The Z-Suite

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.

I think the writers room had a race about how many trending hashtags they can mash in one scene. The problem is that they have succeeded and we are left with 7 word/lingo-hydra / scene. Sadly it lacks coherence or any sort of smart or smirk.

Making actual jokes was most likely banned in the writers room and any attempt at them was killed by the studio saying it was too risky.

Do watch for education, this is how you should definitely not do meta-commentary.

Half-way through the pilot our main characters are fired for pointing out everything I've listed above (badly sadly) and there you have your pitch of the year. Sad to see the always amazing Lauren Graham having to speak such utter nonsense scene-by-scene.

I love you so much Lauren. I would watch anything you do. But this show was so so so bad! I hope you still do a second season but please hire new writers. The writing is horrible! Some jokes are funny! But overall the show is very flat. The characters aren't clear. Specially the they girl. The blonde one I don't remember her name. Like what's her character, who is she? And that secretary or personal assistant woman at the office. She is a terrible actress. I don't blame her. The material is so bad. But still she should have done something with it. And the black actress who is playing the CEO is so so so boring!!!

Ugh!!.. I'm so sad!

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.

Vacuous, plastic, boring beyond belief (and that's just the first 3 minutes).

If a friend were to ask me, I'd say, "Don't waste your time."

What on earth compelled Lauren Graham to sink to this level of dreck?!

Ad agencies are typically staffed - in reality - with very bright, well-educated people who have studied human psychology and are engaged in the business of deception (how else to explain rampant obesity, fat-related illnesses / disease, and the propensity of North Americans to inhale junk food they know - at some level - is exceptionally bad for them).

This sorry excuse for entertainment is not that.