The Z-Suite

I wanted to like this comedy. There is potential for a great workplace comedy that acknowledges the strengths and weaknesses of both generations represented.

Unfortunately, it begins with a completely farcical premise, and it is woefully written with little plot progression in the first two episodes. The lack of forward momentum in the storylines could be forgiven if the time was instead used to develop the characters at all, but alas, that did not happen either.

The talents of their leads is wasted by simply trotting out outdated Gen-Z slang that the elder generation "couldn't possibly understand" despite being 5-10 years past its expiration date. On top of that, every character is completely oblivious and exhibits some form of buffoonery and not in a "slapstick" way. There doesn't seem to be a coherent vision for what this sitcom wants or is trying to become. It lacks the ability to entertain in the loudest way possible.

I'm upset because I love Lauren Graham and she is an executive producer on the show. So she is responsible for this. The characters are like cartoon characters: we are being hit over the head with the fact that the Gen z crowd are entitled and constantly spouting reasons to cancel people, and the older crowd are out of touch and too old to do their jobs properly. Who exactly is supposed to be the audience for this show? You are insulting both generations. And for people who love Lauren Graham, and might be in her age range, seeing her get fired in the first episode for being old isn't a thrill. It made me want to turn the show off immediately. It perpetuates the misconception that if you are older than the age of 50 you should be fired because you are "out of touch." Why, Lauren? Why would you do that? I want to keep watching to see if somehow her character jumps in and learns about technology so that she can be successful still in her field, but I can't stand these characters. There is nothing sympathetic about anyone on this show, so I can't watch the show long enough to find out if it gets better. I am just so disappointed. And I hate leaving a bad review because I am sure she worked very hard on the show. But you made unsympathetic characters and you insulted everyone over the age of 50 and everyone under the age of 25. So I guess your audience is the people in between?

I really wanted to enjoy this because I love Lauren Graham and Mark McKinney, but it was one of the most instantly awful comedies I've ever seen. Series populated by legitimate monsters of characters like The Righteous Gemstones, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, and Veep understand that there has to be SOMETHING there to make the audience interested in what happens next. Some insight into human flaws that makes these characters interesting, without asking you to sympathize with them. This show, meanwhile, presents you with a cast of characters who haven't done anything nearly as harmful, but holds them in far greater contempt. Every character is a shrill caricature of someone the writers hate. It's all very surface level and obvious humor. If you're going to be that unoriginal, you should at least be charming. Unbearable.

Lauren SO deserves a monster comeback vehicle, after her absolute masterclass performances in "Gilmore Girls" and "Parenthood", but this is painful. Don't get me wrong, Lauren absolutely CARRIES her role and steals every scene she's in, and I honestly don't think the supporting actors are bad, but the concept they're all forced to portray is "cringy" (to use a Z term) and so immaturely over-the-top that the entire show comes across as confusing and misguided.

Are we laughing WITH the Z generation or, as this old Boomer uncomfortably felt while watching, are we just being crotchety old farts making fun of not only the "Gen Z" stereotype but the actual generation itself? Mine don't even live with me anymore, but during far too many scenes I could FEEL my own Gen Z kids rolling their eyes back in disgust. The stereotype is so heavily leaned into that this feels like a generational (aka one's age range) mean-spirited hit-piece, and it becomes just another "entire-series-based-on-one-dumb-old-man-joke" comedy.

On the (very dim) bright side, there's no laugh track. Also, and the only reason I even checked this series out in the first place, there's Lauren Graham, who can make ANYTHING captivating and enjoyable. She tries so hard with what she's given here, and is worth an IMDb star all by herself, but she's only a human without magic script skills. Actually maybe she DOES have some writing input, but if so she needs more. Nico Santos plays Nico Santos, but he still cracks me up as Lauren's (Monica's") comic sounding board. His whole "tightroping-on-the-edge-of-offensive" schtick continues to be entertaining to me.

The rest of the supporting cast are fine and well-casted, the set decorations are impressive considering the obviously-low budget, the direction is creative and engaging, and honestly the writing is fine, too. The characterizations are fun, effectively silly, and written to perfection. I think it's the CONCEPT that feels played-out and somewhat hateful. Again, are we poking fun at Zs, or are we slapping them across the face?

I started watching this show because Nico Santos is in it and he was in Superstore and did a fabulous job on that show. While Nico and his boss on here are both good, the rest fall flat. This show is not doing anything favorable for the Gen Z crowd. I think anyone watching this show would never hire anybody from this generation the way they're portrayed as lazy, pretentious, entitled spoiled brats. I keep watching thinking it's going to turn around and the Gen Z's snap out of it, but I am thinking it's not going to happen. I'm disappointed because I truly wanted this to be a good show, but it's not.