By Raven Carthon and Rachel Walker
As media fanatics, we pride ourselves on our extensive knowledge of film and television on a plethora of platforms and topics. With the semester only just starting, we had some free time on our hands to binge watch a show just like “old times.” That is why when Andy Evans recommended the HBO show, The Rehearsal to us we were automatically intrigued!
Shot in a documentary style, the show follows popular tv personality Nathan Fielder as he orchestrates different scenarios for subjects to practice leading up to a certain event. An example of this can be seen in the show’s character, Angela. Angela is a woman who wishes to simulate what life would be like if she had a family. Nathan begins to get caught up in the simulation, which makes the audience question the reality of the show as a whole.
Throughout the course of watching the show, we bickered constantly on whether or not this show is real or fake in terms of its documentarian style. With no prior knowledge of the show, we found it difficult to hold onto a sense of reality which seems to be exactly Nathan’s point throughout the show. Once we finished, we delved into deep research to find out the true answer to our question but were unsuccessful. While the show covers some dark topics, it also has a mockumentary style that can be compared to The Office. Because of this comparison, this is also lead us to question whether or not these events that occurred in the show actually happened.
As we await news for a new season and the answer to our questions, we hope you will check out this mind-bending show on HBO.