Workplace is the heart of thrilling series 'The Consultant'
Feb 23, 2023
Think your boss is bad
NEW YORK (AP) — Think your boss is bad? The one in the new TV series
“The Consultant”
phones his workers in the middle of the night, nixes all remote work, fires people with long-term illnesses, invites himself to after-work staff drinks and clips his nails at his desk. He might also be a murderer.That's what awaits the nervous employees of the fictional Los Angeles-based gaming company CompWare every day as a new consultant steers the firm through tough economic times. The new boss is deeply weird and secretive, and likely to throw a gagged person into your car and tell you to just drive.
“There is a sense of just being off balance the entire time. You never know what to expect,” says executive producer and pilot director Matt Shakman. "You don’t know what to expect character-wise, story-wise, or even tone and style. And that’s what really drew me to this. This felt like a world and a show that I had never seen before or been a part of creating before. It feels wholly original.”
Creator, showrunner and executive producer Tony Basgallop started the series by wanting to do a work-based thriller and someone recommended Bentley Little’s 2015 novel “The Consultant.”
Basgallop started adapting it just before the pandemic really hit and was left wondering if he was too late. Was anyone ever going back to work? Would anyone want to see a TV series about work terrors?
“I was thinking, ‘This is crazy. I’ve actually taken on something that’s never going to get made.’ But then I just made the choice: You know what? When we go back — if we ever go back — it’s going to be worse than it was before,” Basgallop says.
“So I took very much the premise of the book — very much the feeling of this evil presence, lurking over everyone and no one knowing whether he’s the devil or just the boss from hell.”
Starring Christoph Waltz as that boss, the Amazon Prime Video series which lands Friday also features Nat Wolff as a game developer, Aimee Carrero as the developer's fiancée and Brittany O’Grady as an aspiring executive.
The cast seems to have had a fine time despite the weirdness. “For making a show about such a toxic work environment, it was actually probably the most lovely work environment I’ve ever done,” said Wolff.
The series comes at a tumultuous time for the tech world, with thousands of job layoffs driven by the biggest names in tech like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo and Zoom.
The workers at CompWare are feeling the strain, obligated to do as the boss demands no matter how inconvenient. The days of just jumping to another tech firm are gone, leaving a trapped and nervous employee base.
The series plays off the sense that work is not a safe place anymore. “If something goes wrong, you’re going to have to fix it. You’re going to have to compromise. You have to take the bullet, in a sense,” Basgallop says.
It's up to the CompWare employees to determine what their boss is really up to and uncover his murky past. In many ways, he's a satire of a modern business leader who manipulates others and is quick to expose and manipulate weaknesses. One song that plays is Elvis’ “You’re the Devil in Disguise.”
Part of the chill of the show has to do with Waltz, the Oscar-winner with memorable roles in films like “Inglourious Basterds” and “Django Unchained.” He is equally charming and menacing.
“There is a sense of humor about him that is unique. He is equally good at comedy and drama. There is no one better at fixing you with a stare and making you feel just uncomfortable,” says Shakman.
Waltz took a leap of faith on the show, having only been sent the script for the pilot and not knowing where the character would end up. But based on conversations with the creators, he dived in. “I considered it risky,” he said. “As an actor who actually lives in the moment, the prospective result almost becomes secondary.”
The irony is that Waltz — whose last TV project was on the phone-based
Quibi platform
— is now playing a man who is leading a tech company, yet, the actor himself is anything but tech-savvy.“In a Zoom situation, I'm usually the one who doesn’t find the connection, who doesn’t find the unmute button, who has the little lens covered — all of that,” he said, laughing. "I’m not a digitally educated person."
