Although HBO’s How To With John Wilson is very much its own show—with New York filmmaker Wilson wandering the streets of his hometown, filming whatever oddities catch his eye while loosely exploring a “How to?” theme—it definitely carries some of the hallmarks of one of its executive producers, Nathan Fielder, i.e., an obsession he shares with Wilson with the odd rough edges of human behavior. HBO has now steered hard into that very awkward little inlet with a new promotional clip for the series, a purported “Anatomy Of A Scene” breakdown that starts in a fairly straightforward way, and then swerves its way into some pretty familiar Fielder-esque madness.
In fact, the only thing that really distinguishes the above clip from an old Nathan For You bit is that we’re pretty sure everyone involved is in on the joke, the alternative being that the TikTok teenagers Fielder has recruited for his “alternate revenue stream” have actually accidentally joined his NXIVM-style starter cult. (Or maybe it’s more like an—alleged—R. Kelly thing, given the cut-off from parental contact and vigorous calorie counting?) But since that would make Fielder an actual psychopath, and not just a pretend TV one, we’re going to self-comfort by assuring ourselves that these young recruits for the “children’s dancing app” are not, in fact, being kept against their will, and possibly at gunpoint. (The gun is a great bit of understated escalation, though.) (Also, we know it’s not real, don’t yell at us.)
To some extent, the clip feels like a more subtle-than-expected plug for Wilson’s show, in that, like many of his segments, it goes to places you really couldn’t have expected from the opening moments—while also poking fun at Fielder’s “producer” persona, and the series’ own hard-to-explain appeal. Certainly, we’ll never think about bread, trampolines, or ring lights ever again.
17 Comments
Goddamn I miss Nathan For You.But this show looks good.
It’s really great and definitely scratches that itch — it’s like a sweeter, less judgmental verison of Nathan for You. Doesn’t hit as hard with the jokes but is kinda oddly touching at times?
It’s so good! The finale is perfect, tying the whole season together. I won’t say more so as not to Spoil. I can’t wait for this show to come back.
Nathan For You was a little too cruel for my tastes.
For those who haven’t seen Nathan Fielder’s “On Your Side” segments from 22 Minutes, many of them are on YouTube and I highly recommend checking them out.
The best one was when he was spoofing commercial, and people (all played by him) stated their occupations. “I am a doctor.” “I am a police officer.” “I am a janitor.” “I am a female doctor.” 22 Minutes is complete shit otherwise.
I watched this several times and always choked on my laughter. So excited for this.
Haven’t heard of this show and apparently there’s a bunch on HBO Max. I loved the first episode, really helps fill the Nathan void while giving me some Joe Pera vibes too. Really human moment at the end of the first, look forward to checking out the rest. Thanks for the heads up!
Best show on right now. How to Make the Perfect Risotto is the best work on Coronavirus to date.
Wait do people not realize he was parodying real TikTok houses like this? It’s called the Hype House.
He was doing a demented but accurate version of the Hype House. Honestly I hope this clip spreads to highlight how strange they are.
Nathan Fielder is like a human OnlyFans creator – Everything he does is content!
This is the best behind-the-scenes content I’ve ever seen. I miss Nathan for You, but How To with John Wilson is pretty brilliant too. It’s like Billy on the Street meets Joe Pera Talks with You meets All Gas No Brakes.
This vid truly made my long Thanksgiving weekend.
I really, truly hope that the entire formulation, pitch, filming, editing, and broadcast of How To With John Wilson was a very long set-up for this Anatomy of a Scene video. I would be into that a lot.
“The Plan? To create a viral YouTube video by first landing a major contract at a high-profile network.”
Listen, I’m comfortable in my own skin. I’m happy to be who I am. I think life has turned out OK. But if I had to be one other person, it would be Nathan Fielder. All of which is to say, if that little skinny loser boy drops out of his cult, does this mean there is space for one more? I’m not much of a dancer but I’m OK on a trampoline.