On Saturday, April 20, 2025, HBO premiered the new season of The Rehearsal. This time, however, it is not about Nathan Fielder helping individuals prepare for parenting or uncomfortable social occasions. Instead, he is involved in a much more serious domain, the aviation industry. He is currently exploring the pressing issue of airplane crashes.
Did you get that right? The hilariously stumbling performer has completely turned around from his past undertakings and dived right into the deep end of aviation safety — an action that produced very controversial opinions.
From Parenting Classes to Plane Crashes
Fielder shot to fame with his show Nathan for You (aired from 2013 to 2017) and was a guest for Season 1 of The Rehearsal tv series, which depicted aspirants exposed to challenging situations by him so that they could prepare themselves for their turn. Although in Season 2, his mood switches to different water.
This time, he has resorted to the creation of full-size simulators of the flight and the reenactment of the cockpit scenes to address the issue of what if the first officer is too scared to say to the captain that they are wrong?
Real Pilots, Real Simulations, Real Stakes
Fielder isn’t using any actors this time. In this season’s project, he is getting the actual professionals in the aviation industry who are involved in real plane crashes and are digging further into these cases to learn about the communication problems that have happened and led to this tragedy.
In an exercise, Fielder remakes a cockpit story where the co-pilot perceives a problem but remains silent. The scenario portrayed the cost of the co-pilot’s silence that was disaster. The goal, as reported by Fielder, is to study anxiety in the human aspect of a high-pressure environment.
To make them more interactive, he makes an actual size flight deck and room for a simulated hearing by the Congress to assess the ability to command your area if participants can speak up in front of authority.
Why This Topic?
The majority of the viewers have been asking the very same question: Why aviation? Why now?
In the interview with The Cut, Fielder said that the aviation sector is one of the starkest examples of how people don’t engage in a thing even when they should, like their life is at stake, while the show then draws a connection between this fear and such sectors like workplaces, schools, and even relationships where people always become mute when they shouldn’t.
He said to the outlet, “It’s just not about the act of flying. It’s about the situation of the system when the people are too afraid to talk.”
A Comedy or a Cautionary Tale?
Fielder sticks to his television show-characteristic deadpan comedic style even in Season 2, but the issues brought feel more severe. The episodes are strange and out of the ordinary, with the audience sometimes being uncertain if the show is real or a comedy.
According to reviewers, it is now a general opinion that the new season of the show is the most intertwined with society, and particularly, the American society, season in the history of television. TIME has even called the program “so much beyond just plane safety issues” to the community, not forgetting how it prods everyone to see their silence in the critical and hard times.
Fielder’s Next Move: A Chess Scandal Film
While not participating in The Rehearsal, a different show, Fielder is still continuing his work on a side project, a movie, the direction of which is to speak on a real story of the scandal that Carlsen-Niemann lessened the world of competitive chess with.
A24 and also Fruit Tree, the newly established production company of Emma Stone, have joined the game in creating the film. The venture is still at its initial stage but supporters are already anticipating how Fielder will tackle another real-life story that is both scariest and weirdest.
What Are People Saying?
Instead of viewers’ reactions, the follow-ups to it have however all gained a great occasion to mention everyone. The present situation is not liked by some who in turn refer to the show’s courage and daring spirit for the lack of personal, embarrassing attributes of the first season.
And yet, the effect is absolutely aggressive. Twitter is flocking with reactions, starting from “What the f*** have I just watched?” to “Nathan Fielder has again done what only a few others would have thought to do.”>
Where to Watch
The Rehearsal Season 2 is streaming on HBO and Max right at this moment. Fresh shows will be viewed on Saturday only.
Whether it is the genius of it or the inscrutability that bothers you, that one point is rather clear – Nathan Fielder has shown himself as quite the adventure lover.
