By Letitia Fitzpatrick
Another very watchable triumph for Netflix is The Chair, an America comedy-drama TV series.
Set in the fictional, Pembroke University, in what looks like New England, it stars the marvellous Sandra Oh, of Killing Eve fame. She plays Professor Ji-Yoon Kim, the newly appointed chair of the university’s English department and the first woman to be chosen for the prestigious post.
She tries to ensure the tenure of a young black female colleague, Yaz McKay (Nana Mensah), as well as steer a course through her relationship with her friend and crush, Bill Dobson, played by Jay Duplass. He’s a lovable but boozy colleague who has lost his way, since his wife died, and his daughter went to college.
Ji-Yoon’s life is made more difficult by the fact that enrolment is down, and the dean tells her to remove three members from her department.
Among the main characters are a senior English department faculty member, Yaz McKay played by Bob Balaban, and the university dean, Paul Larson, played by David Morse.
The award-winning actress Holland Taylor of The Practice fame delivers scene-stealing work as Joan Hambling, a senior faculty member who feels overlooked. The department members are all at war with each other, and the world over various grievances.
Ji-Yoon also struggles to parent her strong-willed adopted daughter, Ju Ju played by Everly Carganilla.
The Chair was created by Amanda Peet and it was filmed at colleges in Pensylvania and Pittsburgh.
There are only six half-hour episodes in the series which was widely acclaimed for its excellent observations about academia, and its fine cast led by an empathetic and very funny performance by Sandra Oh.
The Chair is a light, clever send-up of academic life, and it gives Sandra Oh a chance to expand her range, and leaves the viewer wanting more.