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The Rehearsal came to HBO back in July 2022 and felt different from the start. The format did not fit into the usual categories. It was built around a simple but strange idea: letting people prepare for moments in their lives by recreating those moments in full detail. Entire sets were constructed, conversations rehearsed, choices tested. What came out of that mix looked part documentary, part scripted comedy, and at times more like a social experiment.
Across two seasons, the project earned a following and drew critical attention. By the second season, it reached a point of formal recognition. The show earned four Emmy nominations, including ones for directing and writing. For a show that began as something hard to define, it became one of HBO’s most visible originals. With that profile, questions about a third season became inevitable.
What Casey Bloys said
After the 2025 Emmy ceremony, Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content, addressed the subject. There was no official renewal, but his response suggested the door was open. His words were direct:
“Nathan, obviously, takes a lot of time to think about. He’s got an idea, I believe. He’s thinking about something, he’s turning something over his head, so when he’s ready to do it, we’ll do it because I think he is a comic genius.”
It was a reminder that the network is not setting deadlines for The Rehearsal. The process is tied entirely to Nathan Fielder. HBO is willing to wait until the creator himself chooses to move forward.
How The Rehearsal works
The premise looks simple on paper. Someone wants to face a conversation or a decision. The show reconstructs the place, the situation, the interactions, until the participant can rehearse every possible angle. A bar, a home, even complex networks of people have been recreated. What follows is a rehearsal of real life, often going far beyond what anyone anticipated.
Because of this structure, The Rehearsal moves between genres. It can be funny, unsettling, or quietly dramatic. Viewers see both the participants trying to act out their futures and Nathan Fielder inserting himself into the process.
Nathan Fielder’s role
Fielder’s background helps explain what the series became. Before HBO, he created Nathan for You for Comedy Central, another project built on elaborate setups and uncomfortable humor. That earlier series pushed the idea of staging reality to absurd extremes. The Rehearsal took the same instincts and expanded them, putting Fielder directly inside the experiments as host, guide, and participant.
This unique style means the show cannot simply be handed to someone else. HBO’s approach reflects that. Without Fielder’s lead, there is no The Rehearsal, and Bloys’ comments underline that reality.
Time between seasons
The production pace has already proven unusual. The first season appeared in 2022. The second arrived nearly three years later. Deadline pointed out that even five months after season two ended, there was still no sign of a decision on season three. That timeline shows how irregular the process has been.
The lack of an announcement is not new for this project. It already operated on a long gap, and the pattern suggests waiting is part of how the series comes together.
Recognition from the industry
Critical response has been strong since the beginning, but the Emmy nominations gave it another layer. Four categories in the second season, including writing and directing, positioned the show among the most respected of HBO’s slate. For a program with such an unconventional format, that recognition signaled how seriously it was being taken.
What comes next
For now, there are no schedules, no dates, no hints at production starting. Casey Bloys did not provide any timeline. The only detail available is the gap between the first and second seasons, which was almost three years. Nothing more official than that has been confirmed.
This means the show’s future is open. Not canceled, not renewed, only waiting for its creator to take the next step. HBO has left the decision entirely in Nathan Fielder’s hands.
Conclusion
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The Rehearsal has set itself apart by staging life in ways that look both familiar and unsettling. Two seasons proved the concept, brought in nominations, and showed that television could still surprise. The question of a third season remains unanswered. HBO has not moved forward, and Nathan Fielder has not yet presented a plan.
Casey Bloys’ comment captured the situation clearly: when the creator is ready, the series will return. Until then, The Rehearsal remains in a state of pause, remembered for its originality and waiting for what comes next.
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