The Rehearsal

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Based on 1 review
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The Rehearsal
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this TV show.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Rehearsal is a unique series about people who get the opportunity to rehearse pivotal or stressful moments in their lives before going through them for real. Hosted by Nathan Fielder (Nathan for You), the show is a social experiment that wrings a staggering amount of humor and suspense out of seemingly mundane conflicts. In the pilot episode, for example, a man wants to confess to his trivia team that he has lied to them about having an advanced college degree. Fielder continuously takes the project in surprising directions, building replicas of people's homes, rehearsing his own interactions, and even starting his own acting school for the actors who participate in the rehearsals. But the absurd premise also leads to moments where participants face deep obstacles and fears, even if they may seem trivial initially.
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What's the Story?
When someone is afraid a pivotal moment in their life is about to go horribly wrong, Nathan Fielder offers them THE REHEARSAL. Fielder takes moments that people are worried about, like confessing a lie or making a crucial decision, and allows them to rehearse those moments in advance, in detailed replicas of the actual spaces where the moments will take place, with actors playing the other people involved, and with a pre-arranged script that can respond to even the most absurd outcomes.
Is It Any Good?
Nathan Fielder has made a deep, personal show that makes its subjects a source of empathy rather than the butt of the joke. Fielder made his name with Nathan for You, a show that offered struggling businesses extreme ideas for turning things around, ideas like selling poo-flavored ice cream and hiring actors for sparsely-attended funerals. The Rehearsal, Fielder's long-awaited follow-up, shifts the focus from businesses to people themselves. Fielder's relentless creative energy is funneled into an obsession with creating as accurate a rehearsal as possible, which gives the series more genuinely surprising twists than any scripted drama.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about rehearsals. Why would people want to rehearse moments in their lives before living them? What is the benefit? What are the drawbacks? Why do you think people go along with Fielder's elaborate plans?
How does The Rehearsal feel about its participants? Do you think the show is making fun of them? Or does it actually care about their lives? Why do you think so?
What do Fielder and the others learn from the rehearsals that they may not have discovered otherwise? Do the characters grow through the course of the show? Do they ultimately benefit from the rehearsals?
TV Details
- Premiere date: July 15, 2022
- Cast: Nathan Fielder
- Network: HBO Max
- Genre: Reality TV
- TV rating: TV-MA
- Last updated: July 22, 2022
Our Editors Recommend
For kids who love Reality shows
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