The Chair Company Series-Premiere Recap: Not All That Serious

"I think of Tim Robinson's characters as existing on a spectrum. Yes, they're all prone to loud, sudden explosions of cartoonish rage or pain, and they're almost all anxious, insecure weirdos obsessed with proving they're in on the joke. But there's a big difference between the affable "chaotic good" Tim Cramblin from Detroiters and the procession of freaks Robinson plays on his sketch show, I Think You Should Leave."

"Like Craig Waterman, Ron Trosper is a hard worker and a family man, doing his best to project confidence and competence at the office and at home. But unlike Craig, he's not actually that bad at it at first. For the most part, people seem to respect Ron. He has the adoration of his wife, Barb (Lake Bell), daughter, Natalie (Sophia Lillis), and son, Seth (Will Price)."

"He has the adoration of his wife, Barb (Lake Bell), daughter, Natalie (Sophia Lillis), and son, Seth (Will Price). He's a project lead at Fisher Robay, overseeing an ambitious new mall development in Canton, Ohio, and seems to have the office's support. After a surprisingly successful speech at the kickoff meeting for Canton Marketplace, though, the other shoe drops. When Ron takes a seat, the chair falls out from under him and breaks, leaving him dazed and sprawled on the floor."

Tim Robinson’s characters occupy a spectrum of neurotic, explosive figures, ranging from affable chaotic-good types to darker, pathetic portrayals. Craig Waterman in Friendship presented a bleaker character study of a marketing executive. The Chair Company advances that character work by focusing on Ron Trosper, a competent project lead and family man whose public chair-related humiliation becomes the show’s inciting incident. Ron enjoys respect at work and adoration at home from wife Barb and children Natalie and Seth while overseeing a mall development in Canton, Ohio. The show reunites Robinson with co-creator Zach Kanin, director Andrew DeYoung, and composer Keegan DeWitt, continuing a distinctive comic sensibility.

Read at Vulture