Anytime Tim Robinson’s name comes up, I’ve found that I let out an involuntary groan of, “Oh no” – which is strange, because I actually love his unique brand of comedy. Given what we’ve seen on Netflix’s I Think You Should Leave and in Friendship with Paul Rudd, I have to imagine that level of discomfort is what he’s going for, and fans are about to get a whole new dose of that cringe-inducing goodness with The Chair Company.
Reviews are here for the new HBO comedy series ahead of its release on the 2025 TV schedule, which will see Tim Robinson’s Ron get caught up in an elaborate conspiracy following an embarrassing incident at work. I have seen a few of the episodes already myself, and I have to agree with critics like Chase Hutchinson of The Wrap, who calls the show “more than a little horrifying,” and says it’s Robinson’s most bonkers project yet. He continues:
As he goes from frantically poking around online and making angry phone calls, to going out into the real world and getting in altercations with an eccentric cast of supporting characters (of which Robinson’s fellow SNL alum Jim Downey is the standout), The Chair Company taps into something deeply disquieting about modern conspiracies just as it remains as sharply funny as anything Robinson has ever produced.
Ben Travers of IndieWire rates it a B+, acutely noting that Tim Robinson’s character embodies how easy it is to get lost when you’re desperate to be seen. Ron’s predicament might make you want to scream or possibly even cry, but it will definitely make you laugh. Travers says:
As with I Think You Should Leave, the humor is well-balanced. Sometimes we’re nervously laughing at Ron, because he’s done something beyond the pale. But just as frequently we’re giddily laughing with Ron, because his befuddled indignation is so identifiable. Ron exists outside of our own sensibilities as often as he fits within them, and through it all, there’s a depth to the man that’s absent from many of Robinson’s more temporary personas.
Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter calls The Chair Company “delightfully unhinged,” writing that like the rest of Tim Robinson’s oeuvre, it’s an intentionally uncomfortable experience. However, its relatability is irresistible in how the show captures what it’s like to have an intrusive thought that you can’t shake, no matter how silly or small you know it is. Han continues:
It feels sometimes as if everyone is an alien wearing a skin suit and trying to mimic human behavior, with varying degrees of success. I mean that specifically about the show, but I’d be lying if I said I’d never felt that about myself or the world around me — and therein lies the draw of The Chair Company. The cringing mortifications and unsettling unreality make the series a tough sit. But for those tuned into the peculiar wavelength put out by Robinson and his collaborators, they’re also what make it irresistible.
Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence gives it a B+, saying The Chair Company proves that Tim Robinson’s unique voice can sustain a full season of television, as he gives his best performance yet. In the critic’s words:
Like so many Robinson-starring projects, there’s such a beautiful precision to some of this dialogue, like Ron explaining a physical confrontation with someone by saying ‘my hand pushed him,’ or musing in a somewhat smug way that ‘I’m right about a lot of things that people have zero clue are going on.’ It’s the sort of thing made possible by a lead actor with such a clear comedic voice, and Robinson does his best job yet of modulating his performance to fit both the most high-strung moments of the story as well as its more grounded moments.
Chris Evangelista of SlashFilm rates the series an 8 out of 10, saying in The Chair Company, Tim Robinson has mastered the art of turning an uncomfortable topic into something uproarious and making a potentially unlikeable man sympathetic. The darkness that lurks beneath the surface only makes the series more interesting. The critic says:
The Chair Company is better constructed than Robinson’s recent film Friendship, which I thought was sporadically funny but slightly uneven. Robinson’s style of humor seems better suited for the medium of TV, and works well in this episodic structure. That said, if you’re not a fan of Robinson’s style of cringe comedy, you likely won’t find anything new in The Chair Company to grab hold of. But if you are a fan of Robinson’s work (as I am) you can expect The Chair Company to send you into near-hysterics.
Do these reviews make you worried about the dark places Tim Robinson’s series might go? As the above critic points out, if his cringe comedy isn’t your thing, The Chair Company isn’t likely to change your mind. However, I do agree that giving the comedian space to develop his character over the length of a series amplifies all of my feelings toward him — from fondness to frustration.
If you want to check out The Chair Company, the new series premieres at 10 p.m. ET Sunday, October 12, on HBO and can be streamed with an HBO Max subscription. Episodes will be released weekly on Sundays.