REMEMBER DUMB STARBUCKS? No? It was a parody Starbucks store that opened in Los Angeles back in February, before being swiftly shut down by the health authorities.
Shortly afterwards, it was revealed that comedian Nathan Fielder was the person behind the prank. Who is this Nathan Fielder character, you ask?
He’s the man behind Nathan For You, a highly acclaimed comedy series that airs on Comedy Central and that seemingly everyone has been talking about over the past few months.
Who is Nathan Fielder?
Fielder is a Canadian comic, who previously wrote for Important Things with Demetri Martin and Jon Benjamin Has a Van.
He also starred in the award-winning Canadian comedy series This Hour Has 22 Minutes, on which he debuted the character that forms the crux of his show, Nathan For You.
What’s the story with Nathan For You then?
Nathan For You is a comedy/reality series in which Nathan Fielder plays a heightened version of himself, who goes around dispensing advice to small business owners and encouraging them to implement crazy strategies.
Case in point: encouraging this liquor store to sell alcohol to teenagers.
So, it’s a prank show.
Yes. None of the participants on the show are in on the joke apart from Fielder, which inevitably leads to some awkward comedy gold. Think of it as a more straight-laced Borat or Bruno.
Is it popular?
Pretty popular! Its first season debuted in 2013, while its sophomore season has just ended its run. It has been renewed for a third season, which will air next year.
It’s still a bit of a cult phenomenon, but a phenomenon nonetheless. What Fielder particularly excels at is getting people talking.
As The New York Times put it:
Time and again, he has demonstrated his gift for engineering viral phenomena.
An example of this would be his petting zoo stunt. In 2012, Fielder anonymously uploaded a video purporting to show a pig rescue a baby goat.
It immediately went viral and was featured by Gawker, Huffington Post, Good Morning America and more. Only problem is that it was a total hoax, as became apparent when an episode of Nathan For You set in a petting zoo aired last year.
Gotcha.
This all sounds good. Where can I watch it?
We reached out to Comedy Central UK, who informed us that “there are no current plans for it to air on Comedy Central UK,” but assured us that clips/segments from the series are available to watch here and here.
It’s also available on the internet. If you catch our drift.
