If you ever went to university and worked at what was once called a Joe job, you’ll feel right at home in this webseries. Written and directed by Ian Brodsky, A Show about Co-Workers series follows, over the course of five episodes, a group of stock room workers on their coffee break. They all meet up in a very bougie cafe called Urban Backyard, and have witty and engaging conversations. The episodes are all only one or two minutes long. But how can that be when we’re dealing with 15 minute breaks? If you’ve been there, you know that once you leave your post, stand in line, etc, etc, your 15 minutes quickly evaporate to nothing. Realistically this should have been shot in a bare concrete break room, but that would have been just depressing. So the one or two minutes of banter is in fact pretty realistic. In fact, there was ever a concept that fit perfectly into the webseries format, this is it.
In the first episode of A Show about Co-Workers there are two foul-mouthed IT goons who seem to be related to the owner. They are both graduates of the University of Phoenix online and are more or less set for life. But the characters we follow have advanced degrees from Ivy League schools and read serious books. What are they doing here? Just trying to make ends meet until their fortunes, hopefully, improve. This is, of course, a situation anyone in the entertainment industry will also be familiar with. But in the arts, at least, we expect this kind of uncertainty and, hopefully, go into it with open eyes. The unfortunate thing is that these days even those with MBAs and law degrees are also having to hustle the way actors and musicians always have.
Your uncle, who got a job with General Motors when was 22, bought a house when he was 26 and made a six-figure salary from 1981 on, will decry the six dollar lattes these kids drink in their hipster coffee shop and the fact that they can go out drinking Vodka Cranberries on weeknights. But those in GenZ know the truth: this is a comedy, but these kids are laughing to keep from crying. Home ownership is probably out of the question for those who can’t get a generous loan or grant from the Bank of Mom and Dad. They may well be permanently part of the gig economy and will never pay into any pension plan that will actually help them out in old age.
On the other hand, A Show about Co-Workers does highlight the one saving grace of these jobs. The camaraderie one experiences when working at a crappy job with a bunch of others. I read once that people tend to laugh much more at work than at any other place in their lives. I once had a summer job while in university at a cemetery, and it was certainly true that I laughed a lot there. The job was quite awful, but I formed real friendships there. One thing that I thought this series lacked, and which I think is true of most of these jobs, is that there were no real working class people. In most jobs I’ve had like this (and I’ve had a lot), there was always a mix of those who were just passing through on their way, hopefully, to better things, and those who were lifers. I, luckily, went from being one of the latter to being one of the former. And I think experiencing that kind of mix was a truly enriching experience.
The direction here is simple and very effective. The series relies on stereotypes, but in a way that is believable and in no way offensive. There are two Black character, one Jewish, played by Brodsky, and one (I think) Italian-American. When the Black characters tell a white guy that he’s not allowed to say “Shiet”, the Jewish guy claims that his background entitles him to give it a shot. He fails, but it’s quite hilarious. The dialogue is snappy, realistic and genuinely funny. I could have watched for a lot longer. But I suppose then it would have to focus on the lunch break rather than the ‘company mandated fifteen.’
Brodsky is a native of New York state and had acted in, written, directed and produced several projects. There is clearly a great deal of talent here and we look forward to seeing more from him.
© 2021. UniversalCinema Mag.