With the popularity of the new documentary You Can See Everything, I thought I would share my thoughts on the best way for newbies to get up to speed on the Nathan Fielder oeuvre, which I just happened to have binged myself earlier this year.
Fielder has created two successful, high-effort, docu-series/reality TV shows:
- Nathan For You (2013-2017), originally on Comedy Central and now on HBO Max, was a parody reality show that positioned Nathan as a business expert who gave advice to small business owners. While the participants were real, Nathan's advice was ridiculous, such as suggesting the a yogurt shop offer a poo flavor or that a hot dog stand allow cutting in line as long as it's for a good reason. This is cringe humor that can tend toward meanness, as it puts real people in awkward or troubling situations, but it can be delightfully absurd, especially when it's mocking Nathan himself, who puts on a self-serious persona. This is the most concentrated way to get to know the Nathan Fielder "character."
- The Rehearsal (2022) currently has two seasons on HBO Max (maybe there will be more?) Nathan Fielder takes a real person through a ridiculously over-research "rehearsal" for some difficult event in their life. While still playing a version of his Nathan For You character, this Fielder is a bit more mature but plays up his neurotic awkwardness.
Nathan Fielder Must Watch
If you have about 3 hours (about the same length as the film), here is what I would watch to prepare:
- The Rehearsal, season 1, episode 1, "Orange Juice, No Pulp" (44 min). The pilot is self-contained, clever, and audacious, and perfectly lays out the concept of the show.
- The Rehearsal, season 2, episode 1, "Gotta Have Fun" (39 min). The second season of The Rehearsal is an ongoing storyline, so this will give you a taste. The Rehearsal season 2 is my favorite Nathan Fielder project. It's the most idealistic in its aims, and truly displays Fielder's commitment to the bit.
- Nathan For You season 4, episode 8, "Finding Frances" (84 min). This feature-length documentary-style finale for Nathan For You doesn't really resemble the rest of the show; instead, it's a character study of a weird participant and Nathan's reactions to his lies, which makes it a good entry point to You Can See Everything.
Want more Nathan Fielder?
If you have more time, here's what I'd continue to watch.
The Rehearsal
If you like what you see of The Rehearsal, just watch the rest. The seasons are only 6 episodes long. I think it's really bingeable and both seasons have continuing stories.
You can skip episode 3 of season 2 ("Pilot's Code"), as it does not advance the plot. This is the one where Nathan pretends to be Sully Sullenburger. I find it weird.
Nathan For You
Nathan For You episodes are shorter (about 21 minutes for a half hour cable TV slot), but I struggle to find episodes I wholly recommend because so much of the humor is cringey and often has not aged well. Bear that in mind!
- Season 1, episode 1, "Yogurt Shop/Pizzeria": The aforementioned poo yogurt flavor episode. Distasteful, sure, but this is a good introduction to what the show is like.
- Season 1, episode 4, "Gas Station/Caricature Artist": Nathan convinces a gas station to offer an impossible-to-claim rebate, and makes friends along the way. This episode has gone down in history as one of the few times Nathan broke character because he was so shocked by what a participant said to him. Unfortunately the B-story, about the caricature artist, is one of my least favorite because it does that mid 2010s thing of being really racist in a way that sort of mocks racism but mostly is just trying to be an edgelord.
- Season 1, episode 7, "Claw of Shame": This episode breaks the usual format by parodying a TV magic special. I like this one because it goes behind the bit as Nathan explains the thought process behind the trick, and it tickles me that he consults with a judge to make sure he's committing a crime.
- Season 2, episode 5, "Dumb Starbucks": Nathan's idea of ripping off Starbucks in a technically legal fashion due to parody fair use went viral before the episode aired, and this episode contains some of the real life fallout.
- Season 3, episode 5, "Smokers Allowed": Nathan skirts laws against smoking in bars by putting the bar on stage, since actors can smoke on stage as part of a play. This one gets into dizzying meta about what constitutes a performance.
- Season 3, episode 8, "The Hero": Nathan once again blurs the lines of real and fake as he stages a daring highwire stunt in order to make a participant into a hometown hero.
