Streaming columnist NICK OVERALL reflects on a six-part docu-comedy that takes a social situation to hilarious and surprisingly profound extremes.

LIKE me, you might sometimes practice what you’re going to say before socialising.

A few quick rehearsal sessions in the car on the way to an event, maybe a run through or two at home the night before.

If that’s the case (and for the sake of my potentially embarrassing admission, I hope it is) you may also find a strange sense of comfort in Nathan Fielder’s docu-comedy curio “The Rehearsal”, a reality show that takes this idea to hilarious and surprisingly profound extremes.

In this six-part series streaming on Binge, the peculiar Canadian comedian creates simulations of future social events before they happen. He then fills those simulations with real-life people who practice what they’re going to say or do before the actual thing plays out.

Take the subject of the show’s first episode, Kor Skeete, a trivia-obsessed New Yorker trying to buck up the courage to confess to his friend that he’s lied about having a master’s degree for more than a decade in the hopes of appearing more intelligent.

The awkward encounter is set to go down at the bar where both friends regularly enjoy their competitive quizzes. Kor, understandably, is more than a little unsure on how to spill the beans.

Not far away, in a vast, empty warehouse, Fielder puts his talented TV team to work recreating the exact same bar down to the most obscure details.

Rips in the leather of bar stools, a deflated balloon dangling in the corner, real, running tap beer and more are all built to recreate the establishment as accurately as possible.

Actors are even hired to play bar patrons in the fake venue, all serving to create the perfect “rehearsal space” for Kor to practice his upcoming confession.

You might ask, how does this all work if Kor’s friend, who he’s supposed to confess to, isn’t involved? Isn’t that the key to it all?

There’s a plan for that, too. An actor is engaged to covertly study this friend’s mannerisms, behaviour, clothing and any other idiosyncrasies, then impersonate them as closely as possible during the rehearsal sessions.

When it all comes together it’s uncanny, a near perfect simulation of a social event that this awkward trivia nerd can hit the reset button on as many times as he wants.

Does all this practice help in the end? Hidden cameras set up for the real confession at the climax of the episode reveal all.

To an outsider this no doubt sounds ridiculous, but those familiar with Fielder’s comedy will know it’s business as usual for the cult-followed comedian.

His previous reality show, “Nathan For You” (on Paramount Plus), saw Fielder implement ridiculous, yet hilarious ideas to help struggling businesses.

One of these involved advertising a local pet store at a pet cemetery so that prospective customers could start thinking about their next furry friend while saying goodbye to their recently deceased one.

“Dumb Starbucks”, the show’s most infamous episode, saw Fielder open his own Starbucks cafe while using a legal loophole to stop the mega coffee franchise from suing him.

By adding “Dumb” to the start of the business name, Fielder was able to claim his business was operating under “artistic parody”, technically making it a legal venture.

A google of “Dumb Starbucks” will show the hoax made international news. People lined up for hours for a “dumb coffee”, with some even speculating it was all an intricate work of street art by Banksy.

With ideas as outlandish as these, it’s hard to spot where the TV show starts and where reality ends. Sitting in that limbo is a treat. 

Throughout all of his bizarro escapades, the comedian somehow remains brutally deadpan, always convincing the real-life subjects of his shows he’s deadly serious about his perplexing plans. 

Their raw, awkward reactions to this absurdity is what makes his comedy tick.

“The Rehearsal” hones in on this human element even more. In one episode, Fielder attempts to prepare a mother for parenthood, while in another he attempts to help a man plead for his share of a familial inheritance that’s being held ransom by his brother.

The result is a show that breaks every rule in the television book – a bafflingly unique spin on reality TV that is not just a hilarious examination of human behaviour, but even at times a moving one.

“The Rehearsal” might be the most bizarre television show of the year. It might also be the best.