Workplace comedies have always been popular. But the British sitcom The Office took the workplace comedy to new heights. The US version carried on much of the same momentum as the British version, but since then there really hasn’t been a great workplace comedy. Comedy Central seems to think they have the next great work comedy in Workaholics.
The series centers on three friends who work as telemarketers at TelAmeriCorp. Adam DeMamp (Adam DeVine), Blake Henderson (Blake Anderson), and Anders Holmvik (Anders Holm) are roommates and share the same cubicle. But they hardly do any work. They are too busy pulling pranks and looking for the next party. Their co-workers usually don’t like their antics. This includes their furious manager Alice (Maribeth Monroe), her assistant Jillian Belk (Jillian Bell), and other telemarketers Montez Walker (Erik Griffin), Jet Set (Jet Set Hudson), Waymond (Waymond Lee), and Bill (Billy Stevenson). Somehow they still have a job, though.
Episodes included on this Season Three set are “The Business Trip”, “True Dromance”, “Fat Cuz”, “To Kill a Chupacabraj”, “Good Mourning”, “The Meat Jerking Beef Boys”, “The Lord’s Force”, “Real Time”, “Ders Comes in Handy”, “Flashback in the Day”, “Booger Nights”, “A TelAmerican Horror Story”, “Alice Quits”, “Fourth and Inches”, “Webcam Girl”, “High Art”, “The Worst Generation”, “Hungry Like the Wolf Dog”, “In Line”, “The Future Is Gnar”.
The first thing you need to know is that Anders, Adam, and Blake come across as not very likable. They are immature, rude, and crude losers. There is not much difference between the three, except for the way they look. They are the ultimate slackers, but somehow the real life Anders, Adam, and Blake make these characters interesting. The rest of their co-workers are fairly one-dimensional. But since everyone seems to be playing dumbed down versions of themselves, they all do a good job with their characters.
The writers have no fear in pushing the boundaries of good taste. The actors have no fear in doing stunts and other physical comedy. The comedy might be juvenile and crude, but for the most part every episode is funny. But there are some gross-out moments that are too hard to watch, and there are some jokes that go too far. The best moments in this season come from the references to 1990s pop culture.
Workaholics is definitely not for everyone. If you don’t like Office Space or any raunchy teen comedy, you probably shouldn’t bother with this show. These guys are losers and not very likable, but that doesn’t mean that the show isn’t entertaining. There is also some great 1990s nostalgia sprinkled throughout as well. It might not be as funny as either Office, when those shows were at its best, but the third season of Workaholics should speak to the current generation of slackers at work.
The video is given in widescreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. It is enhanced for 16X9 TVs. The 1080p transfer is great with minimal distortion. Only problems appear to be when the show goes into darker places. These scenes are not as sharp as the rest of the scenes.
The audio included is available in English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 or English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound. There are subtitles available in English SDH as well. The dialogue comes out crisp and clear. No major problems here either.
“Drunkmentaries” – These are audio commentaries for every episode of this season. The three stars, their regular director and co-creator, Kyle Newacheck, and various writers and producers get drunk and comment on each episode. You won’t get any real behind-the-scenes stuff here, because they are basically just making fun of each other the entire time. These are okay for a couple of episodes, but trying to get through all 20 of them would be tough.
“The Other Cubicle” Shorts – These are 3 two-minute sketches featuring other members of the office. They are short enough to be worth checking out.
Bloopers – Nine minutes worth of the usual stuff. Some of it is actually funny, though.
Alternate Takes – Another nine minutes of different takes on scenes you saw during the season.
Music Video – Montaz Walker sings to his wife in this 3 minute “My Queen” music video.
Some might be completely offended by Workaholics, but the target demographic should love it. They are trying to appeal to 20-somethings who are stuck in a job they don’t like. If that is you, you likely will enjoy this show. Not the funniest show on work comedy ever, but still very entertaining most of the time.
Comedy Central presents Workaholics: Season 3. Created by Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, Kyle Newacheck, Connor Pritchard, and Dominic Russo. Starring Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, Alice Murphy, Jillian Belk, Montez Walker, Waymond Womano, Jet Set, and Bradley Murphy. Running time: 440 minutes. Rated: Not Rated. Released: June 18, 2013. Available at Amazon.com.
