Saturday, September 26, 2026

Overheard at Booth 1: Not Suitable for Work (2026)

Not Suitable for Work (2026)

Season 1

Hulu original

Not renewed, so there won't be a season 2.  13 episodes.

 [NOTE: spoiler alert!]

 

Focuses on the lives of five twentysomethings trying to navigate work, love, and life in Manhattan in 2026.  Most of us will find this reminiscent of Friends and Seinfeld, but in start contrast to both of those shows, these characters actually have some heart underneath what, at first, seems to be the shallowness of youth.

Three guys live together in one apartment, and two gals live in the apartment across the hall, and they cross paths and try different romantic entanglements and gain jobs and lose jobs and there are some really good lines along the way.

While this series does have the usual aspect of having Bourgeoise Bohemians living in an impossibly unattainable living conditions, it does tackle the subject of going from riches-to-rags and how easily that can happen.

For more specifics: Kel's parents want him to become a doctor, but he leaves medical school to focus on his acting and has to take a job as a substitute teacher in a girls private school, where the 14 year olds prove to be quite emotionally savage.

Abby (his neighbor and crush) is apprenticed to a celebrity stylist, and she takes the bold move of stealing a client, which ends in her having to work in a retail clothing store.

Her friend, AJ, moves in with her to take a job at a high-paced financial firm, where she becomes romantically entangled with her boss (which is the most predictable and somewhat tedious part of the entire series).

She is the focus of the rather disturbingly romantic Davis (who falls in love with any human with a XX chromosome), who is the roommate of Kel and is also her coworker. 

Rounding out the crew is Josh, who is possibly the most interesting character: he hooked up with AJ during the COVID year for one night, which leads to some tension throughout the episodes.  He is also the spoiled rich son of a media mogul, who owns the television station for which Josh wishes to intern.  He gets the job on his last name alone; however, he is imbued with an idealistic reverence for the anchor of the top show,  Wes.   However, Josh's opportunities for advancement are stymied by Wes's ex-wife, Paula, who is the producer - and as we find out - the true power and intellect behind Wes's success, and she sees Josh as nothing more than a Nepo Baby.

Thirteen episodes.  That's all you get.  Unless someone comes along and picks it up for another season.

For me, some of the minor plot lines showed true promise.  For one, I would have liked to have seen Kel's character come to the realization that, while he dreamed of being an actor, his true calling is teaching.  The 14yo's that I mentioned before had several scenes in which they were truly hurt by his skipping class, because they need someone they can trust, someone to depend on.   That is something very deep, and could have been delved into more deeply had the show continued.

Also, there was, in the last few episodes, a deepening respect of Paula for Josh, as she realized that he truly does believe in the dying art of journalism.  It would have been interesting to have Josh slowly redirect his reverence for Wes and focus on Paula as a mentor.

But, alas, Mindy Kaling will most likely come out with another good project, if this one does not generate a second season.

I do wish, though, that when they cancel these shows, instead of a cliffhanger, they would give just enough cash for the show to wrap everything up in an hour or hour & 1/2 long finale.