The Chair Company


The Chair Company is an American comedy thriller television series that premiered on HBO. The first season premiered on October 12, 2025 and ran weekly through November 30, 2025. Created by Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin, it follows Ron Trosper, a man whose embarrassing workplace incident involving a faulty chair leads him to investigate a far-reaching conspiracy involving the chair company. The cast also includes Lake Bell, Sophia Lillis, Will Price and Joseph Tudisco.
The series marks another in a series of collaborations between Robinson and Kanin, who previously met as writers on Saturday Night Live before co-creating the comedy series Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. Among the executive producers for The Chair Company are Adam McKay and Andrew DeYoung, the latter of whom directed the first episode and also previously directed Robinson in the dark comedy film Friendship.
The Chair Company received widespread acclaim from critics with some calling it one of the best shows of the year. Reviewers praised its inventive blend of cringe comedy and surreal mystery, singling out Robinson's performance and the show's offbeat tone, a style some noted may not appeal to all audiences. The series premiered to 1.4 million viewers across HBO platforms, the network's biggest comedy debut in over five years and one of the top three HBO Max comedy launches in the platform's history.
In November 2025, the series was renewed for a second season.

Premise

The Chair Company tells the story of William Ronald Trosper, who begins investigating a vast and elaborate conspiracy after an embarrassing workplace incident.

Cast

Main

  • Tim Robinson as William Ronald "Ron" Trosper, a recently promoted project manager at the property development firm Fisher Robay, who becomes obsessed with uncovering an apparent conspiracy involving a chair manufacturing company
  • Lake Bell as Barb Trosper, Ron's wife
  • Sophia Lillis as Natalie Trosper, Ron's engaged daughter
  • Will Price as Seth Trosper, Ron's teenage son
  • Joseph Tudisco as Mike Santini, a restaurant security guard who teams up with Ron to investigate the chair company

    Recurring

  • Lou Diamond Phillips as Jeff Levjman, the CEO of Fisher Robay
  • James Downey as Douglas, Ron's eccentric coworker
  • Gary Richardson as Alon, Ron's coworker
  • Zuleyma Guevara as Brenda, Ron's boss
  • Glo Tavarez as Jamie, Ron's assistant
  • Grace Reiter as Tara, Natalie's fiancée
  • Zach Kanin as Victor, one of Ron's coworkers
  • Bardia Salimi as Steven Droyco
  • Conner O'Malley and Andrew Fitzgerald as the voices of Pepperoni and Lice, two hosts of a vulgar podcast
  • Joseph Lymous as George, Barb’s business partner
  • Jared Lindner as Tamblay Store Owner

    Guest

  • Alberto Isaac as Oliver Probblo, an actor connected to the conspiracy
  • Ted Arcidi as Building Super, an unstable man Ron encounters
  • Ken Jacowitz as Tamblay Customer
  • Victor E. Chan as Video Customer
  • Peter Reznikoff as Stacy Crystals

    Episodes

Production

Development

The series was created by Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin, who also serve as writers and executive producers. Robinson and Kanin are long-time collaborators, having met as writers on the sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live before co-creating together the comedy shows Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. Robinson claimed the creative process behind The Chair Company was unstructured, saying they were not trying to design it to follow a particular format or consciously mirror their past work: "None of this is thought out. It's not planned. It's not on purpose."
Adam McKay and Todd Schulman are also executive producers through their company Hyperobject Industries, with Andrew DeYoung and Igor Srubshchik executive producing as well. DeYoung, who directed the Robinson-starring dark comedy film Friendship, also directed several episodes of The Chair Company, including the pilot.
Deadline Hollywood first announced on April 2, 2024, that HBO green-lit a pilot for The Chair Company. The publication described it as part of a trend by HBO to develop more creator-actor comedy series following the conclusion of two of its signature shows, Barry and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
On November 20, 2025, HBO renewed the series for a second season.

