The Rehearsal

In a 2022 interview, Nathan Fielder revealed that the series was inspired by two episodes of his previous show, "Nathan for You," specifically "Smokers Allowed" and "Finding Frances." In the former, Nathan hires actors to re-create an entire night at an average California bar word-for-word in the guise of putting on a stage play. In the latter, Nathan has Bill Gates impersonator Bill Heath engage in a role playing exercise where he assumes the part of his own ex-girlfriend and experiences their breakup from her perspective, leading him to realize he was responsible for the dissolution of the relationship. The same episode also found Fielder beginning dating a sex worker he'd initially hired for a sketch on the show, only to discover that he enjoyed her company in spite of the transactional nature of their relationship, ultimately blurring the line between reality and fantasy when she began watching the show herself.

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