“Fresh off of his hit film Friendship, is Robinson on a hot streak?”
If I had to compare Tim Robinson to someone, it would be Edgar Allan Poe. It seems just as absurd as his comedy style, but hear me out. With works like The Raven and The Tell-Tale Heart, Poe was a genius at creating characters on the brink of madness. Robinson, to me, has that same genius. The only difference being the catalyst to the insanity. There isn’t a beating heart under the floorboards, but there is a mysterious chair company that we need to get to the bottom of.
Premise
“Robinson brings another character into a downward spiral”
Without getting into spoilers for the first episode, the basic premise of the show is that William Trosper (Robinson) has recently been chosen to head the new development of a mall that his company is building. After Will gives a speech at a workplace event, an embarrassing incident takes place that kickstarts the downward spiral of yet another Robinson character.
The talent of Robinson to take these little ideas and amplify them into something grander is remarkable. You would think how is it possible for a show about a mysterious chair company to be entertaining at all? The answer lies in what Tim Robinson does best, play Tim Robinson. His loud, obnoxious, absurd style of comedy once again shines in The Chair Company. In my opinion, it is the only way that a premise like this can work. Robinson plays into the whackiness of the idea. What starts off as a simple Google search, leads his character down a rabbit hole that we all want to get to the bottom of.
Comedy and Mystery
“Came for laughs, stayed for the answers.”
As for the comedy, if you are a fan of Robinson’s work, you are going to find this episode funny. I would even go as far as to say that people who aren’t familiar with Robinson’s work would agree. It’s only the first episode, but he wasn’t completely over the top like he is in his other works, but there are still many episodes left and I am positive that we will get there. However, when watching this, the comedy took a back seat for me. I wasn’t waiting for the next laugh, and there were plenty of them, I wanted to know what was going on with this damn chair company. If you’ve ever watched Severance, you know the feeling. Obviously, this show is not on the same level as Severance, but it had that same intrigue for me. By the end of the episode you’re not left wanting laughs, you’re left wanting answers. He finds a way to fully hook you into the web that is about to be spun by this show, and I am here for it.
The Chair Company Episode 1: The series premiere of The Chair Company did everything that I wanted it to do, make me laugh and be interesting. Robinson's ability to take what should just be an embarrassing workplace incident that you move on from and turn it into a mystery that leaves you intrigued proves that his absurd style of storytelling isn’t going anywhere. – Anthony Fichtner