Debapriya Bhattacharya
Created by Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin, ‘The Chair Company’ is about William Ronald Trosper (Tim), a middle-aged man who has it all going for him. He has a loving family at home and has been riding high at work, getting a promotion to become a project manager. However, everything changes following an embarrassing accident with a chair in the office. It leaves William angry and flustered, and he holds the company manufacturing the chair responsible for creating faulty chairs. He tries to reach out to them, but does not succeed.
Slowly, William’s interest in the chair company turns into an obsession, and all hell breaks loose. Convinced that the organization is part of a greater criminal conspiracy, he starts to investigate by himself. His obsession is noticed by the people around him, who become concerned for his well-being, even as William gets hints that he is on the right track. The HBO Max comedy thriller series draws attention by masterfully blending cringe comedy with surreal mystery. If you are a fan, you can consider the following shows similar to ‘The Chair Company’ for your next watch.
10. Mr. Robot (2015-2019)
Helmed by Sam Esmail, ‘Mr. Robot’ follows Elliot Anderson (Rami Malek), a cybersecurity engineer and hacker from New York City who struggles with social anxiety disorder, clinical depression, and dissociative identity disorder. Elliot’s skills at hacking get him recruited by the titular Mr. Robot, an insurrectionary anarchist who stays in the shadows and leads a team of hacktivists known as fsociety. The primary objective of the team is to clear away all consumer debt by encrypting all data of the world’s largest conglomerate. Elliot getting drawn into the mission while battling his own demons is reminiscent of what William goes through in ‘The Chair Company.’
9. Better Off Ted (2009-2010)
‘Better Off Ted’ by Victor Fresco centers around Ted Crisp (Jay Harrington), a single father and head of the research and development department at Veridian Dynamics. The megacorporation works in a variety of areas, creating the likes of killer pandas and robots and exploding pumpkins, as well as influencing elections across the globe. More powerful than the governments of many countries, the corporation is exactly the type of mysterious entity that William Ronald Trosper believes the chair company to be in the show ‘The Chair Company.’
8. The Rehearsal (2022-)
‘The Rehearsal’ is created by Nathan Fielder, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself. He decides to help people prepare for difficult conversations or situations in life by simulating the event beforehand and making them go through a trial run. To execute his plans, Nathan commissions elaborate set pieces, as well as hires actors to play the various roles. The actors are trained to convincingly play their characters by collecting information about the clients, often without their knowledge. This blurs the lines between reality and fiction, similar to how William Ronald Trosper gets confused about what to believe in ‘The Chair Company.’
7. Nathan for You (2013-2017)
Created by Nathan Fielder and Michael Koman, ‘Nathan for You’ is a parody of marketing and management consultants. Nathan plays a fictionalized version of himself who uses his business school background to help struggling individuals and companies get back on their feet. His suggestions are outlandish and elaborate, landing everyone involved in odd situations. However, Nathan’s confidence in his abilities mirrors what William Ronald Trosper’s over his conspiracy theory in ‘The Chair Company.’
6. Barry (2018-2023)
Developed by Alec Berg and Bill Hader, ‘Barry’ tells the story of Barry Berkman (Bill), a former US Marine and war veteran who works as a hitman-for-hire in Cleveland. His occupations, both past and present, take a toll on his mental health. However, while on an assignment in Los Angeles, Barry finds a new calling in his life as he follows his target to an acting class. With the strong emotions that he constantly feels receiving an outlet, Barry decides to change careers. However, it is easier said than done for a man in his line of work, as he has to hide his past even while people from there keep showing up with sinister agendas. The sudden shift in focus from exterminating people to acting is similar to how William Ronald Trosper stops paying attention to his work and goes after the chair manufacturer instead in ‘The Chair Company.’
5. Paul T. Goldman (2023)
Paul T. Goldman is the pseudonym used by Paul Finkelmen to write his autobiography and associated works. Loosely inspired by them, the experimental series ‘Paul T. Goldman,’ created by Jason Woliner, has Paul playing himself. The narrative follows Paul’s relationship with his second wife, whom he suspects of leading a double life as a woman involved in a human sex trafficking ring. Paul investigates his wife and seeks the help of professionals to back up his beliefs. The series comprises actual interviews, reenactments of bits from Paul’s narrative, and behind-the-scenes footage, put together to highlight Paul’s apparently slipping grasp of reality. His strong belief in his wife’s secret life mirrors William Ronald Trosper’s belief in ‘The Chair Company.’
4. The Curse (2023-2024)
Helmed by Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie, ‘The Curse’ stars Nathan as Asher Siegel, who, along with his wife Whitney (Emma Stone), stars in a reality show about flipping houses. The reality show is being produced by their friend, Dougie Schecter (Benny). Early on in their filming, Asher gives a child some money as part of capturing B-roll footage, but later takes it back as it is all the cash he has with him. The girl ends up curing him, and ever since, the production as well as the personal lives of the Siegels take a turn for the worse. Similar to ‘The Chair Company,’ the show focuses on obsessed people who blur the lines between reality and their imagination and find themselves in a trap of their own making.
3. Severance (2022-)
Created by Dan Erickson, ‘Severance’ centers around an eponymous procedure performed by a biotechnology corporation, Lumon Industries, on its employees. It splits a person’s memories between their work life and their personal life, with no overlap between the two. Former history professor Mark Scout (Adam Scott) has been a worker in the company who is satisfied with his personal life. However, when he comes across a person from his work life, Mark gets curious to find out what actually happens after he sets foot in the office. The secretive nature of the job reflects the dubious characteristic of the chair company that William Ronald Trosper obsesses over in the show ‘The Chair Company.’
2. Corporate (2018-2020)
Developed by Pat Bishop, Matt Ingebretson, and Jake Weisman, ‘Corporate’ is set in a fictional multinational corporation, Hampton DeVille, with Matt and Jake starring as their namesake characters. The two are junior executives-in-training who are grinding away at work under CEO Christian DeVille and his deputies. Work is seemingly an endless series of disasters for them, as they barely hang on by a thread while trying to turn things around. Similar to William Ronald Trosper’s condition after the fateful incident in ‘The Chair Company,’ Matt and Jake appear to be a better fit at any other place than the office they work in.
1. I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson (2019-)
A sketch comedy show from the minds of Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin, ‘I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson’ showcases Tim and his guest performers trying to do whatever they can to make other people become desperate to get away from them. This gives rise to hilarious and outlandish situations, similar to what Tim’s character, William Ronald Trosper, finds himself in during his investigation into a chair manufacturer in ‘The Chair Company.’
Read More: Reality Shows Like Next Gen Chef
