Paul T. Goldman Trailer: Borat Sequel Director's Bizarre New Meta Project Is Over 10 Years In The Making

Director Jason Woliner took over the "Borat" franchise from Larry Charles with the raucously hilarious follow-up "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm," making headlines around the world and sending shockwaves across the web. Since then, it sounds like he's been busy putting the finishing touches on a Peacock original series that follows in the same footsteps of the documentary style comedy that has made millions cringe and crack up at the same time. 

Peacock has just debuted the first trailer for a new series called "Paul T. Goldman." Who is this? Well, as far as we know, it's not a new character from Sacha Baron Cohen, though we wouldn't be surprised if you thought that after getting a glimpse at this peculiar man and the journey he's taken over the past decade. The streaming service describes the new series as "a groundbreaking project that mixes fact and fiction to tell a bizarre and incredible tale," and honestly, it's best if you just watch the trailer for yourself to see what we're dealing with. Words alone cannot adequately prepare you for the odd story that we're about to witness.

Jason Woliner first encountered Paul T. Goldman, an apparently real-life person, on Twitter back in 2012. Goldman tweeted at Woliner (as well as hundreds of other personalities on the social media site) about a book and a screenplay he had written. Woliner describes the tale as being "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."

Well, Woliner bought the book, and he was instantly reminded by documentary subjects like Mark Borchardt from "American Movie" and Timothy Treadwell from "Grizzly Man." So he started following around this "middle-aged, nebbishy guy" and the series we're about to see is the "culmination of over a decade of shooting." As you can see in the trailer, there's plenty of documentary footage following Goldman, but the series gets truly meta when there are dramatized scenes based on Goldman's story that the man actually acts out himself. And that's before we get to the behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the Peacock show surrounding the documentary and dramatizations. 

In a statement released by Peacock to announce the series, Woliner assures the audience that "it'll make sense when you watch it." For now, we'll have to be satisfied with Woliner saying this was his way of "taking a camera inside this very unique person's brain." 

It sounds like we're getting something akin to Nathan Fielder's "The Rehearsal," but with a different meta twist. Considering the fact that Woliner directed several episodes of "Nathan For You," that's certainly no coincidence. But there's an interesting wrinkle here when you remember the fact that Paul T. Goldman's isn't a character created by a comedian, but a totally real person. Unless, of course, this backstory is entirely a front for what could be an Andy Kaufman-esque prank on the entire audience. Boy, would that be something else?

Jason Woliner directs the series, as well as executive producing alongside Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, and Loreli Alanis for Point Grey Pictures and Megan Ellison at Annapurna. Michael Sagol and Bert Hamelinck executive produce for Caviar, which also counts Tyler Ben-Amotz as a producer.

"Paul T. Goldman" will premiere its first three episodes on Peacock starting on January 1, 2023, with new episodes following every Sunday through the season finale on January 22, 2023.