

“I felt pretty stupid and quite embarrassed when I realized what the show actually was when it aired,” Jasmine wrote on Reddit. Jasmine’s comments also revealed that the participants can feel embarassment when they realize they’ve been misled in front of a large audience.

The slight discrepancy suggests that, while the show hides its true nature from participants, Nathan (and his character “Nathan”) may be telling participants one thing and his audience another. In the episode, Nathan claims he told Jasmine the cameras are following him because of his tightrope-walking plans, not for a dating show. She admitted that she didn’t even know that she was on Nathan For You until the episode aired on television.
HIDDEN CAMERA PRANK SHOW SINCE 2003 SERIES
Jasmine, the woman who goes on a date with “Corey” (Nathan in a mask) in the episode “The Hero,” told Reddit that the series pretended to be a MTV dating show, and she heard of the opportunity through her casting agent. Some participants from Nathan For You have related that the series disguised itself and hid that it aired on the network Comedy Central. The key to making the show “real,” in audience’s eyes, is that the business owners and others featured on the show aren’t “in on the joke.” And it appears that they aren’t. And the goal is never to get people upset.”Īccording to Fielder and the makers of Nathan for You, the only consistently scripted role is Nathan Fielder, and even he also constantly improvises due to the unpredictable nature of the series. Because going into a shoot we don’t want participants knowing any of that or that it’s a comedy show (as this would take away from the acting naturally), we usually end up avoiding these more controlling/protective personality types as the chances they’re going to get very upset by an experience they aren’t prepared for is much higher. In a Reddit AMA, Nathan Fielder said, “Often in the casting process we’ll encounter business owners that have lots of specific questions about the show and exactly what we’re planning to do with them. The crew of Nathan For You screens the owners through a casting process, vetting them to check that they don’t know the show is a comedy.

These segments later served as inspiration for the more fleshed-out Comedy Central show Nathan For You.Īlthough Nathan Fielder plays a character, Nathan For You works to ensure that storeowners and customers are not aware of this fact. Back in 2007, Nathan Fielder had a segment titled “Nathan On Your Side” where he would visit businesses and interview the owners in an awkward and monotone manner. This “Nathan” character was first used in the Canadian comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes (1993- ). In the show, Nathan Fielder plays an exaggerated version of himself. We just go in and see what happens and hit the tone right.”

We definitely don’t prep anyone to what’s going to happen. Which is really fun, but things can go wrong very easily. But because we’re dealing with real businesses and real people, it often goes in an unpredictable direction. In an interview with Splitsider, Nathan Fielder said, “Before we go in, I have a plan of what I’m going to say, and I have a plan for where we wanna go with it. Nathan Fielder in front of Dumb Starbucksīefore Nathan goes to the businesses for consultations, the show’s writers prepare a script and outline for both Nathan’s plans and possible reactions. But no matter how absurd the scenarios and ensuing reactions are, all evidence suggests that the storeowners and customers are genuine and unscripted. In Nathan For You (2013- ), comedian/businessman Nathan Fielder “helps” small businesses through elaborate, counterintuive strategies that most of us would just call “bad advice.” Whether it’s using parody law to create “Dumb Starbucks” or inventing a Holocaust awareness-themed clothing brand, Nathan comes up with the kind of idea it’s hard to believe any storeowner would willingly implement. Although the crew plans for certain situations ahead of time and Fielder plays an exaggerated version of himself, the reactions of the storeowners and customers are evidently genuine. The humorous results lead many viewers to wonder if some of the featured business owners or other people onscreen are actors in scripted scenes. Quick Answer: Docu-reality comedy series Nathan For You follows Nathan Fielder as he gives outrageous advice to small business owners and watches the outlandish consequences.
