Summary

• Nathan For You is a real show where Nathan Fielder plays an exaggerated version of himself, helping struggling businesses with bizarre ideas.
• Most of the show is improvised, with Nathan reacting to the genuine responses of the business owners.
• The business owners think Nathan is a real expert and are unaware that they are part of a comedy show, which adds to the humor.

ten best Nathan for You episodes, regardless of how much is real or fake.

The show ran for four seasons on The Comedy Channel between 2013 and 2018. It also won Best Comedy/Variety Sketch Series at the Writers Guild of America Awards in 2019. Despite its success, some people find it difficult to believe that the show is real and that the so-called business owners must be in on the joke.

What About The Show Is Actually Real?

The simple fact answer is everything about the show is real – even Nathan says that he is playing an exaggerated version of himself, as he has struggled with his social anxiety problems for years. The business owners know that they are being filmed, but they have no idea that it's for a comedy show, and they think that all of Nathan’s ideas are real plans he has developed to help their company succeed. Their reactions to the bizarre things that Nathan says are very real and are what makes the show so funny.

Is There A Script For Each Episode?

Since the show relies so much on the genuine responses of of the public, Nathan For You episodes cannot be scripted in the conventional sense. The team behind the show has to do a lot of work behind the scenes to ensure they are prepared for any eventuality. Nathan has a general script for the show's start when he explains his plan to business owners, but after that, he simply has to react to whatever they say and do.

How Much Of The Show Is Improvised?

Most of the show is improvised. The team behind Nathan For You have no idea what the of the public who feature on the show will do. While they can have a rough plan as to how they think an episode will pan out, Nathan has to be able to improvise when they say something unexpected. More importantly, Nathan must maintain his character and keep a straight face even if crazy things are happening around him.

Do The Business Owners Know They Are In A Comedy Show?

What makes Nathan For You funny isn’t just Nathan's wild and wacky ideas but the business owners' unusual ways of responding to his schemes; some are baffled and confused, while others are more than happy to go along with his suggestion. This only works because the business owners think Nathan is a real expert, and the cameras are there for a consumer-style show. If they knew they were in a comedy series, they would soon start questioning what they were being asked to do.

How Are The Businesses On The Show Chosen?

Often the team will come up with an idea and then find a business it will work for. Finding the right owner to feature on the show isn’t just a case of marrying the right company with a suitable scheme; the people who work at the business should be pretty outgoing to make for good TV, and they are also screened to see if they watch a lot of comedy shows in case there is a risk that they recognize Nathan. As the show became more successful, finding businesses unaware of what the series had done became harder.

How Do Of The Public React When They Know The Truth?

Most business owners take the truth in good humor, and while Nathan’s ideas are always unusual, they are not always terrible. The media have been fooled by some of Nathan’s ideas, which had gone viral before the relevant episode was screened, such as the “Dumb Starbucks” coffee shop. News channels speculated that the clip was a publicity stunt by the real Starbucks until Nathan revealed the truth.

Where Did The Idea For The Show Come From?

The original concept behind Nathan For You came from a character Nathan created for a Canadian TV show called This Hour Has 22 Minutes, which was first screened in 1993. Nathan first appeared on the show in 2007, featuring political sketches and satire, playing a socially awkward consumer affairs reporter who interviewed real people for his segments on the show. Nathan simply expanded the original idea when he created his show for The Comedy Channel and turned it into an unexpected TV hit.

Have Any Business Owners Realized They Are Being Set Up?

While no business owners have ever realized that they are on a comedy show, many of them have challenged the suggestions made by Nathan’s business guru character. While some were upfront about their skepticism, others were too polite to say out loud that they thought the ideas were terrible, even if it was obvious they hated his scheme. Luckily, the team has done their homework on picking the right guests, and it always works out.

Does The Show Use Actors?

There have been some claims that Nathan For You has used actors in some scenes to increase the comedy value or to ensure that the show sticks to the storyline. However, the only actor in Nathan For You is Nathan himself, although producers did use one lookalike as a Nathan decoy in the episode featuring a private investigator. Actors were also involved when Nathan had the idea to help out a funeral home by offering a rent-a-crowd for funeral services.

What Is The Craziest Moment The Crew Has Seen On The Show?

The weirdest scenes on the show should be the wacky suggestions that Nathan comes up with - from poo-flavored frozen yogurt to a racist caricature artist. Still, the craziest moment came courtesy of one of the business owners. When Nathan devised a scheme to help a local gas station drum up business, the owner itted that he regularly drank his grandson’s pee for the health benefits. Amazingly, Nathan and the team kept a straight face, making it one of the all-time classic Nathan For You moments.