‘The Chair Firm’ evaluation: Tim Robinson spins a surreally humorous conspiracy principle in HBO sequence

Nobody captures social nervousness fairly like Tim Robinson.

The comic has confirmed adept at changing deeply anxiety-inducing conditions into cringe comedy. Take the movie Friendship, the place Robinson’s Craig experiences first-hand the perils of being the odd one out in a bunch grasp. Or the sketch present I Assume You Ought to Go away, which options any variety of characters making a serious social fake pas, then doubling down on it within the hopes of convincing the folks round them that every thing’s positive. (It by no means works for them. Living proof: the much-memed sizzling canine automobile sketch.) Sure, these characters are sometimes over-the-top and obnoxious, however in addition they maintain up mirrors to our personal fears and embarrassments, turning them from easy caricatures into figures we see bits of our worst selves in.

That pattern carries over into HBO’s The Chair Firm, co-created by Robinson and Zach Kanin (I Assume You Ought to Go away). The Chair Firm‘s important character, Ron Trosper (Robinson), begins the present as a little bit of an everyman, a tad toned-down by Robinson requirements. Nonetheless, his fast descent right into a wild world of conspiracy theories echoes all-too relatable emotions about obsession, particularly in our on-line age.

What’s The Chair Firm about?

Ron Trosper must be having fun with his life, each professionally and personally. He is in a loving marriage together with his spouse, Barb (Lake Bell). His daughter, Natalie (Sophia Lillis), is about to get married, and his son, Seth (Will Worth), is a highschool basketball star. At work, he is been tapped to go up a serious undertaking: the development of a brand new mall in Canton, Ohio.

But when Ron experiences a humiliating accident at work, all these achievements fly out the window. Immediately, all he can take into consideration is that one explicit incident and the nefarious forces which will have conspired towards him.

The Chair Firm is a surreal story of obsession.

Tim Robinson in “The Chair Firm.”
Credit score: Sarah Shatz / HBO

Whereas I can not reveal the particulars of Ron’s accident, suffice it to say it is the type of second that onlookers will wince at, then chorus from mentioning once more as a way to be well mannered. However for Ron, it is a second that he’ll replay again and again. You already know the sensation when an embarrassing highschool reminiscence resurfaces, unbidden, out of your unconscious? Ron’s expertise is like that, solely the reminiscence by no means goes away.

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However whereas an terrible reminiscence could elicit full physique cringes for you or me, it manages to ship Ron down a full-on detective spiral. He does deep dives into imprecise company web sites, investigates property deeds, and even trespasses in deserted buildings. These sequences are an ideal instance of Robinson and Kanin’s capability to escalate a relatable sentiment — on this case, embarrassment at a horrible previous reminiscence — to ridiculous heights.

Robinson and Kanin’s I Assume You Ought to Go away sketch sensibilities come by at numerous factors alongside Ron’s journey as effectively. A go to to a menswear retailer results in a riotous dialogue a few seemingly very unique member’s membership. One in every of Ron’s co-workers is obsessive about throwing a sketchy “errors” occasion. At one level, there’s a extended argument about getting soup on one’s sleeve. Every section builds out Ron’s quest for solutions, but in addition supplies hilariously idiosyncratic particulars about Ron’s world that solely ratchet up The Chair Firm‘s general absurdist portrayal of hysteria.

The Chair Firm performs into the anxieties of on-line life.

Sophia Lillis in “The Chair Firm.”
Credit score: Sarah Shatz / HBO

Whereas The Chair Firm does not explicitly focus on the web, it nonetheless speaks to the anxieties or inconveniences that come up from being on-line right now.

One of many greatest examples is available in episode one, when Ron tries to look into the mysterious Tecca furnishings firm. Their web site does not provide a lot in the way in which of contacting them. The telephone quantity listed on their web site goes to a broader furnishings firm, and when Ron tries to get an electronic mail tackle from the positioning’s helper bot, it simply directs him again to the unhelpful contact web page. The irritating circularity of all of it calls to thoughts purposefully obscured buyer websites, however there are components of the useless web principle — that almost all exercise on the web is machine-generated — as effectively. There is a company vacancy to those web sites harking back to ghost jobs and employment scams, and that vacancy solely enrages Ron additional.

Elsewhere, The Chair Firm faucets into concepts of on-line privateness, from monitoring somebody’s location to stealing their identification. However the greatest connection to on-line life is The Chair Firm‘s depiction of hyper-fixations on conspiracy theories, with Ron’s detective work coming to resemble the misinformation-fueled armchair detective work of on-line conspiracy theorists. After all, The Chair Firm hints that Ron might very effectively be onto one thing, however that does not change the truth that his frenzied seek for solutions has alienated him from his household and his co-workers, in a lot the identical manner that conspiracy theories can break households aside.

These parallels to on-line life add substance to what’s already a bizarrely zany journey, filled with basic panicked Robinson shouting and a memorable assortment of seedy facet characters. The result’s positive to be a deal with for Robinson followers, one that gives up considered one of his most sadly relatable characters but.

The Chair Firm premieres Sunday, Oct. 12 at 10 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max, with new episodes weekly.