Casting

Robinson plays the lead role of Ron Trosper. After the show's official trailer was released, some commentators compared the character to Craig Waterman, whom Robinson had played in the film Friendship. Robinson acknowledged the similarity, but said Ron could be less off-putting to those averse to cringe comedy: "I actually don't think Ron is as tough of a hang as Craig Waterman is. 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." On July 22, 2024, Variety reported that The Chair Company had added main cast members Lake Bell, Sophia Lillis, Will Price, and Joseph Tudisco, along with recurring guest star Lou Diamond Phillips.
Robinson and Kanin specifically sought out Jim Downey, the longest tenured writer in Saturday Night Live history, for the supporting role of Douglas. Robinson previously worked with Downey on SNL, where Downey wrote the first sketch that featured Robinson. Later, Downey watched I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson at his son's suggestion, and Downey thought it was "just genius." Robinson and Kanin emailed Downey to offer him the role of Douglas, which he immediately accepted, without realizing it was a recurring part beyond the pilot episode. Downey filmed his scenes for the pilot shortly after having completed his acting role in the Paul Thomas Anderson film One Battle After Another.
Beyond the main cast, many supporting roles were filled by relatively unknown actors, an intentional choice to add an element of realism to the series. DeYoung said of this, "There's an excitement when you don't have the baggage of somebody that you know." The supporting cast members who portrayed the Fisher Robay office staff created a group chat after filming the pilot, staying in touch from July 2024 into the following year while awaiting word on the show's renewal and their potential return. Pangborn said when production resumed, "it was like coming back to college and seeing your friends again."
The Chair Company features several former collaborators from Robinson's and Kanin's I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, including Alberto Isaac.

Costume design

Nicky Smith, costume designer for The Chair Company, worked closely with Robinson and Kanin to develop Ron Trosper's look. Smith originally pitched the concept as "middle-management hodgepodge," and the team tested several options, including a modern tech-industry aesthetic featuring items such as fleece vests and minimalist sneakers, which they ultimately discarded as too contemporary for a character like Ron. The final design emphasized Ron as a traditionalist corporate professional whose wardrobe reflects a style rooted in the early 2000s.
To convey a sense of corporate monotony and disarray, Robinson was dressed in intentionally ill-fitting garments such as oversized jackets, drooping ties, and pleated khakis. Smith said the goal was to make Ron appear slightly overwhelmed by his own clothing. Other characters' wardrobes were similarly designed to reflect everyday realism. Barb Trosper's wardrobe reflected understated suburban practicality and a dated sense of taste, featuring patterned silk blouses with retro floral prints, long cardigans, and well-worn slip-on shoes. Mike Santini's appearance was conceived to contrast with the polished archetype of organized crime figures, with plain leather jackets, square-toe sneakers, and dated casualwear rather than tailored suits or luxury accessories.
To achieve the show's overall aesthetic, Smith and her team purchased wardrobe pieces from secondhand stores such as Goodwill and The Salvation Army, as well as from a wardrobe sale for the television series Blue Bloods. They purchased shoes and vintage blazers from brands including Penguin, Brooks Brothers, Hickey Freeman, and Bloomingdale's in-house label.
Joshua R. Pangborn, who plays office worker Cal, spoke highly of the production's fat-positive wardrobe department. Describing himself as one of two "performers of size" among the show's recurring cast, Pangborn said the wardrobe department accommodated his requests for more comfortable attire and emphasized that there was "nothing to apologize for" regarding his body. He credited the wardrobe team and HBO's overall set culture with helping him feel "safe, supported, and seen."

Filming

Cinematographer Ashley Connor served as Director of Photography for The Chair Company. Although set in Ohio, none of the series was filmed there. It was largely shot in New York City, with the pilot episode being filmed around May 2024, and the remaining episodes being shot between May and July 2025. Some interior scenes, including those set in the Trosper household and the Fisher Robay office, were filmed at Broadway Stages in Brooklyn, primarily at Soundstage 23, a 17,000-square-foot facility designed for large-scale set construction and soundproof dialogue recording. The stage also included adjacent office and wardrobe areas, along with on-site lighting and equipment rentals provided by Luna Lighting, Inc. Exterior shots were filmed in various locations in Manhattan, among other places.
Scenes from the second episode set at the Tamblay's clothing store were filmed at Suit Man, a family-owned men's formal-wear shop located at 17 Gramatan Avenue in Mount Vernon, New York. The store is co-owned by Jared Lindner, who also played the Tamblay's owner. Upon meeting him during a location scout, Tim Robinson was so impressed by Lindner and his distinctive manner of speaking that he offered him the role. Episode director Andrew DeYoung supported the casting immediately, and HBO approved it after Lindner participated in a script reading. Despite having no acting experience, Lindner said the team made him feel entirely at ease during production, adding, "It's unbelievable how good they are."
The writing process for The Chair Company was described as highly fluid, with Robinson and Kanin frequently rewriting scenes and encouraging multiple variations during filming, influenced by their past work together on Saturday Night Live. As a result, actors often performed the same scene in many different ways without knowing how it would ultimately be cut, creating what was characterized as both a challenging and rewarding experience. Lou Diamond Phillips said while the approach differed from what he was accustomed to, he found it "incredibly gratifying", adding: "You just have to be so fluid. You just have to roll with it. And that's a wonderful tight rope to walk." The Guardians Jack Seale compared DeYoung's direction to that of 1970s paranoid thriller films.