Television’s Willy Wonka is back. The enigmatic comic Nathan Fielder has returned for Season 2 of the docu-comedy “The Rehearsal,” which premiered April 20. The episode, “Gotta Have Fun,” features more of the elaborate rehearsals the show is known for as well as the beginnings of Fielder’s grandest master plan to date.
In “The Rehearsal,” Fielder helps ordinary people prepare for situations they’re dreading by rehearsing the scenario beforehand. However, these rehearsals go far beyond practicing for an uncomfortable conversation or entering a virtual reality simulation. Instead, Fielder devises hilariously elaborate rehearsals for his guests, constructing exact recreations of the spaces in which the scenario will take place. The rehearsals even involve look-alike actors to stand in for the people involved in the real deal, all in an attempt to simulate the situation as accurately as humanly possible.
Season 1 started off fairly simple. In the first episode, Fielder assists Kor Skeete prepare to reveal the truth to a friend after a lie gets out of hand. The show quickly flies off the rails when Angela, a woman considering motherhood, is introduced in the second episode.
To help Angela decide if motherhood is right for her, Fielder goes all out, providing her with a house to live in and a child actor to role-play as her son. Fielder even gets to experience the intricate rehearsal himself, role-playing as Angela’s non-romantic co-parent. The simulation continues for weeks, replicating the passage of time by subbing in incrementally older child actors. While the show maintains its comedic and whimsical tone, it surprised viewers by delving into deeper topics such as the nature of reality and the dangers of becoming too immersed in the rehearsal process.
With Fielder seemingly having taken the concept to its limits, viewers may be wondering: Where could the show possibly go from here?
The Season 2 premiere immediately raises the stakes by introducing Fielder’s next project preventing commercial airline crashes by reforming the co-pilot, also known as first officer, training program. According to Fielder’s research, the leading cause of these crashes is first officers’ reluctance to take charge when their captain makes a critical mistake. Working alongside former National Transportation Safety Board member John Goglia, Fielder plans on reviving Goglia’s rejected proposal to train first officers through a rehearsal-based program — Fielder’s area of expertise.
To develop the program, Fielder must first become intimately familiar with the life of a first officer. Enter Moody, a young United Airlines first officer who allows Fielder to shadow him throughout a day of work. There’s one problem, though: Fielder doesn’t have access to the pilot’s lounge, the room where the first officer and the captain meet for the first time.
So, of course, what is there to do but construct an exact replica of Moody’s terminal at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, complete with actors who have studied the mannerisms of the specific pilots, airport employees and passengers who were at the airport that day?
Fielder does exactly that and puts Moody in this simulation to better understand the interactions first officers have on an average workday before entering the cockpit. Moody even provided a hand-drawn diagram of the pilot’s lounge to help Fielder replicate his workday experience as accurately as possible.
But to Fielder’s dismay, when Moody entered the replica pilot’s lounge, he didn’t talk to the captain at all. It turns out most co-workers just aren’t that interested in getting to know each other, especially when they’re unlikely to cross paths again. This doesn’t bode well for Fielder’s research, but it leads him to ponder the question: Could assertiveness in the cockpit be trained not just on the job but in first officers’ personal lives?
Earlier in the episode, Moody had a casual conversation with Fielder about the struggles of maintaining a long-distance relationship in his line of work. Moody is currently in a two-year relationship with Cindy, a college student and Starbucks employee who lives a couple of hours away. In their conversation, Moody expresses fears that Cindy might meet a customer at work and decide to break off their relationship — fears he has never expressed to her.
While most people would consider this information too sensitive and personal to get involved with, to Fielder it’s an opportunity to put his rehearsal theory to the test.
With Moody and Cindy’s permission, Fielder had the two discuss the relationship issue while role-playing as first officer and captain, respectively, to better prepare Moody for confrontations in the cockpit. The result is a magical blend of awkwardness, vulnerability and hilarity that could only be witnessed on “The Rehearsal.”
“The Rehearsal” may sound incredibly stupid — and yes, it is. But what’s special about the show is its capacity to reveal uncomfortable truths about the human experience within these strange, cringeworthy and surreal sequences at the edge of fiction and reality.
Where Fielder goes from here is anyone’s guess. Nothing is ever as straightforward as it initially appears on “The Rehearsal.”
Drew Askeland is a 2024-2025 Arts & Entertainment Assistant Editor. He can be reached at daskelan@uci.edu.
Edited by Lillian Dunn and Jaheem Conley