Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Mike Redmond | News | September 9, 2025
Friendship, the A24 cringe-mobile starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd, hit HBO Max over the weekend, and it’s put me in a difficult spot here. I want everyone to watch the movie because it’s easily one of my favorite comedies of all time, but I also don’t want to oversell it. It is absolutely a ballooned out I Think You Should Leave sketch that painfully (but hilariously) goes in directions you will never see coming in a million years. If it doesn’t rapidly achieve cult status, it’s time to toss humanity in the sea. We had a good run.
Anyway, HBO is striking while the iron is hot. With Friendship now streaming, Robinson’s newest series, The Chair Company, is getting an official rollout, and this bad boy is coming soon. I’m talking next month soon. The Chair Company will premiere October 12, but what really caught my eye is that the creative team has a notable inclusion beyond just Robinson’s writing partner and ITSYL co-creator Zach Kanin.
Via Vulture (emphasis mine):
Aesthetically, the series shares some overlap with Friendship, the 2025 film directed by Andrew DeYoung and co-starring Robinson and Paul Rudd; DeYoung serves as an executive producer on The Chair Company and directed its pilot. Superficially, Robinson’s protagonist character, William Ronald Trosper, might remind some viewers of his Friendship character, Craig Waterman, but Robinson thinks his Chair Company character might be a little easier to stomach for cringe-averse viewers: “I actually don’t think Ron is as tough of a hang as Craig Waterman is,” he says. “I think Ron is a prideful man, and like a lot of characters that Zach and I have worked on, doesn’t like to be embarrassed … This time, maybe he found something he can actually do.”
After watching Friendship, that’s music to my… eyes? As for the plot of the show, Robinson and Kanin are purposefully keeping details to a minimum, which works in their favor. These two are masters at mining cringe comedy from random situations. All we have to go on is some first-look photos, and a very cryptic logline that will almost definitely devolve into some sort of madcap fevered dream.
“After an embarrassing incident at work, a man finds himself investigating a far-reaching conspiracy.”
Yup, I’ve heard enough. Sold!
