Nathan Fielder Criticizes Paramount+ With Nazi Analogy in ‘The Rehearsal’

Comedian, writer, and actor Nathan Fielder isn’t known for a subtle sense of humor, especially in shows like Nathan for You and The Rehearsal, which seek to explore the depths of human awkwardness and the various pitfalls of everyday social situations. But his most recent episode of The Rehearsal is particularly heavy-handed even for Fielder, as it addresses the quiet removal of a Nathan for You episode by portraying the culprit as a Nazi solider.

In 2023, Fielder discovered that “Horseback Riding/Man Zone,” or Season 3, Episode 2 of his hit Comedy Central series Nathan for You, was no longer available on Paramount+. The episode in question follows Fielder as he launches a real-life apparel brand called Summit Ice, which promotes Holocaust awareness with the tagline “Deny nothing,” and donates all profits to the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. However, according to Paramount, the episode was removed after executives at Paramount+ Germany claimed that it contained antisemitic content, which caused a standards review and, eventually, a global decision to pull “Horseback Riding/Man Zone” from the platform.

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At the time, Fielder did not contest Paramount’s decision out of concern about his future collaboration with the streaming service. However, since his most recent project is hosted by HBO, not Paramount+, it seems Fielder has finally seized the opportunity to express his disapproval. In the latest episode of The Rehearsal, Fielder portrays a long-overdue confrontation with an executive from Paramount+ Germany. However, in true Fielder fashion, he’s added a few additional details for atmospheric storytelling — namely, the fact that the streaming service’s headquarters are located in a war room, and the executive is dressed like a Nazi soldier.

Why the Nazi Analogy in ‘The Rehearsal?

Nathan Fielder’s comedic style often includes a hefty degree of over-exaggeration, and his latest episode of The Rehearsal is no different. Although it may seem a bit heavy-handed to portray Paramount+ as active agents in a genocidal fascist regime, this is what allows the episode to retain a humorous tone through absurdism while still including genuine criticism. Fielder’s discontent with Paramount+ is entirely legitimate, and his honesty and vulnerability are both evocative and comedic.

“I know you guys probably feel a lot of shame about what you did in the past and now you’re trying to overcompensate by being the world leaders in fighting antisemitism,” Fielder tells the fake Paramount+ Germany executive/Nazi soldier. “But when it comes to art, I think you’ve got to know your place. You have to let us Jews express ourselves because, honestly, the way you’re approaching this whole thing, people might get the wrong idea of what you actually stand for.”

At the end of the episode, however, Fielder’s elaborate Nazi analogy offers another twist. When he encourages the actor playing the Paramount+ executive to improvise more during their conversation, he’s faced with a very reasonable criticism of this absurd scenario that Fielder has specifically engineered to express his discontent with Paramount’s censorship.

“You designed this office to look like a war room, dressed me to look like a Nazi. Pretending to want feedback but you don’t actually want the Paramount+ perspective or the German perspective,” the actor said. “Look at you pretending to be serious. This is not sincere. You’re just a man with a grudge using his television show to smear us instead of trying to understand us.” After this final rehearsal, the episode concludes with no real catharsis for either the audience or Fielder. Perhaps it’s up to the viewers to decide if Fielder’s criticism of Paramount is justified — or if he took it one step too far by portraying Paramount as Nazi soldiers.