In the grand tradition of Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol, aka Nirvanna the Band, let’s make a plan. On July 24, their movie, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, is coming to streaming on Hulu. It’s a beyond brilliant, hilarious sci-fi tale that makes you marvel at the art of filmmaking in ways you never thought possible. At the same time, the show that the film is based on, Nirvanna the Band the Show (which was recently not available to stream anywhere), is making its return to streaming on the same platform. This is fantastic news, but now you have a choice: Choice 1: Watch Nirvanna the Band the Show, which is two seasons of eight episodes each, to get the feel and tone of the story before watching Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. Choice 2: Watch Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie cold, not knowing what to expect, and then go back and revisit the show. Which, we guarantee, you’ll want to do.
For some of us, this was not previously a choice. Nirvanna the Band the Show premiered on Vice in 2017 and ran for two seasons. It follows two friends, Matt and Jay, who have a band that wants to play a show at a local concert venue called the Rivoli. And so, each week, they come up with a plan to try do that, many of which are based on, or seen through the lens of, pop culture TV shows and movies.
