When you hear the phrase “observational comedy,” you probably think of 1990s comics, such as Jerry Seinfeld (“My parents didn’t want to move to Florida, but they turned 60 and that’s the law”). Maybe you’re a little more old-school and reach back to George Carlin (“A house is just a pile of stuff with a cover on it”) or even further back to Lenny Bruce (“The liberals can understand everything but people who don’t understand them”). But no matter the reference point, odds are recalling the observational greats keeps you firmly in the 20th century.

Fast-forward to 2025, the second season of Nathan Fielder’s HBO TV show, The Rehearsal, which just aired its season finale on May 26 on Crave in Canada. Fielder, who is Jewish and grew up in Vancouver, does not tell jokes like Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin or Lenny Bruce. There are no punchlines. His gags (pranks? stunts?) are slow-rolling and climactic in ways that leave audience members (read: me) gripping their gaping mouths in disbelief. But with this latest season of his show, best described as literary in its sociological and psychological genius, Fielder emerges as an unlikely and distinctly postmodern heir to the throne of observational comedy.

The show stars Fielder as a cartoonish version of his awkward self, barely able to interpret human emotions. It’s a character he’s honed since his days on This Hour Has 22 Minutes, when he created a recurring consumer-advocacy segment called “Nathan on Your Side,” which he spun out into Nathan For You, a Comedy Central show linking him with small business owners amenable to his outlandish publicity stunts.

Fielder later lept to HBO, which cut him a large cheque to do whatever he wanted for The Rehearsal, which, in season one, involved building........

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