Cheap Chick In The City
Nathan Fielder's Performance Art-Schtick Returns, and the Premiere of a New Section (GASP!)
Happy Sunday, Streamers.
We’re introducing a new weekly section: Stream It Or Skip It. On top of your weekly content recs, we’ll be doing a round-up of the most exciting, strange, or buzzed-about streaming trailers dropped in the previous week. Then you, the people, will vote whether or not - you guessed it - plan on streaming (or skipping) the movie/show based on the trailer. We’ll leave the polls up all week and report the results the following week, so you can see how other members of The Stream Team (Streaming Eagles? Streamsters?) are feeling about upcoming releases.
And if you want to see the latest trailers as soon as they drop, plus other fun content like behind-the-scenes footage, celeb interviews, or other streaming-related internet things, be sure to follow us on Instagram here. We’re actually posting content on it these days.
Now, let’s get to it.
This Week’s Rec: The Rehearsal
What It’s About: In this bizarre comedic docuseries (I guess?) Nathan Fielder explores the lengths one person will go to reduce the uncertainties of everyday life, helping ordinary people rehearse for an upcoming big moment in their lives through elaborately staged scenarios.
Why You Should Watch: For awkward, irreverent laughs and a reminder of just how big the world is.
Similar to How To With John Wilson (one of our favorites from 2021 that Nathan Fielder exec produced), this show giddily pokes fun at the banality of everyday life while propping up that same humdrum ordinary-ness as something to value. The Rehearsal is strange, hilarious, and approaches the seemingly trivial troubles of the everyman/person with a sense of empathy that is nowhere to be found on mainstream reality television. Yes, the preposterous lengths Fielder goes to (constructing sets, mapping out decision trees, hiring casts of actors) for the “rehearsals” are laugh-out-loud funny, but even more amusing is how committed he is to the bit. Fielder’s not doing this with a wink; he’s determined to help. To the audience, it’s silly, but Fielder understands that the stakes couldn't be higher for the run-of-the-mill people he’s assisting. As such, he makes a point to approach it all with a sense of care and urgency that’s both hysterical and quirkily sweet.
To be fair, Nathan Fielder isn’t for everyone. He’s a comedian’s comedian who performs a similar act repeatedly: using his earnest, wooden demeanor to lull regular joe schmoes into going along with increasingly outrageous scenarios for laughs. Some will get the joke, and others may find it too odd, but we highly recommend you give it a spin. If not for the laughs, then to reflect on the quiet, unsung struggles everyone experiences at some point or another.
Who’s In It, and Where You Probably Know Them From:
Nathan Fielder - A comedy writer and director for years, he didn’t really find success until his show Nathan For You (where he “consulted” struggling small businesses) found a cult audience on Comedy Central. If you didn’t see it, you might have heard about the “Dumb Starbucks” bit he did as a part of the show in 2014.
Who Made It, and What Else Have They Done:
Nathan Fielder is the creator, writer, and director of the show.
Where You Can Watch: HBOMax
Stream It or Skip It?
It was a big trailer week (hence the idea for this section), so we’ve got four promising pieces of content below we want to get your thoughts on.
Use the polls to tell us - are you going to Stream It? Or Skip It?
House of the Dragon
The upcoming prequel to the Game of Thrones franchise coming on August 21 on HBOMax.
Welcome To Wrexham
The story of Rob Mcelhenny and Ryan Reynold’s recent purchase of a soccer team/football club coming on August 24th on Hulu.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
The upcoming prequel to the Lord of the Rings franchise (going head to head with House of Dragons!) on September 2nd on Hulu
The Idol
Sam Levinson (creator of Euphoria) serving up some more prestige-sexy-sleaze with a new showbiz drama, coming soon on HBOMax