deerstalker

https://blackgirlnerds.com/review-chaotic-predictability-in-hbos-the-rehearsal-season-2/

You know, a thought occurred to me as I sat and watched an episode from the second season of Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal. There I was, on my couch, Pomeranian by my side, watching Fielder watch Fake Nathan take a real shower while the latter acted out how the former reacted to the very real news of a content dispute with Paramount+. As the real Fielder handed Fake Nathan a towel, I thought: “This show might not be for everyone.”

In fact, this show is so uninterested in bringing novices and the uninitiated up to speed that Damon Lindelof, the mind behind Lost and The Leftovers, might think Fielder was being a bit too opaque and self-referential. But please understand: I never once said that this made the show bad. It’s just not something that will likely be enjoyed by anyone unfamiliar with Fielder esoterica dating back to his pre-Nathan for You days.

But perhaps I should attempt to summarize this work without spoiling it or driving people from it in droves.

This sophomore season of Fielder’s HBO production The Rehearsal centers on Fielder’s thesis that airline disasters caused by human error on the captain’s part can be avoided if only the plane’s copilot were more assertive. Like Season 2 of The Leftovers, this second run feels like a soft reboot, maybe even a requel. There are minimal rehearsals for individuals like Kor Skeete, who found the Season 1 experience largely positive but the resultant hipster fame a tad frustrating. The show seems to have moved away from its apparent original intention to have a “person of the week” in favor of a traditional season-long arc more concerned with Fielder’s anxious scenarios than anyone else’s. However, this is not a complete departure from what came before.

Fielder’s fans know that Season 1 went from following a formula that matched Nathan for You in terms of a new person (victim?) weekly to exploring Fielder’s onscreen persona and his fears about parenthood. Those fans will likely recall the many highlights that pivot gave us: Fielder’s visit to Dr. Fart, who encouraged — demanded, in fact — that his patient eat poo; Fielder’s realization that rehearsing fatherhood with another fully grown man might hinder his ability to fully invest in this parental practice run; or the time Fielder had his teenage actor “overdose” and die so the character could be softly rebooted.

While these moments were shockingly hilarious, one also gets the feeling that they were the result of necessary improvisation. In 2021, Fielder and co-writers Carrie Kemper (The Office, Beef), Adam Locke-Norton (The Curse), and Eric Notarnicola had to wrestle with the weight of the pandemic and the pressure it put on all productions. The more I watch Season 1, the more I get the feeling that the plan was to have more real-world characters like Patrick deal with their issues rather than to spend so many claustrophobic moments with Angela and her wacky proselytizing. Like the rest of the planet, Fielder and company had to make due with restrictions on the amount of people that could be in proximity to one another. Regardless, the result was beautiful, but it was likely a happy accident.

This new season, on the other hand, has no such restrictions. To put it succinctly, Season 1 will survive as a testament to how strange and ad hoc of a time the pandemic was, but Season 2 will remain notable as a monument to the grandiose absurdity Fielder will revel in if given time, space, and HBO’s seemingly endless resources. Indeed, this review is spending so much time talking about the season obliquely because to discuss it in full would lessen the impact of the journey. Let’s try this: I’ll give you a set of words, and you’ll predict what they might mean for this new season.

Here goes.

Planes, Tinder ban, First Officer Blunt, George W. Bush statue, Congress, “Wings of Voice,” the Miracle on the Hudson, “Bring Me to Life,” the Fielder Method, animal pack mentality.

Alright, did you do it? Did you create a season-long arc that conceivably connects each of these seemingly disparate things? Did it make sense at all? If you said yes, I don’t believe you. If you said no, you should plan on watching Season 2 of The Rehearsal in order to see how Fielder’s writing team connects these far-out dots. 

If you consider yourself a fan of absurd humor, this will be the show for you. There are moments that happen that I wouldn’t describe for two reasons.

First, so much of this show, one ostensibly based on the value of predictability, is, in fact, predicated on taking its audience to the most unexpected, outlandish spaces. To say too much would be to dilute the experience and the humor.

Second, I don’t want to get fired. Fielder gets really gross really fast, and I don’t need an editor mad at something a television comedian made me say. Still, this occasionally gross-out unpredictability is a major reason to watch this show. Like the best performance art, it is entirely unconcerned with mass appeal. It has a specific vision of how to bring its plausible, seemingly sincere thesis to light, and it will use every warehouse set and Fielder Method-approved actor in Los Angeles to do so. 

If you got past the first paragraph, if you read that messy jumble inspired by the chaotic ode to predictability that Fielder and Co. have created, then you are one of the true believers for whom this season of The Rehearsal was made.

The Rehearsal premieres Sunday, April 20, 2025, at 10:30 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.

The post Review: Chaotic Predictability in HBO’s ‘The Rehearsal’ Season 2 appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/david-e-talbert-memoir-six-figures/

Director, writer, playwright, and producer David E. Talbert has sold his memoir “Everything I Know About Being a Man (I Learned From a Woman)” for six figures to Storehouse Voices, a Penguin Random House Publishing Imprint. He is also developing a television show with the same title.

According to Deadline, Talbert’s memoir emerged from conversations he had with his son, which caused him to realize that his mother, a single mother, imparted to him all of the lessons he has learned about being a man.

According to its website, Storehouse Voices is focused on “promoting the richness of Black storytelling through intentional acquisitions and hiring efforts, strategic partnerships, and authentic, equity-minded community outreach,” which it accomplishes by issuing nonfiction and fiction books.

According to People Magazine, Storehouse Voices was launched in January 2025, created in partnership with Tamira Chapman, out of the success of Chapman’s Women & Words program, which was launched with support from Storehouse In A Box and Penguin Random House, which aimed to “demystify the publishing industry and its processes” for underrepresented authors.

