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Lizard people, robot presidents, JFK clones, and a moth man whose last name is Mothman are all things found in the 2021 adult animated comedy series Inside Job (2021). Created by Shion Takeuchi (( Shion Takeuchi. @shhhhhionn. )), the series is the first adult animation series produced by Netflix Animation. When the teaser trailer (( Inside Job Trailer. Netflix. )) was released, viewers became interested in the comedy series for its star-studded cast, dark sense of humor, and unique conspiracy-filled setting.
Welcome To Cognito Inc. A ‘Human’ Company
Inside Job (2021) is a workplace comedy centered on the day-to-day operations of Cognito Inc., an American company that secretly controls the world and keeps every conspiracy a secret. The series follows the overworked mad scientist Reagan Ridley and her new ‘yes man’ co-manager Brett Hand as they try to complete their tasks with their eccentrically wild and free-spirited team of experts.
The series stars an impressive lineup for an adult animated sitcom with Lizzy Caplan, Clark Duke, Christian Slater, Tisha Campbell, Andy Daly, John DiMaggio, Bobby Lee, and Brett Gelman. All of whom do a perfect job at embodying the irresponsible zaniness of their characters.
Meet The Crew Of Cognito Inc.
The leadership team at Cognito Inc. is comprised of Gigi Thompson (Campbell), a sassy public relations officer who is in charge Media Manipulation, Subliminal Messages, and office gossip. Glenn Dolphman (DiMaggio) is a human-dolphin hybrid super-soldier who oversees Cognito’s arsenal. Dr. Andre Lee (Lee) is a free-spirited biochemist addicted to the new narcotics he creates. Magic Myc (Gelman), a foul-mouthed psychic mushroom organism from Hollow Earth who provides the company with a chemical that can erase people’s memories.
All of these eccentric experts are under the supervision of Reagan Ridley and Brett Hand, both of whom frequently struggle to control the team due to Reagan’s social anxiety and Brett’s inexperience and constant desire to be liked. This leads to various dysfunctional situations that hinder Reagan’s goal of becoming CEO of Cognito. In addition, Reagan’s father, Rand Ridley (Slater), is constantly forcing his agenda against the current CEO of Cognito J.R (Daly), further distracting Reagan from her goals.
Conspiracies Aren’t ‘Real’
Takeuchi, who makes her debut as showrunner after writing for Gravity Falls (2012-2016) and Inside Out (2015), balances a fine line between raunchy irreverent humor and meaningful character development. As previously mentioned, the show is set in a world where every conspiracy is real and managed by a secret shadow company. This leads to the series featuring a large variety of conspiracies, everything from bigfoot to lizard people to the non-deniable proof of hollow earth. The series uses its unique setting to showcase a workplace sitcom in a very unusual workplace.
Naturally, Inside Job (2021) uses the chaotic nature of its cryptic organization to turn everyday situations into a ramped-up cocaine-fueled predicament that is only matched with the same type of energy from the main cast. However, it should be noted that like many adult animated comedies, some raunchy jokes are a little too in your face (Referring to the sizeable lingering collection of pixelated penises and Lizard people orgies). That being said, the fast-paced dark humor matches well with its frequent usage of pop culture references, that is, however, if you are able to catch all of the references on the first watch.
Additionally, the series satirizes popular tropes and provides a unique meta-commentary that is surprisingly refreshing to those seeking an untethered and unfiltered perspective. Some of the best episodes are the ones that satirize popular movie tropes, but the show, unfortunately, doesn’t incorporate enough of its unique setting. At times, the series feels like they are obligated to use its creative setting, and while it is still a fun watch, some of the jokes and side plots don’t pay off as well as it hopes.
A Narrative For People, Not Sheeple
One of the most common criticisms of raunchy adult animated comedy series is the lack of story and character development. Inside Job (2021) surprisingly tells its narrative in a well-paced manner that is not constantly overwhelmed by its dark, irreverent humor. The series highlights the importance of dysfunctional at work, and home families as the audience watches Reagan attempting to sort out her social anxiety to become a better boss and a more normal human being.
While her problematic and distant parents can derive most of Reagan’s problems (especially her father), her revelation of her problems feels very two-dimensional and predictable. It especially doesn’t help considering that the show’s primary focus is centered around terrible people doing terrible things. This results in the audience almost justifying every debaucherous and immoral act as every character, including Reagan’s father, is like-ably weird and quirky.
With that in mind, there is also a considerable lack of character development for its large cast of characters. Aside from some workplace drama and personal flaws, there isn’t much room or time for every character to go through their own personal arc. So, instead, the series focuses its narrative screen time on the two titular managers of the Cognito crew, Reagan and Brett, while everyone else does their own thing inside plots.
As viewers slowly learn about Reagan’s and Brett’s backstory, Brett’s attempts to deal with his innate desire to be liked at all times is a more carefully developed character arc compared to Reagan’s arc of self-discovery and frustration. All of this character development culminates in a season finale left on a cliffhanger, and it shows a lot of promise of more misadventures and dysfunctional chaos.
Netflix’s Exciting Workplace Comedy Inside Job (2021-)
Netflix’s first in-house produced animation series is a successful comedy series that properly balances raunchy irreverent humor to meaningful character development. Inside Job (2021) provides a unique meta-commentary that reinvents various tropes centered around mad scientists and people with social anxiety. Despite its well-referenced and fast-paced humor, the show occasionally borders on graphic scenes and scenarios that question where the line is drawn for its risqué and adult humor.
Hopefully, the second season will correct some of its problems as the series proves to be a strong entry for Netflix’s in-house portfolio. Additionally, the season finale cliffhanger will have fans waiting excitedly to see more of the Cognito crew and the chaos that is to come. Inside Job (2021) was released on Netflix on October 22.
