Tim Robinson is about to open his comedic new business even sooner than imagined. The first images from the I Think You Should Leave co-creator and star’s upcoming HBO series, The Chair Company, have just been released, along with a premiere date that’s just over one month away on October 12. Also masterminded by Robinson alongside Zach Kanin, the show was ordered just over a year ago with hopes of expanding the former SNL member’s empire to include a more narrative sitcom-style series not unlike his past work in Detroiters. It’ll be his second major project of the year, following his cringe-inducing hit Friendship with Paul Rudd.
HBO is keeping the plot details vague at this time, but The Chair Company follows a man named Ron Trosper (Robinson) who suffers an immensely embarrassing incident at work, only to uncover a conspiracy further-reaching than he could possibly imagine. It looks to have all the hallmarks of Robinson‘s work, with more scenarios built for laughter and cringe as its protagonist digs deeper into what’s going on around him. Most of the images center on Ron, either talking on the phone, eating a sandwich alone at a restaurant, or out at dinner with his family, with each shot filled with an air of intrigue about his scenario. Also featured notably is It alum Sophia Lillis, seen checking her phone with a look hinting that something bigger is going on.
Lillis will appear as Trosper’s daughter, Natalie, with Harley Quinn‘s Lake Bell playing his wife, Barb, and After the Hunt‘s Will Price as his son, Seth. The Chair Company has also enlisted the talents of Joseph Tudisco as Mike Santini and Lou Diamond Phillips in a recurring role as Jeff Levjman. Alongside the starry cast, Robinson also reunited with Friendship director Andrew DeYoung on the creative end, enlisting him to shoot the series with Aaron Schimberg and executive produce with Adam McKay and Todd Schulman for HyperObject Industries and Igor Srubshchik.
Tim Robinson Could Soon Be Returning to ‘I Think You Should Leave’
Between making Friendship and The Chair Company, alongside his voice-acting roles on shows like Digman! and Big City Greens, Robinson has kept busy since his last live-action television appearance in I Think You Should Leave Season 3. The three-time Emmy winner’s flagship sketch comedy series delivered its third season on Netflix back in 2023, and since then, updates have been few and far between. However, producer Akiva Schaffer shared with Collider‘s Steve Weintraub last month that Robinson and Kanin had a deal for more episodes and would likely get back in full swing once work was complete on the HBO show’s inaugural run. “So, I don’t have a date or anything like that, but just know there are sketches that I have not read that they have written,” he teased. Things might get moving quickly now that the end is in sight for the pair’s latest collaboration.
The Chair Company premieres on October 12 at 10 p.m. on HBO and HBO Max, with new episodes following every week through November 30. Check out the first images in the gallery above.
via Collider