A statement announcing the imprint reads, “Storehouse Voices is informed by a deep understanding of the unique cultural and historical contexts of the Black experience in America and committed to ensuring that literary works by underrepresented authors are presented authentically, respectfully and powerfully across the publishing and media landscape.”

This dovetails with the general arc of Talbert’s career, which, like Tyler Perry, began with stage plays aimed at telling Black stories to Black audiences.

In 2024, in an interview with Blex Media, the multihyphenate shared that “Jingle Jangle,” the 2020 Christmas movie he wrote and directed, which starred Forest Whitaker and Keegan Michael Key, was created because of his childhood experience of feeling excluded from the fantasy genre because he didn’t often see Black children represented in the media of his youth.

According to Deadline, in 2023, Talbert launched HBCU Next, a fellowship program that he founded and funded alongside his wife and production partner, Lyn Sisson-Talbert, to enrich the educational opportunities available to aspiring filmmakers at HBCUs by bringing them to USC’s School of Cinematic Arts Summer Program.

As Talbert told Deadline regarding the program, “Our overall objective is to foster an environment for students from HBCUs and USC to engage in cultural exchange learning from one another’s experiences and backgrounds, and to provide access to an education conducive to giving Black storytellers a pipeline to the entertainment industry.”

RELATED CONTENT: David E. Talbert ‘Next Fellowship’ Will Send HBCU Students To USC School Of Cinematic Arts

https://www.blackenterprise.com/henderson-shaunie-oneal-cry-out-con/

Pastor Keion Henderson and First Lady Shaunie Henderson are hosting Cry Out Con for the third consecutive year in Houston from May 1-3. The four-day event will feature nontraditional guests, women’s workshops, and sermons from notable speakers.

Pastor Keion and Shaunie took a moment away from organizing the conference to sit down with BLACK ENTERPRISE to discuss their hopes for spiritual restoration, their inclusive lineup of guests, and navigating marriage and business.

BLACK ENTERPRISE: Can we talk about how Cry Out Con began? What spiritual need led to the idea?

Pastor Keion: I was in a bad space. Pastor Mathew Stevenson stood in the pulpit and spoke about the children of Israel. He said God didn’t bring them out of the wilderness until they cried out. It was like electricity hit my body. I stood right where I was and started to cry out.

I had three staff members with me. I called them over and said, “That’s what we’re going to do.”

The conference includes family therapists and relationship experts. What need are you addressing with that?

Pastor Keion: We recognize a deficit in our community when it comes to emotional and relational health. And that’s not an accident — it’s part of a wider system.

Is there a message at Cry Out Con that people can take into their personal relationships to begin healing?

First Lady Shaunie: Yes, and that’s why we include breakout sessions focused on women’s healing.

Why is it important to center sessions for women?

First Lady Shaunie: More than half the room will be women. That’s just church, right? It was only right to create moments where we speak directly to them.

There’s so much healing we need. Our women’s panel is focused on healing everything from parenting to relationships, finances, self-care, and faith.

This year, you’ve chosen men who aren’t necessarily clergy, like D.C. Young Fly and Deion Sanders. What about their spiritual journeys led you to include them?

Pastor Keion: We can’t win the world if the only people speaking to them come from the church.

I think both Deion and D.C. would disagree that they’re not “of the cloth.” Deion will tell you he is a man of God who coaches football, not a football coach who speaks about God. It’s important to recognize that the cloth is represented not just in pulpits but on football fields, in comedy clubs —wherever people are.

You’ve both been public figures for a long time. You’re married, and you’re in a business partnership. How do you navigate that and stay grounded?

First Lady Shaunie: If you had asked me when we first got married, I’d have said, “Oh, it’s easy.” But it gets complicated — until you acknowledge that it’s complicated. Once you acknowledge it and figure out a system that works, then it flows.

Pastor Keion: I’d add that she’s the boss of her, I’m the boss of me, and together we run the family.

When I married my wife, she was an individual with a functioning business, a skill set, and a family mantra. At no point did I believe marriage to me meant the release of her history. I had to embrace it, and she did the same for me.

As a facilitator of Cry Out Con, do you also feel spiritually fed?

Pastor Keion: My destiny is to help you find yours. I am absolutely fed by the fact that people come to this conference and leave empowered, engaged, and informed.

I’m excited about the transformation I anticipate, because I’ve seen it before. I know I’ll see it again.

First Lady Shaunie: Sometimes being fed is simply knowing you helped someone. If the experience resonates with just one person and makes them one percent better, then I’m fed.

---

Both Hendersons will lead multiple workshops and sermons. Joining this year’s lineup are some of the foremost voices in ministry, including Evangelist LaTrice Ryan, Lacy Tezino, Steven Speaks, Jordan Welch, Kirk Franklin, Pastor Jerry Flowers Jr., and Minister Vincent A. Casey Sr.

To register for the event, visit the official Cry Out Con website.

RELATED CONTENT: Louisiana Attorney General Condemns Use Of Caleb Wilson’s Name For Boosie Bash Promotion

https://www.themarysue.com/christian-bales-best-movie-turns-25-years-old/

One of the most interesting pieces of media in the world happen to be Christian Bale’s best film. I am talking about American Psycho, of course. And now the iconic Mary Harron film turns 25!

Released on April 14, 2000, American Psycho is an adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis book of the same name by Harron and co-write Guinevere Turner. It is, after all, the reason I think that women should always have a hand in telling American Psycho. The book by Ellis boiled down into his upset with New York and his own hatred of the world and what he actually created was a nearly perfect satire of rich white men and the villains they can become.