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The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Rehearsal season two review – TV so wild you will have no idea how they made it
Season two of the Rehearsal opens in a cockpit, where the atmosphere is almost unbearably strained. With the plane apparently on a collision course ('we have those hills to the right of the airport, remember?!'), the co-pilot begins to panic, but the captain haughtily dismisses his colleague's concerns. Sure enough, the plane begins to plummet, before crashing into a fiery wreck. We zoom out to reveal a set, where Nathan Fielder stares and blinks into the camera gormlessly, having conducted this horrifying performance – one of many reconstructions of real-life disasters to come. This is, of course, the comedian's totally wild docuseries, in which he prepares people for big life events via elaborate (and occasionally unethical) walk-throughs. The first season culminated in Fielder possibly causing untold psychological damage to a child actor who was only too happy to accept him as his real dad (he apparently hadn't grasped the extent to which he was part of an intricate plan to help a woman who wasn't sure whether she wanted to have kids). This time around, Fielder tells us that he has decided not to involve any children. But if you're expecting something a little less problematic, you're in the wrong place. In fact, at the end of the finale (which aired in the US over the weekend), I realised that all I had written for the final 30 minutes was 'how on EARTH did they do this????' over and over again, like a bad version of the typewriter scene in The Shining. Indeed, there is much here that will remind you of a horror film, and many scenes you will surely watch with your fingers over your eyes. Which is hilarious, given that the premise of this season is so incredibly mundane. Fielder has theorised – largely through careful study of thousands of pages of dry government documents – that plane crashes are directly linked to a lack of communication between pilots and first officers. His new quest, he says, is to improve aviation safety by forensically analysing how those conversations unfold and how pilots can give one another better feedback. And, er, by creating his own replica of Houston airport. Of course, as he explains to the pilots, actors and experts whom he inveigles into the rehearsal, HBO will only open its chequebook if his potentially life-saving, industry-leading experiment is also a comedy. Cue another six episodes of wondering just how much anyone knows at any one time, as Fielder constructs another televisual hall of mirrors where the fake and the real collide with all the violence of his staged plane crashes. As with season one, the producers have managed to find civilians who are so uniquely awkward that they feel like integral parts of the chaos. These are people who blur the line between committed normie and aspiring actor so well that many have, in fact, been accused of being fake. But they are all real, from baby-faced first officer Moody, who is convinced his girlfriend is cheating on him with her customers at Starbucks, to Jeff, an older pilot who freely, maybe even proudly, admits that he has been banned from all known dating apps. As always, Fielder gets in way too deep with everyone – not least a lovely young man named Colin, who gets his own rehearsal-within-the-rehearsal about his faltering love life. It's one of many, many tangents in a series that also touches on dog cloning; Evanescence's gothy rap-rock hit Bring Me to Life; neurodiversity and mental health; and a fake singing contest called Wings of Voice, which led one contestant, Lana Love, to give a tell-all interview to Variety where she angrily stated that she had 'signed up to be a singer, not a lab rat'. These strands weave around one another as the supposed goal of improving aviation safety comes in and out of focus. There are frequent links back to Fielder's previous work, on shows such as Nathan for You and The Curse, which only makes the whole thing more meta. It does at times feel a little overwhelming, even for a man whose whole thing is essentially artful self-absorption. And yet, navel-gazing and the many ethical questions raised here aside, Fielder pulls it off spectacularly. He shows impressive commitment to the bit in episode three, where he undergoes a physical transformation that is as horrifying as it is sublime. And the last episode sees the end justify the means, as he channels all he has learned into a knockout conclusion. The Rehearsal is frequently plane-crash TV – but my oh my, does it stick the landing. The Rehearsal season two aired on Sky Comedy and is available on Now.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Paramount reportedly had no idea Nathan Fielder was going to do them like that