___
Mark Kennedy is at
http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
More News
Claes Bang, Emma Mackey, Vicky Krieps and More Join Marion Cotillard in Marrakech Jury
Marrakech Film Festival has revealed the lineup of the jury, which is led by Marion Cotillard, as previously announced. Judging the winners of the Étoile d’Or from among the 14 films in competition will be Danish actor Claes Bang, who gained international recognition for his turn in Ruben Östlund’s “The Square,” which won the Palme […]
‘Hamnet’ Play From Royal Shakespeare Company Sets First U.K. Tour
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s stage version of “Hamnet,” Lolita Chakrabarti’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel about William Shakespeare’s family and the death of his 11-year-old son, will tour the U.K. for the first time starting in September 2027. Fiery Angel and Neal Street Productions are presenting the RSC production, which previously played London’s West End. […]
Bollywood Romance ‘Weekend’ Eyes First Indian Feature Shoot in Russia’s Yakutia as Picture Perfect Signs MoU With Sakhafilm, Saidam Baryl (EXCLUSIVE)
Indian romantic drama “Weekend” is eyeing a shoot in Russia’s remote Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia, after producer Vivek Singhania’s banner Picture Perfect signed a memorandum of understanding with local outfits Saidam Baryl and Sakhafilm to explore taking the production there. The three-way MoU was signed during the recently concluded 9th Yakutsk International Film […]
Nicole Kidman To Receive Honorary César In France
Nicole Kidman will be feted with an Honorary César at the 52nd César Ceremony in Paris in February 2026. She follows in the wake of Jim Carrey (2026) Julia Roberts (2025), Christopher Nolan (2024), David Fincher (2023) Cate Blanchett (2022), Robert Redford (2019) and George Clooney (2017). The Australian actress has worked with a number […]
‘Bridgerton’ Star Adjoa Andoh Creating & Starring In ITV Detective Drama ‘Protect And Serve’
EXCLUSIVE: Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh is swapping Shonda Rhimes’ regency wonderland for an ITV detective drama. Andoh is creating her first drama series, Protect and Serve [working title], with Time scribe Helen Black. Andoh will play the lead, DI Araba Dadzie, a cop, mother and daughter. Araba is in the squeezed middle of her life, […]
‘The Bureau’ Producer Federation Studios Moves to Recapitalize as Lionel Uzan Succeeds Pascal Breton as President
Federation Studios, the Paris-based group behind French spy series “The Bureau,” is overhauling its finances and leadership, with co-founder Lionel Uzan succeeding Pascal Breton as president and Montefiore and the company’s financial shareholders set to take majority control. The company said Thursday that it settled on the plan after weighing a number of strategic alternatives. […]
James Bond Producer Barbara Broccoli to Be President of U.K.’s National Film and Television School
James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has been revealed as the next president of the U.K.’s National Film and Television School. She succeeds Oscar-winning producer David Puttnam in the role. Broccoli will be the first female president in the NFTS’s history. Puttnam, whose credits include “Chariots of Fire,” “The Killing Fields” and “Midnight Express,” is to […]
Barbara Broccoli Appointed President Of UK’s National Film & Television School
EXCLUSIVE: Barbara Broccoli has been named the first female president of the UK’s National Film and Television School (NFTS). The storied James Bond producer becomes President just a few weeks before the opening of a building dedicated to her father, the legendary Cubby Broccoli. Barbara Broccoli will build on her longstanding relationship with the NFTS […]
Lionel Uzan Succeeding Pascal Breton As President Of Federation Studios; Montefiore Ups Stake
Federation Studios’ Lionel Uzan is taking the reins at the French entertainment giant with Pascal Breton stepping back, as Montefiore Investments becomes a majority shareholder. Federation, which had been seeking a huge cash injection of hundreds of millions of euros for the past couple of years, will have a new structure with an increase of […]
Russell Brand Documentary From ‘Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story’ Producers Set at Netflix Days After Rape Sentencing
Netflix has unveiled a documentary on Russell Brand, days after the comedian and former actor received a prison term of 10 years and six months for rape and sexual assault. “Russell Brand: Open Secret” is directed by Olivia Isaacs and produced by Fremantle-owned 72 Films, the company behind “Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story.” The […]
‘I Play Rocky’ Opens 50th Anniversary Edition of Cairo Film Festival as Chief Hussein Fahmy Looks to the Future
As the Cairo Intl. Film Festival celebrates 50 years since its founding, president Hussein Fahmy wants younger Egyptians to rediscover their country’s rich cinematic heritage. For the veteran actor, introducing new audiences to the films that established Egypt as the Arab world’s cinematic capital is central to the festival’s future. Speaking to Variety ahead of […]
Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan play an occasionally thrilling game of cat-and-mouse in Apple's 12 12 12
Apple TV's heist show 12 12 12 might be built on tropes, but it's got style to spare and great performances by Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan.