Hit or Miss: The Chair
Netflix has had a good year with many high profile shows under its belt, but with many of its gigantic flagship shows like Bridgerton, Stranger Things, and The Witcher on the backburner with late 2021 or 2022 releases. Netflix has pumped a lot of money into new original programming. One of those new pieces of programming is The Chair, headlined by the acting powerhouse that is Sandra Oh. This new show follows Oh’s character as the new first chair of the English department of Pembroke University and the first woman to ever hold the title. The small teaser shows Dr. Kim enters her new office and opens a rather explicit plaque declaring who now runs the show as one of the few people of color on staff at the prestigious New England university.
This new comedy is put in front of us by Amanda Peet as producer, writer, and showrunner with her husband and his close collaborator, David Benioff and Dan Weiss of Game of Thrones infamy joining her as executive producers. The director who helms all six episodes is David Gray Longino, known for Tim and Eric, Portlandia, and Lady Dynamite. The dynamic cast is led by the wonderful and captivating Sandra Oh with two Golden Globes, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and twelve Primetime Emmy Nominations. She will be joined by Holland Taylor, a Primetime Emmy Winner herself, Jay Duplass known for his work with his brother Mark, Nana Mensah, and David Morse from The Green Mile and Treme. There has been little spilled by Netflix itself with only a short teaser being released just at the end of June for a late August release and with little fanfare on social media or marketing to build up this potentially great dramedy. Whether this is intentional and they are banking on the name recognition and strength of the show alone to garner eyeballs, only time will tell, now while just from the premise alone it seems like this might appeal more to an older audience which would require less effort in terms of marketing efforts and more emphasis on the cast and strength of the writing and direction than shows like Succession or Mad Men. Those shows capitalize on the plot heavy twists and turns of a high brow drama to keep interest over an overarching narrative. The Chair seems to have a more comedic tone that will rest heavily on the chemistry of the cast and the quirkiness of the jokes and delivery.
In any case, I am thoroughly excited to see what Sandra Oh can do with a comedic tone and with a strong team of writers behind her, especially with the cast they have stacked together that are all capable of both serious dramatic roles and with lighter productions under their belts to boot.. Be sure to catch this comedy when it hits the internet tubes before the end of summer as Netflix has commissioned The Chair for six half hour episodes that will premiere on August 20th, 2021.
