John Wilson and his eye for finding New York City’s most eccentric and inexplicable inhabitants is back. Some thought his acclaimed HBO series How To With John Wilson couldn’t survive the pandemic. Well, if the new trailer for season two proves anything, it’s that the city that never sleeps could use a nap because things in the Big Apple are weirder than ever.
How To’s premise is simple. Wilson picks a theme and explores it through a seemingly disparate montage of footage from the streets of New York and interviews with people he meets along the way. This season, Wilson, along with his writing staff that includes gonzo comedian Connor O’Malley and Orchid Thief author Susan Orlean, explores such topics as investing, wine appreciation, and remembering dreams. So, yeah, the show has breadth.
The new trailer delivers what you’d expect from Wilson, with his hard-to-believe man-on-the-street recordings mixed with his patented folksy and funny narration. This is slow TV in the vein of Joe Pera Talks With You. So it only makes sense that the show comes from the current king of deadpan Nathan Fielder, the business expert who got really good grades in college behind Nathan For You.
Of course, the pandemic made Wilson’s production style a bit complicated. However, based on the new preview, there’s been no shortage of New York oddballs to film, albeit they now wear masks out of precaution rather than for fun.
Wilson’s sharp eye for finding the New York City that many believe doesn’t exist anymore has made him a cult hero and critical darling. For The A.V. Club, Allison Shoemaker wrote of How To With John Wilson:
It’s not often that a viewer comes across a TV series that feels completely and utterly itself. When you do—and it’s a good series, to boot—it feels like a gift[…]He’s here to show you the world and give advice about small talk, scaffolding, furniture covering, splitting the check, and so on, but that’s always just the starting point. Each episode (particularly the sensational finale, airing in two weeks) is on its own one of the year’s most satisfying surprises; together, they’re close to unbeatable”
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How To With John Wilson premieres on HBO on November 26.