The Rehearsal
Nathan Fielder takes on aviation safety in the second season of his curious docu-comedyThe Rehearsal.
This season sets up a very different thesis than its predecessor.
As Fielder goes through the history of commercial airline disasters, he begins to notice a pattern.
In almost all cases, the crash was sparked by miscommunication between the captain and their first officer.
If they do, the captain will usually ignore them or even put them down.
And so begins Fielders next elaborate roleplaying experiment.
Custom image by César García
Like season 1, it also delves into some subplots along the way.
Fielder wages war against Paramount+ Germany and reflects onthe social impact ofThe Rehearsalitself, particularly among neurodivergent viewers.
But it sinks its teeth into other themes, too.
It explores nature versus nurture through the life of a cloned pet.
It explores the difference between anxiety the emotion and anxiety the disorder.
The Rehearsals set designers outdo themselves in season 2.
In season 1, they painstakingly recreated a Brooklyn bar and a Raising Cane’s restaurant.
Butin season 2, their sets have gotten even grander.
They build five exact copies of the same studio apartment and line them up side-by-side.
The Rehearsalseason 2 is scheduled to premiere on HBO on April 20, 2025.
Plus, its always funny, even if its funny in a What am I watching!?
The finale goes back and reveals that Fielder has been playing a much bigger game all along.
As a filmmaker, Fielder reminds me of Jackie Chan.
In that way, he demanded just as much of himself.
Fielder asks his subjects to bare their souls, but he does the same thing.
But season 2 manages to be even more daring, profound, and subversively hilarious.
No one thinks quite as far outside the box as Fielder.
The Rehearsalseason 2 episodes air Sundays at 10:30pm ET on HBO and Max.
