The Rehearsal on Prime
The Rehearsal on Prime – Nathan Fielder gives people a chance to rehearse for their own lives in a world where nothing ever works out as expected.
The series is set in a world where nothing seems to ever work out as you had hoped, Nathan Fielder gives people the opportunity to rehearse for their own lives. HBO wouldn’t say whether it was scripted or more in the vein of Nathan For You.
Storyline for the Rehearsal on Prime
The central concept of the series is straightforward enough, if typically absurd: what if you could rehearse fraught conversations or situations in advance?
How much could you control if you had every resource available to prepare?
The show depicts both the tedious constructions of facsimile – building a replica bar, hiring actors, stress-testing potential conversations – and the unnerving, at times sublime suspension of disbelief.
With The Rehearsal and his prior show, Comedy Central’s cult hit Nathan For You, Fielder drew laughs (or secondhand embarrassment, or horror) as the ultimate committer to a bit – harebrained ideas carried far past the point of sense, with such deadpan absurdity that you couldn’t distinguish between silly and serious.
Over four seasons, Nathan For You, in which Fielder coached real small business owners into audaciously inane plans (staging a massive celebrity tip at a diner for free press, rebranding a realtor as “100% ghost-free”, “Dumb Starbucks”) offered a decent litmus test for one’s tolerance for cringe.
The typical Nathan For You viewing experience was some mix of awe at the grandiose stupidity of the scheme, amusement at the lengths to which Fielder would go, and genuine concern for the businesses.
Episodes of The Rehearsal on Prime
S1.E1 ∙ Orange Juice, No Pulp
Nathan Fielder helps a Brooklyn-based trivia aficionado come clean to his teammate about a long-held lie.
Episodes of The Rehearsal on Prime S1.E2 ∙ Scion
Nathan allows an Oregon woman to prepare for motherhood by simulating the experience of raising a child from zero to eighteen.
S1.E3 ∙ Gold Digger
While Angela continues to raise her “son,” Nathan goes to new lengths to help a man prepare for a difficult conversation.
Episodes of The Rehearsal on Prime S1.E4 ∙ The Fielder Method
Nathan travels to Los Angeles to train actors for his show.
S1.E5 ∙ Apocalypto
After a visit from his parents, Nathan struggles to stick up for his values.
Episodes of The Rehearsal on Prime S1.E6 ∙ Pretend Daddy
The aftermath of a birthday party causes Nathan to re-evaluate his entire project.
