TV Review: Corporate Is A Smart Comedy On Work Life Misery
Synopsis: From Pat Bishop, Matt Ingebretson, and Jake Weisman comes a dark, edgy look at life as a Junior-Executive-in-Training at your average, soulless multi-national corporation. Matt and Jake (Ingebretson and Weisman) are at the mercy of a tyrannical CEO Christian DeVille (Lance Reddick) and his top lieutenants, sycophants John and Kate (Adam Lustick and Anne Dudek). As Matt and Jake navigate an ever-revolving series of disasters their only ally is Hampton Deville Human Resources rep Grace (Aparna Nancherla), who is beleaguered by both her job and her exhausting relationship with the very needy Matt and Jake.
Let us be frank! Working in the corporate world is usually as fun as jumping off a bridge without a parachute. Thus, when you think of Corporate, think The Office UK or Workaholics meets #thestruggleisreal. While The Office and Workaholics dabble between the outlandish ridiculousness and lightheartedness of workforce life, Corporate goes straight for the spiritual roughness and sadness of seeing a cubicle more than your home. It is in that very tragedy/truth that Corporate is hilarious.
From the competitiveness between companies to “outsize” each other to the undiagnosed, clinical depression that casts over its workers, Corporate goes there. The grey/ yellow hued cinematography is used to comedically confront Millennial issues like, the fact that we are all thinking about law school because none of us are happy at the 11th job we have taken outside our studied field. Of course, hurricane devastation, drug usage, suicide, lack of health insurance, debt, and corporations eagerness to fund wars/ genocides in foreign countries is not a joke, but Corporate approaches it for what it is: a reality.
Corporate has to be one of the smartest comedies coming out in this new year. Its ability to plug into truths that, often, people do not know or wish to confront is riveting, and it does it with a level of raw snark that surpasses many of the current, successful tv comedies. Intellectuals tired of hearing people call reality “fake news” or people who deem themselves aware that humanity NEEDS to better to itself should flock to this show that uses ridiculousness to subtly highlight how “crazy” this world has become, and our lack of care towards things that should matter to humanity like, kindness.
If there is one thing that Corporations are known for is their eagerness to look good rather than be it, and Corporate shows how that corrupt mentality, unfortunately, trickles down to itsemployees better than money does. Hence, you cannot really say you are “pulling” for any character; although, Aparna Nancherla’s Grace has moments of moral perceptiveness that her fellow protagonists certainly need. Yet, Corporate is not a show where you cheer for “winners” as much as observe the “losers”; the people or things you judge as lost or unable to “catch a break”.
Corporate does take awhile to get into, but if you come in with some of the mentality I have marked such as, this is not a show to “like” characters or to go without making fun of social hypocrisy/ inhumanity, then you will be open to it intelligent and funny commentary. I can honestly there is no tv show like it, and thought it can be compared to shows as mentioned, i.e. The Office, there commonality ends in that they are workplace comedies. If anything Corporate revels in the bitterness and misery of daily life to bring you a comedy worthy of your Wednesday’s at 10pm starting a January 17. Click Here For More Information.
