HBO has already renewed “The Chair Company” for a second season, an early vote of confidence in one of the strangest comedies on television. Created by and starring Tim Robinson, the series turns a minor workplace embarrassment into a spiraling conspiracy, proving that in the right hands, even the smallest premise can sustain something far bigger.
The early renewal underscores the show’s rapid breakout, with “The Chair Company” quickly gaining traction beyond its niche appeal. For Emmy-winner Robinson, the series represents a step beyond “I Think You Should Leave,” expanding his style into a longer, more sustained story.
Hiding from coworkers under his desk and later sitting in his car in episode one, disgruntled and listening to Elliott Smith, Ron Trosper is consumed by embarrassment and frustration. In Robinson and Zach Kanin’s latest HBO comedy, that humiliation is only the beginning.
Ron, a lead manager at his company, begins to unravel after he falls from a broken chair in front of his bosses and colleagues. What seems like a fleeting embarrassment quickly becomes an all-consuming obsession, as he neglects his family and work responsibilities to track down anyone he believes is responsible.
After demanding that a customer service representative connect him with the chair’s manufacturer to issue an apology and announce a recall, Ron is ambushed in a workplace parking lot. A man knocks him unconscious and warns him to stop investigating the chair company.
Robinson and Kanin are best known as co-creators and writers on “I Think You Should Leave,” the sketch show that established Robinson as a distinctly strange voice in comedy today. “The Chair Company” feels like a natural escalation from the spazzy tone of “I Think You Should Leave,” but this time with a full narrative approach.
The comedy-thriller is shot like a serious drama with a dark color palette and sophisticated cinematography that’s in complete contrast with the show’s satirical and extremely committed-to-the-bit writing. Throughout the constant chaos, over the top delivery, yet serious mood, the viewer becomes involuntarily invested in the storyline to the point where we almost forget that it’s about a broken chair.
The show’s tension between form and content occupies similar territory to Nathan Fielder’s “The Rehearsal.” It’s deadpan and completely straight-faced, using one man’s unraveling as a lens for something larger about shame and paranoia. However, the energy is wilder than Fielder, bringing a physical chaos to Ron that sits somewhere closer to the full-body slapstick humor of Adult Swim star, Eric Andre.
“The Chair Company” merges drama with tomfoolery and absurdity in a way that compels audiences. It’s not trying to be the funniest thing you’ve ever seen but it is a piece of media with a distinct style, strong visual identity and unexpectedly engaging premise. This show proves that not every plot has to be so profound. In fact, if done right, a story based around a broken chair is enough to land an HBO series.
“The Chair Company” is streaming on HBO Max, Hulu, Apple TV and Prime Video.
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