“Nathan Fielder messes with people. It was true for his Comedy Central series Nathan for You, and it’s still true in his new HBO series, The Rehearsal. He’s fascinated by people, drawn to and perplexed by them, and he uses the inherent allowances of TV to conduct social experiments. But in order to achieve his ends, Fielder almost inevitably deceives his subjects. He misleads them, makes them uncomfortable, and tries to goad them into saying or doing things they might not want to. The combination of Fielder’s focus on regular people and his willingness to screw with them means The Rehearsal will not be universally liked, but it will nevertheless elicit two universal responses: No one will feel comfortable, and everyone will wonder how much of it is real.” — Kathryn VanArendonk “Nathan Fielder’s Dazzling, Horrifying Trial Run of Reality”