Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal Helped Push Pilot Mental Health Bills Through Senate

Nathan Fielder has spent years turning increasingly elaborate stunts into television to great effect. It seems one of them may have helped move legislation through the US Senate.

On Thursday, the Senate unanimously passed two bipartisan bills aimed at improving mental health care and medication guidance for pilots, air traffic controllers, and other aviation workers – the same issues Fielder spent much of Season 2 of The Rehearsal investigating. The John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act would push the FAA to modernize its mental health certification process and reduce barriers that can discourage aviation workers from seeking care, while the Aviation Medication Transparency Act would require clearer public guidance on medications that can affect medical certification. The bills still need to pass the House before becoming law.

Fielder previously suggested that The Rehearsal may have helped draw attention to the issue. During a Writers Guild Foundation event, he recalled former National Transportation Safety Board member John Goglia telling him that younger congressional staffers had watched the show and saying, “I think the show pushed them to [do it].” Fielder was more cautious about taking credit himself, adding, “I don’t know if it did anything, but it was nice to hear.”

Season 2 of The Rehearsal explored, among several other aviation obsessions, how FAA medical-certification rules can make pilots hesitant to disclose mental health concerns out of fear of jeopardizing their careers. Fielder’s investigation also involved spending two years learning to fly before piloting a Boeing 737 carrying roughly 150 actors from Southern California toward the Nevada border and back. He dubbed the stunt the “Miracle Over the Mojave.”

The legislation itself actually predates the HBO series, and its Senate passage doesn’t establish that Fielder caused it to advance. Sens. John Hoeven and Tammy Duckworth have been working on the measures with lawmakers and aviation groups, with Duckworth saying the bills are intended to make it easier for workers to seek care without fearing for their job security.

Aviation policy wasn’t enough to keep Fielder completely occupied this year. He also co-directed the upcoming Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything with Lance Oppenheim. The film begins 34 days before the convicted Theranos founder reported to prison, when Holmes invited a film crew into her home, and follows the resulting relationship over the next three years. The A24 documentary hits theaters October 16th.

As for The Rehearsal, Deadline recently spoke to HBO head honcho Casey Bloys, who confirmed Fielder has an idea for a season 3.