This article contains spoilers for The Rehearsal season two, episode two. It's not a good day to be Paramount. The company is attempting to see its merger with Skydance through to the finish, but it's fielding attacks from all sides: from the government, from its own news programs, from rival studios and former employees. The latter comes in the form of Nathan Fielder's The Rehearsal, which on Sunday took overt aim at streaming service Paramount+. Fielder targeted Paramount+ for removing the 'Summit Ice' episode of his Comedy Central series Nathan For You from its library. On The Rehearsal, he says he was told that the episode (in which he makes an apparel line that benefits Holocaust education) was removed because of 'sensitivities' around antisemitism. In typical Rehearsal fashion, Fielder recreates the whole situation and, most controversially, uses Nazi imagery to depict the streamer. Sources for Variety claim that the streamer was not given a heads-up about this storyline by the show or by HBO. Paramount+ did not immediately respond to The A.V. Club's request for comment. In the episode, Fielder claims that his Summit Ice merch has raised millions of dollars for Holocaust awareness, which he calls his 'proudest achievement.' He says the 'decision was made by Paramount+ Germany to remove the episode in their region after they became uncomfortable with what they called anything that touches on antisemitism in the aftermath of the Israel/Hamas attacks,' a decision that was then replicated by other territories. Fielder, who is Jewish himself, accused the streamer of erasing Jewish content from its library. But he also offered another perspective courtesy of the German actor hired to stand in as a Paramount+ exec: 'Look at you pretending to be serious. This is not sincere. Just a man with a grudge using his television show to smear us instead of trying to understand us.' The Rehearsal aired the same evening that 60 Minutes called out its parent company in regards to the resignation of executive producer Bill Owens. 'Our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger. The Trump administration must approve it. Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways,' Owens previously said in explanation for his departure. 'None of our stories has been blocked, but Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires,' correspondent Scott Pelley elaborated on Sunday's program. 'No one here is happy about it, but in resigning, Bill proved one thing: he was the right person to lead 60 Minutes all along.' More from A.V. Club Florence Pugh anchors Marvel's Thunderbolts* with a refreshing lack of superpowers Star Wars to tell Fortnite its Tales Of The Underworld before Disney Plus Marvel doesn't want to share Nicepool plans with Justin Baldoni
USA Today
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Nathan Fielder brutally takes aim at Paramount+ over removal of 'Nathan For You' episode
Nathan Fielder brutally takes aim at Paramount+ over removal of 'Nathan For You' episode Show Caption Hide Caption Netflix, TikTok and the many ways comedy is changing in 2022 USA TODAY TV Critic Kelly Lawler breaks down some of the various ways that the genre of comedy is evolving as the world changes. Entertain This!, USA TODAY Nathan Fielder is biting the hand that feeds him. In the latest episode of his HBO series "The Rehearsal," the comedian, 41, called out Paramount+ at length for allegedly removing an episode of his previous Comedy Central show "Nathan For You" from streaming due to sensitivity issues related to the Holocaust. USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Paramount+ for comment. During the "Rehearsal" episode that aired April 27, Fielder recounted his discovery in 2023 that an old episode of his show "Nathan For You," which depicted his launch of an apparel line dedicated to raising Holocaust awareness, "mysteriously went missing" from Paramount+. Fielder, whose shows blur the line between reality and fiction, told viewers that he wrote an email to Paramount asking why the episode was removed. He claimed the company "confirmed in their response that it was taken down intentionally and gave me a one-word explanation as to why: sensitivities." Fielder went on to say he later received a more detailed explanation. "In late 2023, a decision was made by Paramount+ Germany to remove the episode in their region after they became uncomfortable with what they called 'anything that touches on antisemitism' in the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas attacks," said Fielder, who is Jewish. 