A Preview of ‘The Consultant’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

The vast majority of television shows that revolve around the workplace, tend to be fairly lighthearted in nature and understandably so. After all, we spend 40 hours a week, away from home and working hard to pay the bills… so seeing what we left behind in prime-time or on a streaming service… better not remind us of that. So, those shows just tend to lean into satire and comedy to offer up that perfect sense of escapism so we can enjoy our night and get some rest and head back out to do it all again the next day and well… maybe that is something that needs to change. Because let’s be honest, there’s been quite the awakening regarding the workplace in our modern world, specifically… how it isn’t the lighthearted and romanticized place we see on television.
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In fact, we are finally speaking aloud to the fact that work can be a bear and a burden and that there are far too many workplaces out there that are toxic in nature and harm our mental health courtesy of managers that have no people skills and only know how to manage quotas and results. Which means that putting that reality on television in an earnest and honest light, might finally hammer home the fact that we need to expect better of our workplaces and our bosses and improve where we spend so much of our lives, and well… it just so happens that a series in that vein is about to do just that. For Friday, February 24, 2023, will see The Consultant debut on Prime Video and this series about the workplace… is nothing short of brilliant in what it has to say about working conditions in our modern world.

A feat that this story accomplishes… by plunging us into a company in crisis. For the gaming company CompWare has lost its visionary CEO, Sang-woo, in a tragic manner, leaving the company and its employees worried about their futures. A concern that is further compounded by the arrival of The Consultant. A man named Regus Patoff who is using his role to keep the company going as an interim CEO and observer and well… his arrival at CompWare is going to change the lives of its employees in ways they never thought possible. Which is… the perfect way to explore the horrors of the workplace in the modern world since Regus is quite unconventional in how he manages and that leads… to powerful moments. 

The kind that explores the anxieties that we experience in the workplace when there is a change in management or ownership, and the struggles we go through to just be recognized for our hard work and it even features observations and commentary regarding the boundaries that don’t exist between the workplace and our personal lives, making this at times… an intense and almost frightening series. Since so much of what we don’t enjoy is on display here, and this series deserves a round of applause for addressing a topic that needs to be addressed in a surprising manner and style. Because it is one thing to basically remind us of what we dealt with from 9-5 before coming home to watch this… but it is another to give us something more. 

Which this series does… by adding some grand mystery to Regus and his real purpose here. The kind that at times seems almost supernatural in nature. All of which compels us to complete the journey so we can understand what brought Regus to CompWare and what his true intentions are for the company. Which creates… the perfect blend of observations and satire and entertainment, to the point where at times the story even knows how to make us laugh because this is… a brilliant series through and through. One that is carefully thought out when it comes to its plot, and it features brilliant acting as well. Since Christoph Waltz (Regus), Nat Wolff (Craig), Brittany O’Grady (Elaine), and Aimee Carrero (Patti) sell this world and this mystery in a compelling and honest manner. So that we are further drawn into a world that at times… feels all too familiar. 

For at its core, it really is a series about corporate America and its need to change and well… by now, you’ve likely noticed that we’ve kept it light on the details regarding how it accomplishes that and there is good reason for that. Because you need to settle in and see this series for yourself and enjoy all the wonder and surprises it has to offer. So instead, we will just simply state that this is must-see television, and the good news, is that you don’t have to wait that much longer to be drawn into this quality series. For Friday draws near and we hope you give this unique and refreshing series a look and join us back here to geek out about this incredible story, and to enjoy more pre-release coverage via our interview with Nat Wolff, Brittany O’Grady, and Aimee Carrero. As we count down to the release of one incredibly original and refreshing series about work, and all strange and unsettling quirks that come with earning a paycheck.

As an added bonus, here are some pictures from the Red Carpet Premiere of the series, courtesy of Getty Images.  

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