
Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO
Nathan Fielder goes to an outrageous length to solve the problem. In his HBO Docu-Comedy The Rehearsal, he coaches clients through tricky scenarios by engineering the exact context that they are likely to happen, first constructing full-scale replicas of a particular location, hire actors, and walks clients through any outcome. Should I confess a lie to your trivia teammate? Here is an exact replica of Williamsburg Bar, who plays the trivia. Are you still undecided about motherhood? Why not move to an Oregon farmhouse with a 24-hour turn of baby actors?
In the second season of the series, which premiered yesterday, Fielder ambitions McKinsey consultants over life coaches. He diagnoses cockpit communication as a major problem and aims for commercial aviation crashes. He hypothesizes that the first officer may be too threatened to be in danger by the captain. If they can practice expressing concerns in role-playing scenarios, we will probably be losing our lives. The season arrives at an interesting time in the commercial aviation industry. Thanks to the Trump administration, the federal aviation administration is bleeding staff, including safety checkers, and commercial airlines are under tariffs. (My Conspiracy: What if this season actually involves elaborate Pruse asking Boeing to deflect the scandal?)
Fielder seeks the help of former National Road Safety Board member John Goglier, who speaks skilled on airline-related issues, to spread the word about his role-playing exercises. (On Goglia's count, he completed over 100 television appearances.) “When you're trying to get a serious guy into a comedy series,” Fielder says at the beginning of the episode introducing Goglia, “It's best to slow things down.”
After the season 2 premiere, I called Goglier to call some contexts about commercial air disasters and the experience of filming the show. The 80-year-old was happy to make me mandatory. “When women call me, I love it,” he told me. “That won't happen anymore.”
Before being contacted for rehearsals, what was Nathan and his exposure to comedy?
there is nothing.
How did you connect to the show?
I met someone who was associated with Nathan in Las Vegas through a friend of mine who worked for the Federal Aviation Administration. Then I met this guy, Dave Page, in August 2024, and he asked millions of questions about aviation accidents. I've received several other calls and they asked me if I had certainly said I was in LA. So they called me and said, “Bring me five suits.”
I took a picture from morning to night. The way they film it is everywhere. You're always dressed, so it looks like another day. I was looking for a flow to try to understand what this was, but I couldn't. I thought it would be a documentary about the accident.
Did you meet Nathan before the filming began?
No, in the scene, that was it.
And you knew he was a comedian because you hadn't Googled Nathan before then.
no.
What was the process of negotiating and signing a release?
I just showed up and they said, “There are a lot of papers here.” I just signed them and moved on.
When I was working for an airline, I did a lot of TV. Then I ended up with NTSB and that became a normal part of my job. That's probably just I signed those releases. I've been told they like to have me because I don't filter the PC. I tell the truth.
What was your impression of Nathan and his proposal?
I like him. He is a very personality man. He looked like a normal man. He clearly did his homework. Because he was in NTSB's report that I signed, sometimes even at sentence level. And he will ask, “What does this mean? Why did you sign this?”
In those first ten minutes or so, I didn't see much of a connection between the accident and what he was suggesting. However, he said he saw the actor's problem. There, famous people play on the other side of the up-and-coming people. And he made it very clear. Then I realized that I saw some of it based on all the interfaces with the pilot. Maybe not as clear as he focused on it, to some extent.
Like the Alaska Airlines flights where the emergency doors on the Boeing 737 Max 9 opened after takeoff, the recent airline controversy we saw in the news appears to have arisen due to manufacturing and quality control issues. Later that year, Boeing pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges for misleading the FAA. Is the respect of the first mate really a big problem?
Communication issues are more true than you imagine. You need to understand that they do not train pilots outside the US and Europe. These pilots, both of these Max Accidents, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and Ethiopian Airlines 302, are less than they and their company blamed, Boeing. Here we had four different pilots on two different planes who didn't know how to use the trim system.
Pilot Chesley Sullenberger conducted a simulation of the Ethiopian Airlines flight and “knowing what was going to happen, we were able to see how the crew ran out of time and altitude before they could solve the problem.” There were also concerns that the first mate was far too inexperienced to fly. Do you think Nathan's proposal actually helped?
Maybe you have it. If you understand the flight and get a transcript of the cockpit communication from their accident report, it will pop out immediately to you. I'm not going to solve everything in one move.
Is it true that the captain can fire a first mate?
immediately.
So no matter how many times you rehearse, if there is a threat of being fired, you may not speak up.
It's true, but it can't be ruled out all of that.
Did some of the first episode surprise you?
Part of the pilot and his girlfriend. I think he's working on something.
Having trouble talking to your potential girlfriend might be different to having trouble communicating with your co-pilot on a plane?
No, I think they are related. I was a young man and wanted to fly. And now, what are I going to do for the next 1,500 hours? I sit alone in the cockpit for over 90% of that time. If you weren't there yet, you'll be an introvert. It has it that the younger generations are heading towards their mobile phones. They probably don't have the social skills that previous generations had.
Do you feel like a good communicator in your romantic life?
I was married for a long time so I didn't often tell my wife everything. My wife passed away 15 years ago. I had women come and go back and forth in my life and didn't communicate with them about such things either.
But do you think you're a good communicator in the cockpit?
Well, I'm not flying anymore so I only flew a small plane. I communicated well, but already had sea feet. I wasn't worried about talking. In fact, I might have opened my mouth too much.
At what point did you realize that rehearsals aren't going to be documentary? Have you ever had a moment to turn you over?
It was probably the hearing scene.
What was your experience filming that day?
The daily shoots were the same. That was the way I felt. And at that point I realized I didn't have the right feelings. The filming process is only the words used. I now recognize that Nathan wants you to respond. He doesn't want you to be prepared.
What were some of the words used?
You're crazy. Do you think I remember it?
When you notice something is off, what did you do next?
I just kept going.
Did you not worry that he might distort what you were saying?
I did it from a TV reporter, so I started to worry about it very much at the end. When you give a long answer to a question, they can cut them out, change them, and get results that are different from what they intended.
Did you say something or did you try to push it back in some way? Have you seen his past work as a comedian?
no.
Why is it not good?
Well, because I felt comfortable with him. It was all based on my initial feelings with him. That means he's like a normal guy. It didn't seem he was going to do that.
This interview was compiled and condensed for clarity.
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