Corporate

Most comedies on tv are like most other comedies on tv -- the same types of sitcom jokes, sitcom plots, sitcom laugh tracks, etc etc. Corporate goes for something different -- so different it's kind of hard to explain it. It goes places few other comedies would dare, it has characters that few other comedies could feature -- it almost feels like a sketch routine in the form of a 20 minute, continuing show.

What makes it work, even when it doesn't, is that the two leads, lazy, cynical, boorish, are actually, somehow, totally endearing. They say what everyone else is thinking but afraid to say -- they do what everyone else would like to do but afraid to do. Their banter is pitch perfect, their lack of ambition inspiring, their failure to do anything right somehow perfect. All in all, one of the best comedies in recent years. So (of course) it got cancelled.

Ok a few episodes were average, but the best ones are so brilliant they make up for the rest. Some of the subject are very dark, like preferring a mass shooting to watching the latest "must see" TV show, or reselling prescription medication. Best episode so far : The Pain Of Being Alive & Society Tomorrow. Its a series worth sticking with

I can see how this show wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but if you've worked corporate jobs or even most professional jobs with their soulless bureaucracy and boot-licking culture of "face time," this show captures the hollowness of such work with accuracy and very dark humor. It is like a bleak version of the Office, but a lot wittier. Think Joseph Heller's "Catch 22" applied to the white collar world. It picks on all the weird hallmarks of corporate culture, from the corporate retreat, to "casual Friday," to reporting bad behavior to HR. The characters are so perfectly cast, from the corporate tools like John, the evil CEO Christian, the bitter HR director...love this show!

If you've ever worked in any kind of office, Corporate is an insanely accurate satire (I've had at least three supervisors who act like the confrontational and overly peppy John and Kate). This show isn't about good people - its about supervisors who will seemingly make your life harder just because they can and people who are willing to endure anything to maybe one day make a little more money. The plot lines are enjoyably over dramatic and the deadpan banter between the two main characters is absolutely hilarious. The soundtrack is fantastic and the dreary fluorescent lighting really drives every scene home. Also, the CEO character growling out "are you PowerPoint proficient?" had me laughing for like a minute. Lance Reddick does a great job.

A sort of nihilist Workaholics, Corporate follows the mind numbing lives of two Junior-Executives-in-Training at one of the world's largest multinational corporations. Definitely a darker comedy, I absolutely loved Corporate and laughed way too much at way too depressing things, would highly recommend. Created by Pat Bishop, Matt Ingebretson, and Jake Weisman (and starring the latter two) each episode's humour is self-contained and self-referential, a trait I love in my comedy. The first two seasons were the best followed by a still good short 3rd season, this feels like something that would have made for some good work-from-home pandemic episodes but was unfortunately cut off too short, like often I wish there was more. Looking forward to whatever these guys work on next.