‘Corporate’ drills down to unpack and ideate
Life is meaningless, so why not watch a comedy about it?
Comedy Central’s Corporate (Wednesdays, 10 ET/PT) is one of TV’s first gems of 2018 that you might have been missing. Now’s the time to fix that.
A spiritual successor to 1999 cult film Office Space, Corporate is a bleak and absurdist workplace comedy with Mr. Robot‘ s life-outlook and color palette and 30 Rock‘ s sense of humor. Its corporate-culture satire is so biting that it might just bite you as you watch a version of your own office unfold at the fictional Hampton DeVille, a multinational conglomerate. Its slogan is “We Make Everything,” in case you were wondering how heavy-handed the humor is.
Corporate premiered Jan. 17 and has mostly flown under the radar in the crowded TV landscape, despite how genuinely funny and relatable it is. But the series continues with new episodes through March 14; previous installments are available on demand, via Comedy Central’s app and cc.com; and the network this week renewed the show for a second season, which means now is the perfect time to catch up on the first.
Here’s why you shouldn’t miss it.
The cast is fantastic
Corporate has hired a synergistic team of TV veterans and comedians to play the functionaries of Hampton DeVille.
The series was created by relative newcomers Pat Bishop, Matt Ingebretson and Jake Weisman. Ingebretson and Weisman play the lead characters, also named Matt and Jake. Matt is the unmotivated everyman with a proficiency in PowerPoint and a love of home brew. Jake is more sinister and nihilistic in his outlook. Both actors have great timing and appeal.
The cast also includes faces you might recognize, including Lance Reddick ( The Wire, Fringe), who’s hilarious as the charming but evil CEO of Hampton DeVille, happy to peddle anti-Hampton DeVille swag to protesters outside his front door. Anne Dudek ( House) is always a joy to see shredding her wordy dialogue. Comedian Aparna Nancherla ( BoJack Horseman) is a particular gem as Grace, the overworked and cynical HR rep.
The jokes are fast and furious
Corporate may be a nihilistic comedy, but it doesn’t forget to be funny in all that darkness. The series is often flatout hilarious, with dense, witty dialogue and big, often shocking physical gags.
The series doesn’t stop its send-up of corporate culture at lingo and procedure. It’s happy to lampoon hipster culture, social media, religion and the CIA. Everything is absurd or fake or corporate, anyway. But its jokes never get too mean-spirited.
It’s almost a little too real
If you work in an office, some of the parodies of corporate buzzwords, email protocols and worker well-being may hit just a little too close to home.
Even though the series’ heightened world includes casual references to secret wars and Banksy-like street artists selling out, it also finds time for office cake and cc/bcc confusion. Sometimes it’s too relatable, pointing out systemic problems in corporate America that nobody is solving anytime soon. Maybe that occasionally makes it too somber, but the show mostly manages its tone carefully, and always tries to make you laugh if it’s also going to make you cry. And what more could you need?