Spoilers beneath for anybody who hasn’t watched the most recent episode of The Rehearsal on HBO or with a Max subscription.
Deadpan comic Nathan Fielder’s latest return to HBO for his acclaimed collection The Rehearsal has added some distinctive cringe to the 2025 TV schedule. Persevering with his model of reality-blurring humor that pushes the boundaries of comedy and luxury, Fielder gives no scarcity of examples that exhibit his signature tone on display. However the latest case has ruffled some feathers, as a controversial gag from the most recent episode put Paramount+ firmly within the highlight. Or is it the crosshairs?
Paramount+ Eliminated An Episode Of Nathan For You About Antisemitism
Apparently, Paramount+’s elimination of the Nathan For You episode “Horseback Driving/Man Zone” was a partial inspiration for the episode “Star Potential” — this is how one can watch The Rehearsal Season 2. In keeping with reporting from EW, the selection was made “after a requirements evaluate” of the 2015 installment, which contained a subplot the place Fielder tried to create a sports activities attire model named “Arctic Ice,” which lampooned antisemitism within the trend world.
For these not accustomed to the story, Nathan Fielder was impressed to begin a model after hispreferred model of sentimental shell jacket was outed because the product of a Holocaust denying CEO. Culminating in a gross sales pitch that built-in a good quantity of Nazi symbology, the model naturally by no means took off. That issue might be what led to the “sensitivities” that had been cited in Fielder’s account on The Rehearsal; which led to a wild dramatized “reenactment” of a gathering that the creator wished he’d had with Paramount.
Which, as you’ll be able to see within the picture beneath, doubled down on the joke from Nathan For You’s “lacking” episode:
Admittedly, this can be a determination which will encourage a response just like that of the critically-divided Showtime collection The Curse, which additionally starred Fielder. Nonetheless, I believe the total decision of this plotline refreshes this joke, as in case you look intently, Paramount+ isn’t the one goal on the vary.
The Rehearsal’s Joke About Nathan For You’s Lacking Episode Got here Full Circle Fairly Brilliantly
Digging slightly deeper into the joke offered in The Rehearsal’s “Star Potential” episode, I believe it seems that the joke is in the end on Nathan Fielder himself. Whereas he was clearly upset about this alternative, the way in which that Mr. Fielder exercised his opinion was additionally fairly self reflexive.
The last word finger pointed within the room was aimed straight at himself, as proven on this dialogue delivered by the faux Paramount+ exec – performed by The Man within the Excessive Fortress vet John Hans Tester:
You designed this workplace to seem like a warfare room. Dressed me to seem like a Nazi. Pretending to need suggestions, however you don’t truly need to get the Paramount Plus perspective, or the German perspective. … You’re only a man with a grudge, utilizing his tv present to smear us, as a substitute of making an attempt to grasp us.
It’s definitely quite a bit to absorb, particularly with a 60 Minutes phase on Invoice Owens’ resignation calling Paramount executives out for its personal causes.
However for now, the final word ruling on how one can take this joke lies with you, the viewers. So if you wish to get in on the joke, you’ll be able to stream Nathan For You in the identical place new episodes of The Rehearsal land, after debuting on Sundays at 10:30 PM ET: by way of the consolation of a Max subscription.