Workaholics

You’d think after “Office Space” and “The Office”, that we don’t need any more cynical (but funny) office comedies.  And you could very well be right.  Is there room for one more?  Here’s a good candidate.

It’s now on its sixth season on Comedy Central and has been picked up for a seventh.  I’ve actually only seen season 1 – but I’ve got writers block this weekend and haven’t finished up the other topics I’d like to cover.  If any fans can tell me that the series changes dramatically in any way after season 1, by all means let me know.

Locale:  L.A.   Instead of Houston or Scranton, we’re in L.A.   Lots of sunshine.

Workplace.   They work at a telemarketing company, Tel Ameri Corp, so it’s another candidate for a “soulless” corporation no one likes.

What’s funny is that the three major characters use the real names of their respective actors.

Blake (Blake Anderson).   Easily the most distinctive due to his long hair and grooming, he’s the guy who doesn’t meet the grooming code of the 9-5 workplace.  And as you can expect, he’s the most 4:20-oriented of the group.  In fact, it’s a miracle he even works any office job at all.  He’s so off the wall that there’s no “Office” or “Office Space” equivalent of him, so right there you’ve a good reason to watch. 

Adam (Adam Devine).  Kinda chubby and equally irresponsible.  He also has that annoying tendency to overstate his appeal to women.  For “Modern Family” fans, he’s considerably less likeable than his character on that show (romance with Haley).  In fact, he’s just as much a screwup as Blake but looks more normal.

Anders (Anders Holm).  The most well-adjusted and least inclined to mess around.  Anders tries to keep his two pals in line but invariably fails.  In fact, Blake and Adam were roommates in college, and Anders was their resident advisor (RA), not hard to believe when you see how diligently and unsuccessfully he tries to rein them in.  However, he is MUCH more sympathetic than Dwight.

The other major characters are Alice, their attractive but intolerant of their BS boss, and Karl, their weed dealer. 

The obvious comparisons are with “Office Space” and “The Office”, and what distinguishes this one is that it goes farther into South Park style irreverency and shenanigans than either of those.  It’s a bit crazier than “Parks & Recreation” – oddly, no one on P&R does weed, not even Andy or April.  Check it out and decide for yourself.