consciousgeometry I first heard about "Nirvana the Band" a few months back and while it seemed somewhat interesting, its sort of bland look kept me from checking it out. Now that I've come through and watched all episodes, I have to say that I never laughed so hard at any show in the last 1 or 2 years.For me, the lack of flashy presentation and stylized look turns out to actually not be a shortcoming but something that really helps to sell the humor the show is going for. Somehow, the low-fi aesthetic makes it feel more authentic and really facilitates the seamless blend of scripted scenes and "prank" like improvisation that's going on all the time. If you look closer at how the episodes are put together, you begin to realize that this "homemade" quality is an aesthetic choice and the editing and planing that has to go into creating it must be enormous. But the hard work pays off 100%.The biggest compliment I can give "Nirvana The Band" is that its style of comedy at the moment feels completely fresh, like nothing I've ever seen before. And -most importantly- it feels not only "new", it also really works. The guys embody their characters so completely that nothing ever feels "acted" and the ideas that drive the "plot" are so surreal and insane that I cannot even begin to imagine how they manage to come up with them.This is the best new show I've discovered in 2017 so far, I really hope that it eventually gets the audience it deserves! My guess as to why it has been mostly overlooked, is not that it is "too weird" (Compared with, for example, something like the Eric Andre Show), but rather that it sort of defies the comedic fashions and stylistic devices of the time. It's completely its own thing- which sounds vague and meaningless, but if you've watched it you'll certainly see what I mean!

rowandriscoll This show is brilliant, Jay and Matt are rising stars in Canadian media. The Borat inspired style of film making used in "The Dirties" and "Operation Avalanche" was continued in this show and it improves on both those films. The real people in the show have brilliant reactions, and the fake people are so good at acting that their reactions seem real enough that it all blends together so well you cant tell whats fake and whats real. Each episode is a brilliant display of Jay and Matt's genius and I hope this show gets more traction.

quinimdb No, the show is not about "Nirvana" the band, it's about "Nirvanna the Band", a band consisting of Matt and Jay, two best friends that have had a lifelong dream of performing a show at the Rivoli, a real life, moderately popular Toronto bar; this show actually has nothing to do with Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl's band. If that sounds ridiculous and absurd, that's because it is. In fact, that's not even scratching the surface of the absurdity this series has to offer.(Almost) every episode consists of Matt and Jay trying to get a show at the Rivoli with some convoluted and insane plan and eventually failing in a spectacular fashion. What makes this show so uniquely funny is that the fictional plights of the characters often involve real people that have no idea they are on a show. To get the footage of Matt and Jay attempting their schemes, the real actors that play these characters go out into public acting like their nonsensical characters and (for the most part) actually do their plans, interacting with many people as their characters that are unaware that they are actually playing their characters. For instance, one episode is about Matt and Jay getting into Sundance Film Festival in order to gain popularity so they can play at the Rivoli. Since the real Matt Johnson is a filmmaker and his film "Operation Avalanche" actually got into Sundance, they decided to center the episode around the character Matt sneaking his awful film into Sundance. To get footage for this episode, Matt and Jay actually introduced the film as their characters from "Nirvanna the Band the Show" without anyone at the premiere having any idea of what was really going on. Matt also did many real live interviews as his character, causing a lot of confusion with a lot of people and a lot of embarrassing situations as well. That is dedication.Not everything is improvised and authentic -- each episode has a plot, and in order to adhere to that plot there must be scripted and planned moments, but since the show has a general mockumentary style to it, what is fictional and what is really happening often blend together to the point where you can't tell what is planned and what the actors are really doing. Sometimes, it seems as if they will make slight additions to the episode based on sudden interactions they have with real people. But, despite the unpredictability of episodes, nothing in the show happens without purpose. It is the perfect blend of spontaneity and structure; even outside of interactions with other people, much of the dialogue between Matt and Jay seems improvised, yet there are many small details which seem insignificant at first, but they are truly a set up for a much bigger joke later in the episode or even later in the series.The show is also incredibly self-aware; the opening scene is Matt and Jay talking about how to introduce their show at the Rivoli, while introducing their show to us in the process. There are also frequent pop-culture references, some purposefully blatantly obvious and exaggerated, and some pretty subtle, but never without purpose; every major reference, including the personalized intros to every episode, coincides with the overall structure or style of the episode, often even subverting your expectations based on what they reference at during their intros and throughout the episode. It's one of the funniest and strangest shows currently on television, and it deserves a lot more attention.

Jeffrey Chapman This show is relatively new, and airs on Viceland. I just finished watching episode 3, and was laughing out loud throughout. They make references to countless movies and TV shows in each episode. Picking on old NBC TV ad campaigns like their "must see TV" from years ago in episode 2, to Staying up on coffee for a day or two and trying to figure out why they can't sleep in a Usual Suspects memory recall fashion in episode 3. This show is loaded with references, literally nothing is sacred, and I love it. It is unique, in that it separates itself as being original.The characters(also the creators and actors of this show) are self aware in the show, its part script, part hidden camera with real unsuspecting people involved, and I'm guessing part improv. Really clever, one of the only comedy shows I actually look forward to watching right now. Hope more people catch on. I think it has the potential of garnering a real following.