK – It has been 20 years since the American version of The Office (2005 to 2013) debuted on NBC, where it ran for nine acclaimed seasons and endured as a pop culture juggernaut well after its finale. It lives on in countless memes and catchphrases, and the network says it remains one of its most-streamed shows. So, it should surprise no one that the sitcom, as delightfully cringey as it is lovable, is finally getting a spin-off – The Paper (2025). NBCUniversal revealed at its upfront presentation in May that The Paper would debut on its streaming platform Peacock in September. The sitcom is being created by Greg Daniels and Michael Koman. Daniels was behind the American adaptation of The Office, while Koman created Comedy Central's Nathan For You (2013), alongside its star Nathan Fielder, a king of deadpan comedy. Daniels and Koman are executive producers of The Paper, as are Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the duo behind the original British version of The Office (2001 to 2003). Fans first caught wind of the potential spin-off in May 2024, when it was announced that Peacock had an untitled comedy-mockumentary series in the works. Production of The Paper began last summer. Like The Office, The Paper is a mockumentary sitcom about an industry in trouble – this time, the newspaper business, as opposed to the paper business of the original. It is also set in the same universe as the original. The same fictional documentary crew that followed the employees of Dunder Mifflin in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is now following those who work at The Truth Teller, a fictional newspaper in Toledo, Ohio, whose publisher is trying to revive it with the help of volunteer reporters. Oscar Nunez is returning as Oscar Martinez, who will now work in accounting at The Truth Teller. 'I told Mr Greg Daniels that if Oscar came back, he would probably be living in a more bustling, cosmopolitan city,' Nunez said at the May presentation. 'Greg heard me, and he moved Oscar to Toledo, Ohio, which has three times the population of Scranton. So, it was nice to be heard.' So far, Nunez is the only Office alum who is confirmed for the new series, but John Krasinski, who played Jim Halpert, told Entertainment Tonight that he would make a cameo if Daniels asked him. 'I will do anything for that guy,' Krasinski said. 'He calls, I'll show up.' The new series will be led by actors Domhnall Gleeson, most famous for his role in Alex Garland's sci-fi film Ex Machina (2014) , and Sabrina Impacciatore, most famous for her role as the no-nonsense hotel manager during Season 2 of HBO's The White Lotus (2022). Impacciatore will play the managing editor of The Truth Teller, and Gleeson will play a new employee. The Paper will also star Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young and Tim Key. NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Forbes
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Did Nathan Fielder Fly The Plane? ‘The Rehearsal' S2 Finale, Explained
Nathan Fielder appears to fly a plane in the season 2 finale of HBO's 'The Rehearsal' HBO's The Rehearsal season 2 finale has sparked debate, as viewers were left wondering how much of the series had been staged, or deceptively edited. Nathan Fielder's comedy has always walked a fine line between truth and performance. In the finale of The Rehearsal's second season, Fielder appears to fly a plane full of passengers, and lands safely. Viewers weren't sure what to make of the stunt. Did Nathan really fly that plane? Were the passengers actually on board? Was the truth behind the flight really the point? Given the premise of the show and hints dropped by Fielder during the finale, it seems that the truth lay somewhere in the middle, with the ambiguity being the point. Yes, and no. Fielder has always been interested in the performance that people instinctively adopt for the camera, and uses his intensely awkward persona to break that facade. His work often explores the phenomenon of people working together toward a delusional goal, and the shared hesitance to voice the obvious. Previously, Fielder has discussed being inspired by the 2008 financial crisis, rooted in "these personal moments between people where someone senses something's wrong, but they don't want to speak up." His breakout series, Nathan For You, saw Fielder successfully convince real people to undertake ludicrous business proposals. In season one of The Rehearsal, Fielder still leaned on the eccentric individuals that his process uncovered, but the focus was more on himself, or rather, his persona. Season 2 is even more focused on Fielder, with the distinction between persona and personality all the blurrier. Season 2 of The Rehearsal sees Fielder explore his fixation with plane crashes, which he believes are often caused by miscommunication between co-pilots and their captains. Fielder comes to the conclusion that the hierarchy in the cockpit, combined with the professional consequences of speaking out, often leads to tragedy. Fielder reckons that these crashes can be avoided if pilots could be encouraged to speak their minds, and embarks on an increasingly bizarre series of training exercises and rehearsals to try and enter the minds of pilots. Fielder's talent for finding eccentrics and oddballs is still there—he meets a couple who cloned their dog multiple times, and a man who attempts to sell a hilariously dilapidated plane, assuring Fielder that broken dials and knobs will not affect his safety in the slightest. Fielder, however, is the main character of this series, and some of the most surreal moments come from his self-imposed experiments (a scene where a diaper-wearing Fielder is breastfed by a gigantic, motherly puppet has to be seen to be believed). The series walks a fine line between truth and fiction, but the finale reveals that Fielder has spent two years training for his pilot license, and is now qualified to fly a 737. Fielder is then shown flying the plane with a visibly nervous co-pilot, who Fielder encourages to speak his mind. Fielder appears to successfully land the plane, with 150 people on board. However, not all is as it seems, as Fielder deliberately mentions the art of pulling off a 'magic trick' during the finale, hinting at some sort of deception. Judging from the footage, which was also shot outside of the plane, Fielder does appear to have flown the 737. On Reddit, fans of the show even tracked down the flight, which appears to have taken place on Feb 16 of this year. However, it appears that the plane was not actually full of passengers, and that Fielder's co-pilot was the only individual on board. Scenes of the passengers entering the plane, and applauding Fielder's landing seem to have been edited alongside the real flight, the 'magic trick' that Fielder told his audience he was going to pull off. Despite Fielder's meta-comedy, it appears he was attempting to make a serious point, not just about airline safety, but the persona that people put on when in positions of responsibility and authority. In a final twist, Fielder appeared on CNN to discuss his findings from the show, and cheekily pointed out that the power dynamic between Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown mirrored the imbalance in the cockpit. 'You're Wolf Blitzer, right?' Fielder said. 'So you're like, your name is first on the thing. So I'm sure, Pamela, at times you might not want to say, 'Oh, Wolf wants to do something. I don't think it's a good idea.' You might not want to express that, always.' Both hosts appeared disarmed by Fielder's comment, and stammered a defense, with Brown politely insisting that Blitzer doesn't have an 'ego' and that she feels free to speak up. However, Brown did admit that Fielder had a point. Clearly, Nathan Fielder's talent for disarming people on camera, even media-savvy news hosts, is as sharp as ever.
