Nirvanna the Band the Show

Nirvanna the Band the Show is a Canadian mockumentary-sitcom television series, created by Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol, who co-star as fictionalised versions of themselves. It premiered on February 2, 2017 on Viceland.
The show was adapted from the web series Nirvana the Band the Show, which was co-created and independently produced and released online by Johnson and McCarrol between 2007–2009. A feature film based on both the web series and the television series, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, premiered at SXSW on March 9, 2025.
The show stars creators and lifelong best friends Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol as fictionalised versions of themselves in a band called "Nirvanna the Band," consisting of Jay improvising on piano and Matt doing improvised spoken word performances. The duo engage in a series of complex publicity stunts around their home city of Toronto in the hopes of landing a gig at the Rivoli, despite the fact that they have never actually written or recorded a single song, nor taken any steps to contact the Rivoli's management about booking a show.
The show utilises elements of metatextual and metafictional humor, with Matt and Jay often talking to their two unseen friends Jared and Andrew, who serve as the series's cinematographers and camera operators. Frequent references are made to popular culture that Matt and Jay are fans of, such as movies, television shows, musical artists, and video games. Episodes often parody the media referenced throughout through the use of recycled dialogue, similar plot arcs, shot-for-shot scene recreations, and post-production effects.
The main characters are fictionalised versions of series creators and lifelong best friends Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol, who started development of the characters while in high school in Mississauga. Johnson has stated that the characters of Matt and Jay are largely influenced by he and McCarrol's real personalities and experiences growing up as best friends in Toronto. The title sequence for each episode is different, usually imitating the opening scenes or titles of other well-known film or television productions.
The show is a combination of scripted scenes, candid camera footage of people unaware the show is being filmed, and improvisation. Often the show is influenced by events that happen in reality. For example, in the fifth episode, "The Big Time", creators Johnson and McCarrol used the premiere of Johnson's real life movie Operation Avalanche at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival to film an episode around the concept of the character Matt sneaking a fictional movie of the same name into the festival. In the same episode, a woman unaware of the show being filmed intrudes on a scripted conversation between Johnson and Kevin Smith (appearing as himself), offering Johnson alcohol, which inspired Johnson and McCarrol to include the concept of the character of Matt discovering a love of alcohol in the episode. The show frequently blends the line between fiction and reality in ways like these, with actors breaking character and characters breaking the fourth wall.
Originally created as a web series between 2007 and 2009, it was later expanded into a full television series which premiered on Viceland on February 2, 2017. Three episodes were also screened at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival as part of its Primetime program of television projects. The series was originally announced in 2016 as slated to air on City, but was later shifted to Viceland with City airing only the first episode as a preview special. The second season has not been picked up for broadcast outside of Canada, however is available for streaming in Australia via SBS On Demand. The show was formerly available to stream in the United Kingdom via Channel 4's on demand service, along with other Viceland shows.
A third season was filmed and partially edited but never released, as Viceland Canada shut down as a network before the season could be finished. Zapruder Films purchased the rights to the show, and intend to finish and release the third season when they are finished with the feature film.
In August 2019, CBC Television officially acquired Nirvanna the Band the Show from Viceland and began airing the series, alongside streaming on CBC Gem.
In April 2023, Johnson announced that his next film project would be a film based on the series. Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie began principal photography in 2023, and premiered at SXSW on March 9, 2025.
In September 2023, both Matt and Jay appeared in a special short for 64X, a fictional expo created by the comedy troupe Mega64. Matt also provides the announcements for the faux convention, which is what the short revolves around.
In September 2024, both Matt and Jay appeared again in another special short for 64X creating new announcements for the convention thus expanding on the premise featured the previous year.
Episodes aired out of order, they are presented in the order that they should be viewed.
The series has received mostly positive reviews. Jake Howell of The Globe and Mail praised the show, commenting "Bickering like a married couple, Matt and Jay's constant back-and-forth enabling, backstabbing and belittling of each other has thus far made for great television."