Comedy Central’s new show Corporate is a fantastically funny black comedy with a cynical take on the corporate world that awaits many of us on the other side of graduation. Although the show is comedic, it is far from happy.
Like Black Mirror, Corporate is a show that brings the audience into a world that is unsettlingly believable. While Black Mirror is set in an imagined future, Corporate is very distinctly in the present . . . But in a present world that is so subtly twisted and surreal that the realities of everyday life are made so absurd that you can’t help but laugh. The source of the oddly dystopian world of Corporate is not technology as it is with Black Mirror, instead it is the society itself — a society that is all too familiar.
The series follows Matt (Matt Ingebretson) and Jake (Jake Weisman), junior executives in training at the headquarters of Hampton DeVille: a fictional Amazonesque mega corporation with a bit of a morality issue. While Hampton DeVille might not care about its employees, it certainly cares about their productivity. From accidentally (or perhaps purposefully) waterboarding their employees at a company retreat, to faking a plane crash in an attempt to improve a sense of community, Hampton DeVille is the manifestation of everything that is ridiculous about modern corporations.
Although it’s set in a corporate world, its humour comes from the absurdity of everyday life. In every episode, the audience is exposed to this utterly strange world as if it is normal, with Jake and Matt experiencing it all along with you. Whether it’s being entirely left out of society due to missing the most recent hit show, or being forced to attend yet another useless meeting, the cynicism of Corporate is a hilariously depressing look at the realities of everyday life.
It’s a show so odd that you might watch six episodes before you realize that the company’s name is remarkably similar to the word “devil.” You might be halfway through a dream sequence before realizing it when a woman blows smoke straight into Matt’s face yelling, “I’m a fucking ghost!” Corporate is a perfectly cynical, unsettling take on the classic workplace sitcom. If you’re a fan of happy characters with fun and exciting lives, Corporate might not be for you. If you’re one to appreciate some good black comedy, it’s a show you’d hate to miss.
Although it’s certainly true that not every joke, or even episode, always hits the mark. Some have a great concept (like what happens when a major corporation’s crimes are called out by a Banksy-like figure) but might not be executed in a way that makes the delivery itself funny. Sometimes the execution is spot on, but there’s not much behind the joke in the first place. Despite these few missteps, Corporate is a show with undeniable promise. It can be lacklustre, but when it’s good, it’ll keep you laughing from beginning to end.
