How to with John Wilson’s second season hits HBO Max soon

I can’t remember being so excited for the second season of a television show as I am for the return of How to with John Wilson, HBO Max’sDocumentary series on everything and nothing.

That mix — the mundane and the profound, compresse into snackable 25-minute episodes — made John Wilson: How do you get along?The best TV show that I saw during the pandemic. No contest. That said, I don’t think John Wilson himself would care much for this sort of superlative. Anachronistically modest, the show was largely created using years of footage taken in New York City. Wilson acts as the anti-influencer. He hides behind his camera most of the time and allows for ample time for people who are unlikely to be on the television.

Each episode superficially hinges on a simple concept like “How to improve your memory” or “How to split the check.” But saying the show is about something like “How to make small talk” is like saying a physics textbook is about “How stuff moves.” It’s true, sure, but the magic is in the explanation of how it works, and why it matters.

HBO Max released their first season right in the middle of the pandemic. Millions of people were kept separate from family and friends. All human contact. Each week, John Wilson: What to doIt reminded me about the real meat of my life. The experience was like walking through a busy mall with the camera zooming in on all the small details. It reminded me of how life is unpredictable and full of surprises. It was fitting that the first season ended with an episode marking the start of the NYC pandemic.

Now it returns, this time with Wilson’s camera lingering on a New York City somehow even stranger and unfamiliar than usual. One city locked down and one in recovery. As we begin the process of unpacking the trauma of the past two years, I can’t think of a better show than this.

John Wilson: What to doSeason two of HBO Max’s season premieres will be broadcast on November 26th.