Nathan Fielder is back on Max for “The Rehearsal” with his most ambitious project yet. If you know Fielder, you know that this statement is huge. Starting with a strange 12-hour livestream the day before, fans truly never know what to expect when it comes to Nathan Fielder. He has truly outdone himself and is on an entirely other level of comedy, satire and creativeness. He is the boy who cried wolf, the clown honking a horn, begging for help. Does Fielder actually want to be taken seriously? That is for the audience to see as the season continues.
The previous season of “The Rehearsal” was a massive success; a comedy turned into introspective commentary from Fielder himself. It’s outrageous, it’s over the top and it’s utterly Nathan Fielder. Following the success of “Nathan for You,” “The Rehearsal” features longer form content from Fielder planning out insane rehearsed scenarios in the form of an experiment. From recreating an entire bar for a man to ask his crush out, to building a model of a guests home to plan their interaction, Fielder has created something truly one of a kind.
The season begins with Fielder, watching a plane crash, shrouded in flames as orchestral plays. It’s hysterical, and slightly frightening, much like Fielder himself. This season is focused on commercial airline flights, specifically what goes on in the cockpit of planes and how it seems to be the correlation between airplane crashes. Somehow, Fielder manages to take a serious subject and sprinkle in nuggets of comedy. Poignant, given the news as of late, is tainted with dry sarcasm. Fielder is the Willy Wonka of awkward and socially anxious people, crafting entire worlds to manipulate any and every situation. He successfully recreates an entire airport, even hiring actors to play passengers who specialize in his infamous “Fielder Method.” These actors manage to pick a real person from Houston Airport and follow them over the course of 48 hours without them noticing. This resulted in some actors having to get on multiple flights to follow the stranger, secretly honing their craft. It’s bizarre, it’s inconceivable and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before; you truly must see it to believe it.
Somehow, Fielder manages to find the most eccentric people to agree to his show, including first episode’s guest, Pilot Moody. Since the show’s premiere, Moody has set up a Cameo account and broken up with his girlfriend following Fielder’s plot. Fielder set the couple up in the cockpit, forcing them to talk about their relationship problems as a test to show the difficulty of co-pilots speaking their minds to one another. It’s painful; Fielder lurks in the background as the couple’s anger heightens. He stands there awkwardly, wondering if he made the right call. Fielder’s introspection is what makes him such a successful and well-rounded comedian. He is able to take these moments of pure awkward gold and then turn them onto himself and how he is perceived.
Fielder brilliantly states, “But when you lead a life dedicated to making others laugh, in those rare moments when you want to be taken seriously, it can be difficult to overcome the deficit of credibility you’ve created for yourself.” Is this another piece of pure satire from Fielder, or is part of this monologue genuine? It’s anyone’s guess, but personally, I think Fielder, while a caricature of himself, is being somewhat genuine.
This gap between comedy and realism is utterly complex and intriguing to watch play out, particularly following the previous season of “The Rehearsal,” and the major growth and human side the audience gets to see in Fielder. While Fielder is known for his comedy and prank-like scenarios, there’s a level of care and seriousness to what he does. For a particular episode of “Nathan for You,” Fielder created a real company called Summit Ice, which sells apparel. To the outside perspective, this just seems like another North Face company, but Fielder created this not-for-profit company to raise awareness for the Holocaust. Not only are his products genuinely good quality, they also actively finance Holocaust education systems in elementary schools across Canada.
Like I said, there’s genuineness in everything Fielder does, including his awkward demeanor. Fielder wants to solve the issue of aviation disaster: “Even though I had the resources to potentially solve this life-or-death issue and save real humans from dying … I was given this money to create a comedy series.” In clips from future episodes, Fielder appears to make it to Congress to voice his concerns. “The Rehearsal” is the ultimate break in reality, walking the finest line between satire and life. As Fielder so eloquently puts it, “When enough people see you as only a joke, a part of you starts to believe that that’s all you have to offer.” I say, don’t count out Nathan Fielder.
Olivia Baier can be reached at [email protected]
