So awkward it hurts
It’s been a while since I binged a whole season at once. I typically watch a few episodes before switching to something else. But not this time. Nathan For You, with its snappy pacing, deadpan humour, and side-splittingly awkward moments, made me want to look away but completely unable to.
The premise of Nathan For You has Nathan Fielder, “an entrepreneur” and Business School graduate, walking into failing businesses and coming up with ridiculous ideas to generate publicity. As you witness Fielder cajole one unsuspecting business owner after another, I pull my shirt up over my nose and cringe so hard it hurts. Those poor people!
What makes the show great is Fielder’s relentlessness at finishing his project, no matter the hurdles. In one episode, unable to find a willing participant with the same name, he convinces someone to legally change their name to Michael Richards (Kramer from Seinfeld). In another, he forms a band to sell a smoke alarm as a musical instrument. It’s a real song! Oh, and then he takes on Uber. No biggie.
I’ve seen YouTube clips, but this is the first time I’ve seen a proper season, and there are two episodes in particular that deviate from the standard business improvement formula. The first has Fielder come up with an absurd story for his chat show talk on Jimmy Kimmel, and of course, no matter how rehearsed, he doesn’t “lie” and he makes that story a reality.
The last episode of the season is a huge departure and follows a prior guest of the show, a Bill Gates impersonator, William Heath, to find his long-lost love. It’s an absorbing documentary investigation that falls into The Jinx, and complete with Fielder’s pageantry for theatre, in literally running through a stage play as rehearsal, as well as his lies in creating a fake high school reunion. All the while, learning more about Heath and what he’s actually like. It really runs through the gamut of emotional beats.
Fielder himself even appeared to find love. I kept thinking to myself, how much of this is staged, and Fielder seems to reckon with that in the episode’s closing moments, reminding me a little of the frank kiwi film, Wilbur: The King in the Ring.
Nathan For You is parts Shark Tank, Undercover Boss and Punk’d. If you don’t mind a comedy that makes you cringe, this show will have you cackling in hysterics. I know I did.
| Show Nathan For You: Season Four |
| Network Comedy Central |
| Release Date 28 September — 9 November 2017 |
| Episodes 7 |
| Binge Time 3 hrs 30 mins |
TV has always been a part of Michael’s life, but since the influx of streaming shows now he can’t stop (someone send help). He also dabbles in films and video games, and has a mean board game collection.
Michael has a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies from Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand. He has previously written about video games for publications including Game Console, Salient, and ButtonMasher.
