Why John Wilson is the weirdo that could change how you think about your city
In spite of its name, How To with John Wilson is probably one of the worst how-to shows ever made. One of the jokes behind the HBO documentary series is that each episode, while ostensibly about how to do something, jettisons the topic as quickly as possible in order to explore something else entirely. In the third and final season (which premiered on July 28), the first episode, “How to Find a Public Restroom,” eventually pivots to a rumination on diminishing public space, and later “How to Watch Birds,” well — you probably won’t believe what that one ends up being about.
Tying it all together is John Wilson, the show’s mostly unseen host. Every episode of How To is a first-person odyssey into the weird, unexplored corners of New York and beyond as Wilson is heard both behind the camera and in a nasal, ever-present narration that ensures that, while you may not learn what you thought you would at the start of the episode, you will learn something about how to think of the world around you.
Recently, Wilson talked to Polygon about his personal connection to the show, how difficult it is to describe, and why he wants to change how you look at your city.
Polygon: How T o has always come across as a very personal work, but this season feels even more so. Was that your intent?
John Wilson: Yeah, in making this the last season I was able to unlock a few things that I was worried about doing before or the show maybe hadn’t matured enough for. But I felt being able to throw everything at the wall, and just being as ambitious as I possibly could, in the third season would make me feel a lot better for ending it. It had to end at one point, and I wanted to make sure that it ended on a strong note, because the best thing you
Read more on polygon.com
