Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

Ever wonder how depressing it could be working for a corporation that cares more about its sales than it does for its employees? Then Comedy Central’s new show might be something you want to check out.

Comedy Central’s “Corporate” revolves around two low-level employees, Matt (Matt Ingebretson) and Jake (Jake Weisman), who work in the dark underworld of Hampton-DeVille. Matt and Jake both share the goal of trying to climb up the corporate ladder, but they have two completely different ways on how to climb that metaphorical ladder. Matt tries to work his way up through honest work and hard labor, while Jake would rather rise through deception. Together, Matt and Jake take on the obstacles that come with working in a corporation by using their limited skillsets and gathering help from other co-workers.

The corporation in the center of the show is Hampton-DeVille, a company that makes everything from giant iPads to war machines. The CEO of this corporation is the ruthless Christian DeVille (Lance Reddick, “Bosch”), who would do anything to keep his corporation overflowing with money. Right by his side are his two executives, John (Jake Lustick, “Adam Ruins Everything”) and Kate (Anne Dudick, “The Magicians”), who are always on their toes to keep Hampton-DeVille successful.

Other important characters include Grace (Aparna Nancherla, “BoJack Horseman”), the HR representative that keeps Matt and Jake updated on the events currently taking place around the office. She also acts as a moral conscience for Matt and Jake, making sure they do not wander too far from the line between good and bad. There is also Baron (Baron Vaughn, “Grace and Frankie”), a social-media guru who commands the internet to fulfill whatever selfish desire he needs.

While the show can be enjoyable, it is certainly not for everyone. The show’s atmosphere consists of a dependability on dark humor. The show is a comedic parody based on corrupt and sketchy acts that go on behind the closed doors of a multi-million dollar corporation. As a result, the show makes light of heavy topics such as drug abuse, war crimes and mental problems like depression and egotism. The show often comes out in bad taste to those who would not enjoy this type of humor.

While the characters can be enjoyable, they will take some getting used to by the audience before they can be fully appreciated. Matt and Jake speak with little to no feeling.

While they show little emotion because their characters suffer from depression, this can make them come off as one-dimensional and boring. John and Kate can be counted as one character because they have done little so far to express individuality, which makes it seem unnecessary to carry on both characters. The best acting in the show so far comes from Reddick’s performance as Deville, who is quite dominant in expressing emotion through his character. Reddick always gives it 100 percent, whether he is expressing anger, happiness or anything in between. It truly gives the audience a feel for what it must be like to work for this frightening man.

Overall, “Corporate” may not be the type of show to gain a huge following, but it fits in well with the rest of the Comedy Central lineup.

Image from Comedy Central via YouTube.com