Inside Job: Season 1
November 16, 2021 1:30 PM - Season 1 (Full Season) - Subscribe
Inside Job is an animated workplace comedy set in a world where every conspiracy theory is real. It is centered on American "shadow government" organization Cognito, Inc., which attempts to control the world and keep the conspiracies secret. The series follows a team led by tech genius Reagan Ridley (voiced by Lizzy Caplan) and her "mediocre white man" partner Brett Hand (Clark Duke), as they work in the organization alongside reptilian shapeshifters, a human-dolphin hybrid, and a sapient mushroom from hollow Earth. Season One was released in its entirety on October 22, 2021 on Netflix.
The show's creator and showrunner is Shion Takeuchi, formerly of Adventure Time, Regular Show, Gravity Falls, Disenchantment, and Lost in Oz. It is the first in what has been reported to be a multi-project deal between her and Netflix.
Alex Hirsch, creator of Gravity Falls, and Mike Hollingsworth, supervising director of BoJack Horseman, serve as Executive producers. Voice actors include Emmy-nominated Lizzy Caplan as Reagan Ridley, Christian Slater as Reagan's father, comedian (and R&B musician) Tisha Campbell, Silicon Valley and Arrested Development veteran Chris Diamantopoulos, John DiMaggio—best known as the voice of Futurama's Bender, and Brett Gelman of Fleabag and Stranger Things.
It currently has a 78% fresh rating (87% audience) on Rotten Tomatoes.
The show's creator and showrunner is Shion Takeuchi, formerly of Adventure Time, Regular Show, Gravity Falls, Disenchantment, and Lost in Oz. It is the first in what has been reported to be a multi-project deal between her and Netflix.
Alex Hirsch, creator of Gravity Falls, and Mike Hollingsworth, supervising director of BoJack Horseman, serve as Executive producers. Voice actors include Emmy-nominated Lizzy Caplan as Reagan Ridley, Christian Slater as Reagan's father, comedian (and R&B musician) Tisha Campbell, Silicon Valley and Arrested Development veteran Chris Diamantopoulos, John DiMaggio—best known as the voice of Futurama's Bender, and Brett Gelman of Fleabag and Stranger Things.
It currently has a 78% fresh rating (87% audience) on Rotten Tomatoes.
I just watched S1E1 today, after someone mentioned it in the comments of a thread I posted. I found it amusing though the first episode was just scratching the surface of the conspiracy weirdness. I suppose it will dig in deeper. Brett Hand reminded me a lot of the ridiculous CIA plant in No Time to Die: ridiculous white man just cruising through life.
posted by chavenet at 2:59 PM on November 16, 2021
posted by chavenet at 2:59 PM on November 16, 2021
It grew on me over the season. At first, I thought it was just going to be one gonzo joke after another. It is mostly just that. There was enough plot mixed in to keep me interested.
posted by KaizenSoze at 3:34 PM on November 16, 2021
posted by KaizenSoze at 3:34 PM on November 16, 2021
I might give it another shot. S1E1 didn't impress me overly; someone in another thread described it as being in the mode of a lot of other animated comedies on streaming lately (Rick and Morty, BoJack Horseman, Archer, etc.), and that's how it seemed to me, but I'll trust the purple on this, after I finish the latest season of Big Mouth.
posted by Halloween Jack at 3:46 PM on November 16, 2021
posted by Halloween Jack at 3:46 PM on November 16, 2021
I had the same initial reaction as Marticus, but it turned out to be pretty damn funny. Way better than Bojack Horseman.
posted by wierdo at 5:28 PM on November 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by wierdo at 5:28 PM on November 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
I follow one of the writers on twitter (@kibblesmith) so I starting watching, I'm maybe halfway through the season. Like a lot of the jokes, think the show overall is maybe 3/5.
I don't know if this is a fair criticism, since it's kind of "could this be a different series" but I think Cognito, Inc. is so out there that it swamps the absurdity of the conspiracy theories. Kind of wish Reagan and Brett got highlighted a bit more so the bizarre stuff was playing off of them, instead of mushroom person and mutant.
posted by mark k at 6:01 PM on November 16, 2021
I don't know if this is a fair criticism, since it's kind of "could this be a different series" but I think Cognito, Inc. is so out there that it swamps the absurdity of the conspiracy theories. Kind of wish Reagan and Brett got highlighted a bit more so the bizarre stuff was playing off of them, instead of mushroom person and mutant.
posted by mark k at 6:01 PM on November 16, 2021
Hi, I'm the person who described this show like this:
"I can't decide if I like that show or if it's just another replacement-level Netflix original that, despite being created by real people whose previous work I've enjoyed, feels like it was written by an algorithm (see also Space Force).
