Peacock’s Paul T. Goldman might be the next Rehearsal
From Jason Woliner, the director of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and Nathan For You, comes a meta true crime legend in the making
Few trailer kickers can get audiences as riled as “Beam me up, Scotty, I’m in The Twilight Zone.” But few teasers aren’t Paul T. Goldman.
One of the strangest true-crime docuseries in recent memory, Paul T. Goldman tells the strange story of a screwed schlub from the schlub who lived it. What more would we expect from Jason Woliner, the director of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm and a chief creative on Nathan For You, who has been working on this bizarre project for more than a decade.
Woliner says that in 2012, Paul T. Goldman tweeted at him and “hundreds of other people” to tell Woliner that he had written a book and a screenplay about “how he’d been the victim of a shocking betrayal that led to a transformation ‘from wimp to warrior’ and set him on a mission to bring down an (alleged) international crime ring.” The director continues:
It instantly became my favorite book I’ve ever read. The story is equal parts fascinating, hilarious, shocking, and often weirdly moving. It has endless bizarre turns, and Paul himself is the most captivating person I’ve ever encountered. He reminded me of my favorite documentary subjects: Mark Borchardt from American Movie, Timothy Treadwell from Grizzly Man, or the kind of people that appear in Errol Morris films like Tabloid and Mr. Death. They’re striking, quirky, passionate, a little “off”; individuals with a strong sense of purpose but perhaps an atypical form of self-awareness. After a few months of quiet observation, I responded to Paul and told him I was in.
Per the trailer, the series Woliner thought he was making goes off the rails as Goldman begins meddling with the production. Goldman stars in the re-enactments, changes the script, and challenges who is directing this thing. Anyone looking to fill the Rehearsal-sized hole in their heart might find what they seek in Paul T. Goldman.
Produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the first three episodes of Paul T. Goldman hit Peacock on January 1, with the remaining three dropping every Sunday through January 22.