It’s a good day to be Casey Bloys. The HBO Max chief is celebrating a record-breaking 142 Emmy nominations — the most ever for the consolidated network-streamer and more than enough to beat runner-up rival Netflix, which earned 120 noms. Bloys did a quick lil’ victory lap with Variety after the nominations were announced, during which the interviewer asked an obvious follow-up question: Would he ever fly in a plane piloted by Nathan Fielder?
The question, of course, refers to The Rehearsal, Fielder’s aggressively experimental docu-reality hybrid that slid into the nomination mix alongside HBO Max’s marquee shows like Hacks, The Last of Us, The White Lotus, and the freshman season of The Pitt. The Rehearsal season two, which saw Fielder apply his particular blend of social engineering to the problem of preventing airline crashes, involved a late-stage turn revealing that the comedian actually learned how to pilot a 737 as part of the process. Bloy’s answer to Variety’s question is both understandable and a total cop-out. “To be honest, while I was watching it and seeing the actors sign on for it, I don’t know that I would do that,” he said. “I’m more cautious.”
Cautious? More like cowardice! Despite its intense weirdness, there has been a real sense that The Rehearsal’s second season broke through and even drove an actual conversation about airline safety both within and beyond the aviation community. Sure, that very weirdness is perhaps the reason it ultimately missed out on an Outstanding Comedy Series nod, though it did pick up four nominations across directing, editing, and writing. The Rehearsal is a totally singular achievement, and the mixed response feels consistent with the Emmys voting body’s arms-length position toward Fielder: respect and admiration, but … more than a little uncertainty. Bloys backed Fielder, to be sure, but he’s kind of giving the same energy here. Get in the plane, Casey!
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