Like, a little Futurama, a little Archer, a little Rick & Morty, a pinch of BoJack Horseman, and, uh, there's your show."
And I kind of want to walk that back a bit. I like the show. I want to watch a second season (I'm not sure I'd say the same about Space Force). But, even as I like the show, it feels kinda focus-grouped to me (so does almost every Netflix original movie I've watched). And so I wonder if that's just me, a person who doesn't like feeling like I'm being marketed to, or if that's just how a lot of entertainment is going to be in the streaming era, where there's a million things to watch and a billion data points about how we watch them.
posted by box at 5:00 AM on November 17, 2021
"I can't decide if I like that show or if it's just another replacement-level Netflix original that, despite being created by real people whose previous work I've enjoyed, feels like it was written by an algorithm (see also Space Force).
Like, a little Futurama, a little Archer, a little Rick & Morty, a pinch of BoJack Horseman, and, uh, there's your show."
And I kind of want to walk that back a bit. I like the show. I want to watch a second season (I'm not sure I'd say the same about Space Force). But, even as I like the show, it feels kinda focus-grouped to me (so does almost every Netflix original movie I've watched). And so I wonder if that's just me, a person who doesn't like feeling like I'm being marketed to, or if that's just how a lot of entertainment is going to be in the streaming era, where there's a million things to watch and a billion data points about how we watch them.
posted by box at 5:00 AM on November 17, 2021
I've been watching S1 with a group of friends, and we're about halfway through right now. Because of that, I'm reserving judgment on stuff like overall season-arc plotlines, but so far the reaction seems to be pretty positive. I've certainly gotten a laugh or two out of each episode.
However, one of the reasons why I was rather excited to discuss this on MeFi (thanks cortex for adding it to FanFare!) was that I feel like my friends and I are so absolutely the target market for the show. Like, if you had some sort of infallible AI and fed every possible variable for creating a TV show into it, and told it to make a TV show that appeals to myself and my friends, Inside Job seems really close to what it might decide to create.
Which is fun.
Cf. box's comment above, I don't have any particular problem with being marketed to. It feels a little weird sometimes, because it comes with the realization that I have become the Establishment, and—sic transit gloria mundi—that means pretty soon the studios will start cranking out shows aimed at a younger generation that I just won't get. But in the meantime, fuck it, I might as well enjoy the ride.
But it does make me wonder if the show works for people who aren't inside-the-Beltway tech workers at faceless, inscrutable corporations. Some of the jokes feel surprisingly inside baseball.
My only complaint so far is that some of the episodes seem to pull punches. Episode 1 created a setup that, at least in theory, could have been a vehicle for some pretty biting satire of an industry that flies under the radar most of the time. It'd be a bit of a waste if it ends up just becoming a gender-swapped Rick and Morty.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the season.
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:55 AM on November 17, 2021
However, one of the reasons why I was rather excited to discuss this on MeFi (thanks cortex for adding it to FanFare!) was that I feel like my friends and I are so absolutely the target market for the show. Like, if you had some sort of infallible AI and fed every possible variable for creating a TV show into it, and told it to make a TV show that appeals to myself and my friends, Inside Job seems really close to what it might decide to create.
Which is fun.
Cf. box's comment above, I don't have any particular problem with being marketed to. It feels a little weird sometimes, because it comes with the realization that I have become the Establishment, and—sic transit gloria mundi—that means pretty soon the studios will start cranking out shows aimed at a younger generation that I just won't get. But in the meantime, fuck it, I might as well enjoy the ride.
But it does make me wonder if the show works for people who aren't inside-the-Beltway tech workers at faceless, inscrutable corporations. Some of the jokes feel surprisingly inside baseball.
My only complaint so far is that some of the episodes seem to pull punches. Episode 1 created a setup that, at least in theory, could have been a vehicle for some pretty biting satire of an industry that flies under the radar most of the time. It'd be a bit of a waste if it ends up just becoming a gender-swapped Rick and Morty.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the season.
posted by Kadin2048 at 9:55 AM on November 17, 2021
Watched first episode - was disappointed. Felt more like a juvenile effort, sort of a Family Guy/American Dad take on the subject(s). Maybe future eps will fare better?
posted by davidmsc at 11:55 AM on November 18, 2021
posted by davidmsc at 11:55 AM on November 18, 2021
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One thing that struck me, not having read anything about it, was seeing the father and going "wow that really looks like Christian Slater" before he started talking and it turned out it actually was him.
posted by Marticus at 2:42 PM on November 16, 2021 [2 favorites]