A new comedy starring Sandra Oh has been released on Netflix, The Chair, is about the life of a lecturer at Pembroke University and the trials and tribulations of a single mother raising an adopted child.
Ji-Yoon (Sandra Oh) is hired as the first female chair of the English department at a university and her first task is to reduce the overhead costs of the department, removing the underperforming lecturers who are paid the most and have the least number of students. Interestingly enough these lecturers are the eldest members of the faculty.
As somber as this sounds, the series is a comedy and it is very funny and engaging. A total surprise and a new release that has received little fanfare, especially with such a strong supporting cast including Holland Taylor as Joan Hambling, Bob Balaban as Elliot Rentz, Jay Duplass as Bill Dobson, Nana Mensah as Yaz McKay and David Duchovny playing himself.
Created by Amanda Peet and Annie Wyman this series delves into the inner workings of tertiary education and highlights the difficulties long standing tenured professors experience compared to their younger contemporaries who are also more popular with the younger students and have higher attended lectures. The humor of this series is remarkable, as the subjects of this series could be quite dark but the way they infuse the humor makes it lighthearted and engaging.
Directed by Daniel Gray Longino, who you might recognize from such series as Portlandia, Who Is America and PEN15. The Chair examines the difficulties a working mother experiences when taking on a job that requires her full attention, but at home she has ongoing difficulties with her adopted daughter who is struggling to accept the realities of her new life. The series also explores the difficulties a native Korean experiences trying to assimilate into the New England university culture.
The timing of this series is remarkable, as it couldn’t be timelier as more people of color are rightly being promoted to high standing positions and the challenges they face, especially working in an English department that is failing and in need of rejuvenation.
Sandra Oh as Ji-Yoon is outstanding. She is a remarkable actress who deserves more attention. Every role she plays is stellar and playing a single Mom, who is leading an English department at Pembroke University is very funny.
Holland Taylor as stressed English literary professor Joan Hambling is nice surprise. Holland Taylor is a phenomenal character actor who should be recognized for her ongoing work. Her portrayal of an older professor who doesn’t want to bend to the demands of the Dean but also is committed to education and the free thinking of students is a role that you can’t help but find endearing.
The Chair released earlier this month on Netflix and it’s an addictive series. It is funny and engaging but also most importantly relatable. We all at some stage of our lives question the purpose and also direction and will double guess if we have made the right decisions that have resulted in our career choices. As heavy as this all sounds, The Chair is a very amusing series that will have you belly laughing at the outlandish behaviors of University professors.
The Chair is currently available on Netflix.
