Tim Robinson’s HBO series is hilarious and deranged

“We’re all trying to find the guy who did this.” That line, uttered by an agitated man in a hot dog costume, has become one of the most iconic moments of “I Think You Should Go with Tim Robinson,” the hilarious Netflix sketch comedy series created by Robinson and Zach Kanin. The moment comes after a car shaped like a hot dog crashes into a clothing store, causing chaos. The customers and staff inside try to come to their senses and begin to wonder, “Who did this?” Who crashed that hot dog car into the store? Suddenly, the man in the hot dog costume (played by Robinson) appears in the frame, trying to join the crowd. It’s obvious to everyone that Robinson’s character is the guy who crashed the hot dog car: he’s wearing a hot dog costume! And yet Robinson’s hot dog vendor keeps insistent he was not involved.

The sketch is undeniably funny and has filtered into the pop culture consciousness, with Robinson’s hot dog shouting “We’re all trying to find the guy who did this!” becoming a catch-all meme when public figures try to get rid of themselves. This perfectly sums up the type of characters Robinson tends to play: chaotic, insecure men, terrified of admitting they’ve done something wrong. They don’t (usually) behave this way because of their confidence in their actions or their belief that they are actually correct. Instead, they are so horrified at the prospect of being embarrassed that they are willing to blatantly lie to hopefully escape ridicule. (The first skit “I Think You Should Leave,” in which Robinson plays a man in a job interview who literally breaks a door rather than admit he’s opening it the wrong way, also encapsulates this mentality perfectly).

Even if the joke is always pushed to the most absurd place possible, this type of individual, the one who continues insistent they are right while everyone around them is wrong – it seems synonymous with our current deranged American times. Although conspiracy theories have always been present in the United States, they have become commonplace over the past two decades, with leaders in industry and politics calling out easily debunked bullshit. Robinson has a knack for turning this very disturbing modern phenomenon into a hilarious comedy, and he’s done it again with “The Chair Company,” a disjointed black comedy about a man who falls deeper and deeper into a conspiracy that may be all in his head. But he can’t admit it, because admitting it would mean admitting he was wrong – and what’s more embarrassing than that?

In “The Chair Company,” created by the “I Think You Should Leave” team of Robinson and Kanin, Robinson plays Ron, a family man living in suburban Ohio who is tasked with designing a new shopping center. When we first meet Ron, he’s out to eat with his wife Barb (Lake Bell), son Seth (Will Price), and daughter Natalie (Sophia Lillis). Barb toasts Ron, saying, “The way you’ve weathered the ups and downs of the last few years…we all know it hasn’t been easy for you.”

This is the first of many clues that something isn’t entirely in keeping with Ron’s life, a suspicion that only grows as the series progresses. After an unfortunate incident during a work presentation (reviewers were specifically asked to not reveals what the incident is), Ron begins to become unglued and disjointed. He found himself embarrassed in front of his colleagues and his boss (Lou Diamond Phillips), and embarrassment is the worst thing that can happen to a Tim Robinson character. Rather than admit anything resembling defeat, Ron begins looking for someone to blame for his misfortune. In other words, he’s trying to find the guy who did this.

Although the subject of QAnon never appears in the series (at least not in the 7 of the 8 episodes available for review), Ron’s collapsing reality seems to be the perfect reflection of this disturbing conspiracy theory, whose proponents see society overrun by a borderline supernatural evil that will be defeated by those who know the truth. “The Chair Company” holds up a mirror to a world where people have become conspiracy theorists convinced that if they spend enough time online and post on the right discussion forums, they will discover a truth that “ordinary” people are unaware of. Ron starts doing what he think are extensive internet searches (it’s actually quite simple Google searches) that allow him to uncover what may be a global conspiracy linked to a mysterious company.

Or maybe it’s all in his head.

On paper, this concept seems dark and gloomy. And yes, there is an inherent darkness to “The Chair Company.” But the show’s sense of humor is so absurd that it turns an uncomfortable subject into something riotous. Robinson and Kanin embrace the type of paranoia prevalent in classic conspiracy thrillers, with a decidedly silly twist. What if a character from “I Think You Should Leave” suddenly stumbled upon a movie like “The Parallax View” or “Three Days of the Condor”? It might sound like “The Chair Company.”

While Ron is your prototypical Tim Robinson oddball, “The Chair Company” is also populated by a group of strange characters who seem to be on a similar bizarre wavelength (legendary comedy screenwriter Jim Downey even appears as one of Ron’s colleagues). The most notable and memorable supporting character is the mysterious Mike Santini, played by Joseph Tudisco in what can only be described as a breakout role (his other credits on IMDb are mostly small roles and additional background characters). Working as a security guard at a restaurant where every customer seems to be constantly fighting (??), Mike is an older guy who gets mixed up in the plot (when he’s not watching porn or listening to Jerky Boys-style comedy tapes where two guys with New York accents yell at each other).

As Ron, Robinson finds a way to make a potentially unlikable character sympathetic – something Robinson is very good at. We sympathize with Ron, even pity him, as he becomes more and more erratic. He is the modern loser; the kind of guy who has stumbled so far through life that he’s convinced someone has to hold him back. His failures and mistakes cannot be due to his own character flaws. No, someone he must be blamed for that. What makes “The Chair Company” particularly compelling, however, are the hints that maybe, just maybe, Ron is actually on to something here. What if he was right? As Joseph Heller said, “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they don’t want to get you.” »

“The Chair Company” is better constructed than Robinson’s recent film “Friendship,” which I found sporadically funny but slightly uneven. Robinson’s style of humor seems better suited to the television medium and works well within this episodic structure. That said, if you’re not a fan of Robinson’s style of gritty comedy, you probably won’t find anything new in “The Chair Company” to grab onto.

But if you are Being a fan of Robinson’s work (as I am), you can expect “The Chair Company” to put you in a near-hysterical state. There are several moments here (I won’t spoil them because describing them simply won’t do them justice) that made me laugh so much that I literally had tears in my eyes. Since I haven’t been provided the final episode, I can’t say whether “The Chair Company” succeeds and wraps things up in a satisfactory manner. But the series is so fast-paced and fun that I enjoyed the ride.

What can I say? I just find Tim Robinson incredibly funny. He has a way of making almost any situation funny (one of the biggest laughs of the show for me came during a brief moment in the first episode, where Ron is having trouble falling asleep and shouts “I swear I have the worst pillow”). in town“; it’s not even really a joke, but Robinson sells it perfectly.) At the same time, the darkness beneath all the humor makes “The Chair Company” far more interesting than you might think. It’s the deranged comedy of our deranged times.

/Film rating: 8 out of 10

“The Chair Company” premieres on HBO on October 12, 2025 and will be available to stream on HBO Max. New episodes of the eight-episode season will debut each week until the season finale on November 30.