'The Rehearsal' season 2 release date, how to watch with Max on Sling Fielder plays a heightened and socially unaware version of himself on both "Nathan For You" and "The Rehearsal." In the 2015 episode of "Nathan For You" in question, the comedian founded the apparel brand Summit Ice, which aimed to be a jacket company that also helped promote "the true story of the Holocaust." He started the apparel line after discovering the company that made the jacket he was wearing published a tribute to a Holocaust denier in its winter catalog. The episode mined comedy out of Fielder's misguided attempts to evoke the Holocaust in Summit Ice marketing materials, including with an over-the-top store display filled with swastikas. Fielder's business ideas on "Nathan For You" are typically meant to be ill-conceived in order to provoke a reaction from those around him. But despite originating from a comedy show, Summit Ice became a real apparel line that donates profits to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, a Holocaust museum in Canada. Comedy Central's 'Nathan For You' is back with more marketing tips that go hilariously awry On "The Rehearsal," Fielder drew an intentionally absurd comparison between the removal of his episode from Paramount+ and World War II, showing the streamer's logo spreading across a world map. Fielder then visited a fictional version of the Paramount+ Germany office, where the streaming service's logo was displayed on large banners on a set meant to look like a Nazi war room. In this scene, the comedian made the case against removing the "Nathan For You" episode, saying that "when it comes to art, I think you have to know your place, and you have to let us Jews express ourselves because honestly, the way you're approaching this whole thing, people might get the wrong idea about what you actually stand for." It was unclear whether Fielder actually made this argument to Paramount+. Fielder noted that his confrontation with Paramount put him in a tough position because around the same time he made the discovery about "Nathan For You," Paramount was airing another one of his shows, the scripted Showtime series "The Curse." "The Curse," which also starred Emma Stone and Benny Safdie, has not been renewed for a second season. "How I spoke to them could have career repercussions," Fielder deadpanned as he recalled emailing the company. The "Nathan For You" episode, the second episode of Season 3, remains unavailable on Paramount+ in the United States as of Monday afternoon, although it is streaming on Max. The "Rehearsal" episode aired on the same night that "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley called out Paramount on the air for its alleged heavy-handed oversight. "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens resigned from the show last week, saying he had lost journalistic independence. "Our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger. The Trump administration must approve it. Paramount began to supervise our content in new ways," Pelley told viewers. "None of our stories has been blocked, but Bill felt he lost the independence that honest journalism requires." Contributing: Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY
Forbes
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Max's Best New Show Lands A Perfect 100% Critic Score
The Rehearsal While all the conversation around Max right now (please, just change it back to HBO at this point) is about season 2 of The Last of Us, especially after last night, a returning show is about to land on the service with a perfect 100% critic score, and one that is already 'certified fresh,' the site's highest honor. That show would be Nathan Fielder's The Rehearsal season 2, the absurdist comedy that last aired in 2022, and got a 95% score back then. Audiences were almost just as on board, with just a slightly lower 88% score there. The show ultimately had enough viewership to return for a second season. Here's the synopsis: 'Nathan Fielder returns to television to explore the lengths one person will go to reduce the uncertainties of everyday life. Fielder stars as the director of rehearsals, which are elaborately staged scenarios re-creating parts of ordinary people's lives that are meant to help them prepare for a big moment in their lives. A construction crew, a legion of actors and seemingly unlimited resources all come together to allow ordinary people to rehearse for these moments by giving them the opportunity to play them out in carefully crafted simulations of Fielder's own design.' Things have just spiraled from this original concept, with more basic problems for individuals now going all the way to building fake airplanes to test pilots and a whole bunch of other things that are hard to even grasp in season 2's trailer, which you can see below: It is hard to explain just how weird this show is, but if you are at all familiar with Fielder's work, whether that's Nathan For You or The Curse, then yeah, this probably makes sense. But even then, this is all just above and beyond what he's done in the past, and thankfully Max is essentially letting him do whatever he wants with this increasingly bizarre series. It just came out. The Rehearsal season 2 will air on Sundays, alongside The Last of Us, so we have some time to brace ourselves for what's coming the rest of the season. But even then, I doubt most of us are going to be ready for the places this is about to go. We'll find out soon enough. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Bluesky Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
