The first season of HBO’s “The Rehearsal,” which aired in 2022, was an entrancing experiment. Created by and starring the comedian Nathan Fielder, the show began with a relatively simple but absurd premise: What if you could rehearse for events in your everyday life — like, for instance, having a difficult conversation with a friend? Eventually, the experiment turned into a large-scale simulation in which Fielder “rehearsed” raising a kid, a feat that, because of child labor rules and an accelerated timeline, involved a rotating cast of child actors.
The second season premieres on Sunday, anticipated by the question: How is Fielder is going to top that first brilliantly uncomfortable season? His answer is to turn his attention to the world of commercial airline safety, and what results is both sidesplitting and one of the most stressful television watching experiences in recent memory.
The season revolves around Fielder’s personal research into the causes of aviation disasters — a premise he admits isn’t particularly ripe for a comedy. (“So far, I was failing,” he narrates in what is perhaps the show’s first joke. “We were over 10 minutes into this episode with zero laughs.”) He has concluded that a primary cause of crashes is a lack of communication in the cockpit, where the second-in-command feels too intimidated to press his or her concerns with the captain.
Fielder’s solution? Getting the pilots to open up through his rehearsal methods involving professional actors. But in Fielder’s universe, nothing is that straightforward.
Working with real pilots and building a full-size replica of a Houston airport terminal, Fielder takes bizarrely hilarious detours. One involves a singing competition called “Wings of Voice.” Another uses oversize puppets to examine the life of the “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot Chesley Sullenberger.
Fielder’s life-or-death subject is distressingly topical, but “The Rehearsal” is interested in more than aviation. It is a study of human behavior and the masks people wear, investigating the psychology not only of the pilots but also of the actors Fielder employs and, ultimately, of Fielder himself.
Fielder draws from his own life more than ever — including in references to his other shows “Nathan for You” and “The Curse” — all while keeping the audience guessing about how much of what he is showing us is just a character. But his typically deadpan persona takes on new weight here. “The Rehearsal” remains one of the best comedies out there, but what’s at stake is no joke.
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