USA Today
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Are the Falcons a gigantic Nathan Fielder social experiment?
Are the Falcons a gigantic Nathan Fielder social experiment? The Atlanta Falcons added yet another chapter to the Bloated Book of Bafflement on Tuesday when a photo from the team's first OTA session featured a devastating self-own. In what is absolutely an accident by a hard-working social media expert and not a covert attempt to continue a troubling social experiment, the team shared to social media a now-deleted photo (which you can see below) of safety Jessie Bates III and cornerback Mike Ford posing with each other in their practice jerseys. Where's the problem? Well, Bates is No. 3, and Ford is No. 28. 3, 28. ... You get where we're going with this. It's an obvious mistake by this admin. It's just a photo of two Falcons defensive backs during a day of May NFL offseason practice. There is nothing more to it than that. Right? ... Right? *flashbacks to 28-3... looks around nervously, whispers* Have... have the Falcons secretly a Nathan Fielder social experiment this whole time? For years, the only way to chalk up the many, many bizarre happenings in Flowery Branch has been to simply look to the football gods assigning them as one of their favorite torments. When the football gods pride themselves in your folly, you may then take Sisyphean joy in your eternal embarrassments. However, what if Fielder has been behind the Falcons this entire time, orchestrating each and every Atlanta misery as some sort of social experiment to study Stockholm Syndrome's effect on fans of a sports team? Posting two players in jerseys of "3" and "28" can absolutely be an honest mistake. That's what it is... an honest mistake. But what if it isn't? What if this is Fielder's latest attempt to study Falcons fans? Just think back on these huge Falcons blunders as a Fielder experiment from Nathan For You or The Rehearsal instead of just miserable developments for a seemingly cursed NFL franchise? Imagine these quotes in his voice, providing narration before unfolding a macabre social experiment for alt-comedy purposes? 'I then decided to call a pass play in a clear run play scenario, as I further explored the possibility that, even though we were ahead by a wide margin, it wasn't impossible for us to still lose this football game. Being up 28 points to three late in the third quarter of the Super Bowl usually projects a victory, but what if, this time, it doesn't?" "Our team has become known for blowing leads in the most shocking of scenarios because of the Super Bowl, but it would be absolutely implausible if we actually kept blowing even more leads? Could we make it our identity? Could we make even the simplest of leads, like one over the Jay Cutler-led Dolphins, feel likely to slip out of our grasps into painful oblivion? Maybe." "We just signed quarterback Kirk Cousins in the offseason to a massive contract, essentially locking him into a meaningful stint with our franchise for the next few years. Our pass-rush has been a historic disaster. Logic dictates in this year's NFL Draft that we'll finally address this lingering issue with our top pick. But what if we didn't focus on our defense with that pick and we took a quarterback, instead? Of course, this has never been done in the history of the NFL in this fashion and would send the fans into a spiral, but... what if we did it anyway?" "The opportunity presented itself for us to pump fake crowd noise into our stadium, to present the illusion of fans being in our building... even though there are plenty of people already there providing plenty of noise for our underperforming football team. What will the meaningless crowd noise provide? We wanted to find out." Think even closer to the fact that Fielder's second season of The Rehearsal premiered on April 20, the same week the Falcons both traded a 2026 first-round pick to move up in the 2025 NFL Draft to take Tennessee outside linebacker James Pearce Jr. *right after* the team finally did something widely praised by fans and analysts alike in drafting Georgia outside linebacker Jalon Walker. It's also the same week Atlanta defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's son, Jax, stole quarterback Shedeur Sanders' NFL Draft telephone number off his dad's iPad and orchestrated a prank call that Friday. Is Fielder trying to tell us something? His latest season has been largely centered on aviation, and the Falcons' slogan is quite literally "Rise Up." Is season 3 his grand reveal, where he and a series of others have been running the operation in the shadows for a perpetually snakebitten NFL team to see just how loyal fans can be in the most shockingly impossible situations? This social media post was probably just a human error, a small drip of misery water in the pain bucket Falcons fans drink from to sustain themselves from year to year. But what if it's not? What if, this whole time, a man with a laptop has been plotting behind the scenes to conduct more and more experiments to see just how far he can push a fan base to leave its wretched football team behind, just to see those fans stay put? Are these fans just avoiding what they know deep down? That loyalty in sports is even more barbed and jaded than loyalty in life, and that we're more likely to leave people and jobs that cause us pain than literal sports teams we only have relation to in geography and happenstance? No, that would be nonsense. But what if it's not? At... at least Michael Penix Jr. looked good at quarterback last year, right?
