In today’s era of streaming, television is widely seen as an old-fashioned medium: refined, well-mannered, and consistently excellent. Now, everything is polished and professionally made; each channel and online platform aims for “prestige.” This results in all content being objectively high-quality without anything really distinguishing itself from the crowd.
The
New York Times
famously
categorized this as “Mid TV”
. What we need now is the antithesis of Mid TV. We need Maniac TV.
Maniac TV pushes boundaries, teetering on the brink of acceptability—maybe even sanity—and occasionally crossing into questionable legal territory. This show is chaotic and overly complex. Frankly, it seems like it ought to be canceled, with its maker ostracized and considered for psychological evaluation. Essentially, this series is crafted by individuals driven by an obsessive focus and a seemingly fatalistic impulse. Much like Nathan Fielder’s work, it embodies these traits.
The Rehearsal
and
Everyone’s Life with John Mulaney
.
Both series, wrapping up their seasons this week—
The Rehearsal
was concluded with its final episode on Monday, and
Everybody’s Live
It airs every Thursday – over the last several months, it has casually taken television to places it seldom ventured, exploring territories unknown even to itself.
For Fielder, this involves an obsessed dedication to a scene. The end sequence of
The Rehearsal
discovered the comedian — who has been consistently pushing for aviation safety throughout the entire season — nonchalantly mentioning he had spent the last two years (since
The Rehearsal
‘ s prior season) covertly learning to fly.
Exploring a consistent theme that has been present in his humor from the start.
Nathan For You
— the belief that producing reality television allows one to get away with anything, and that individuals might act recklessly when cameras are around, often disregarding their basic survival instincts — led him to convince 150 unsuspecting actors to join him on a flight aboard a Boeing-737. This time, he was piloting the plane, despite having only about 200 hours of flying experience under his belt. Watching Fielder maneuvering a commercial airliner at an altitude of 25,000 feet must be considered among the most absurd moments captured on television this year.
Mulaney’s
Everybody’s Live
While it may operate at the opposite end of aspiration, its outcomes remain equally dramatic. In its final episode this week—taking an audacious mid-season risk that was both brilliantly irrational—a scene saw him arrange 24 men spaced exactly one inch apart across the height range from 5 feet to 7 feet for his “Know Your H” initiative (which stands for knowing your height). He then proceeds to engage in fisticuffs with three adolescent boys.
That’s merely the grand finale, capping off a live performance where more than half the runtime involves handling caller interactions that often veer off-topic, lead nowhere, and frequently become incomprehensible. Meanwhile, featured guests such as David Letterman and Sigourney Weaver remain largely underutilized sitting next to the couch. A few weeks back, Mulaney helmed an entire episode blindfolded. The experience was predictably uncomfortable, with writer Jeremy Levick—part of the eccentric comedic pair known for their viral acts alongside Rajat Suresh—having to stay close throughout the show to prevent Mulaney from stumbling off-stage or delivering most of his lines towards the rear wall (which indeed happened multiple times).
With
Everybody’s Live
The disarray is intentional; the untidiness and constant procrastination serve as a fresh and hilarious element. While other late-night programs aim for the polished perfection seen in TikTok clips, Mulaney embraces chaos.
Maniac TV, conversely, stands as the antithesis of restrained. It can often fall short of being truly commendable. However, it operates at breakneck levels of peculiarity, a trait strikingly akin to the prevailing cultural atmosphere. Instead of mere laughter, this show prompts reactions like arched brows, perhaps even exclamations of shock, swiftly followed by a text alerting your friends with “CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT’S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?” Additionally, you should picture those who lack refined tastes either turning away out of bewilderment or reacting with intense displeasure.
Maybe due to this, Maniac TV has roots that run deep within the underground.
The Rehearsal
Zaidan’s self-referential quality and Fielder’s ego-demolishing approach share genetic material with Caveh Zahedi’s work.
The Program About the Program
In 2015, the experimental filmmaker chose to demolish his life every week in pursuit of extreme authenticity.
Jerrod Carmichael’s Reality Show
– which
aired last year
To an extent of deep disapproval that the comedian initiates his new comedy special with a preemptive apology regarding its anticipated reaction — serves as yet another prime instance of the recent show “Maniac” TV series drawing inspiration from Zahedi’s work.
Mullaney’s show, on the other hand, draws heavily from the public access style mixed with
Total Request Live
looseness from
The Chris Gethard Show
In 2011, this became a beloved YouTube sensation featuring the UCB comedian, where Mulaney himself made an appearance at one point. What made Gethard’s show so delightful was its deceptive unpredictability; viewers frequently felt as though Gethard, who balanced sincerity with mischief, seemed to have momentarily let go of control right from the start. He then watched along with everyone else, reveling in this daring audacity—a quality that Mulaney embraces wholeheartedly.
We’ve previously gotten hints of what Maniac TV might be like. Garry Shandling’s incredibly self-referential show was one such instance.
It’s Garry Shandling’s Show
, or Tom Green’s delightfully chaotic
The Tom Green Show
, or
Girls
, particularly after Lena Dunham shifted from self-criticism to outright conflict as she began addressing the actual criticisms of the show within its narrative lines.
However, at present, Fielder and Mulaney are the visionaries conjuring up fresh horizons for content crafted for smaller screens, television that resonates with the prevailing disorder of our times. After witnessing a (possibly autistic) comic place approximately 150 ambitious performers’ careers in jeopardy just for a comedic sketch, regular programming seems inadequate. The era of prestige TV has passed; let Maniac TV prevail!
The Rehearsal
is available on Max. The final episode of
Everyone’s Life with John Mulaney
Streams on Netflix will be available every Thursday.
