The Curse (2022-3)

Nathan Fielder's first scripted project defies description. Sure, Nathan For You and  The Rehearsal also fit that category, but The Curse takes cringe comedy to another level. And I wouldn't necessarily say I outright enjoyed it the way I did The Rehearsal or Nathan For You. I genuinely laughed at episodes 5 and 9. But I found myself totally baffled by most episodes, and made awkwardly uncomfortable by some. Yes, I understand that's the point but this was even much for me. The finale is the craziest hour of television ever.--opening with a spot-on recreation of a Rachael Ray segment. It was totally unpredictable, very difficult to interpret, and I have no idea how they managed to film those scenes. I have now read many an article deconstructing the finale and it's still beyond me. Fielder plays his signature deadpan self, the butt of many self-deprecating jokes. Benny Safdie is also a master of uncomfortable filmmaking, known for high anxiety movies like Good Time and Uncut Gems. As an actor, he plays out of his usual character as a sleazy reality show director--nothing like the wholesome dad or physicist he played last year. And most notably is Emma Stone, who can literally play anything. She has never been better.

How To with John Wilson (2020-3)

How To with John Wilson defies categorization. I struggle to explain to people what exactly the show is, let alone what makes it so great. But this show was consistently one of the most interesting on TV. So let me try here. Each episode is a video essay in the form of a how-to. It begins with one topic, but it inevitable meanders into something wholly unexpected. It is narrated by John Wilson, an anxious New Yorker who really seems to understand New York. His camera captures all sorts of random found footage. It makes you wonder whether the words are made to match the images or the vice versa. The matching is hilarious. The images are often independently funny but put to words they take on a whole different meaning that makes you chuckle. And somehow the essays always turn out to be poignant, even profound. He interviews the strangest people who let him into their homes. They'll say something wild nonchalantly and he'll say "wait, what?" and then they can expound upon some crazy tangent that becomes the new focus of the essay. He loves to attend niche conventions and travel to remote corners of the country. With that HBO money, he lets the wind take him where it will and he just runs with it. And in the end, in the final episode, he came to a similar conclusion as Executive Producer Nathan Fielder did in The Rehearsal Season 1...a childless middle-aged man contemplating fatherhood. 

Nathan for You (2013-17)

After watching The Rehearsal, I felt compelled to go back and see where the madness came from.  Indeed there are a couple of episodes that presage what will become The Rehearsal, specifically Smokers Allowed and Finding Frances.  What really makes the show work is the huge budget Nathan Fielder gets to work with and the oddball cast of characters he finds (the Bill Gates impersonator makes several appearances, including his own feature-length film). He always takes it just a step too far given all the money to do whatever he wants, and the results are absurd hilarity. I believe that this isn't scripted, and he takes it wherever it will go. He just manages to always get it to go in the wildest place possible. I would say highlights for me: Haunted House, Gas Station, Smokers Allowed, and Souvenir Shop.