HBO’s Record-Breaking New Comedy Series

Tim Robinson’s new comedy series The Chair Company has broken a five-year HBO record. The first episode introduces Ron Trosper (Robinson), who becomes obsessed with investigating a conspiracy after an embarrassing incident during a presentation at work. Robinson and Zach Khanin, who previously worked together on I Think You Should Leave and Detroiters, co-created the series.

Thanks to The Chair Company‘s positive reviews, it debuted with a 100% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes and continues to maintain that score with 35 reviews. Critics have praised Robinson’s performance, the show’s originality, and a deft balance between dark cringe comedy and conspiracy thriller.

HBO has now announced that The Chair Company had their biggest comedy premiere in more than five years. 1.4 million viewers tuned in via HBO’s cable channel and HBO Max during the premiere’s first three days that it was available to watch.

This is HBO’s best comedy premiere ratings since Avenue 5 debuted in January 2020. The science-fiction comedy series about a cruise ship in space starring Hugh Laurie and Josh Gad ran for two seasons before it was canceled. Season 1 received a 69% Tomatometer score, which was improved to an 89% score for season 2.

Despite the improved reception between seasons, Avenue 5 became one of HBO’s overlooked sci-fi gems, as it was widely underseen and never became a major hit. The Chair Company‘s record-breaking premiere numbers offer a chance to change that. They are significant in their own right and bode well for Robinson’s new series, especially with seven episodes still to be released.

There have been many great HBO shows in recent years, including Succession, The Last of Us, House of the Dragon, and The White Lotus. All four of these shows are dramas, though, emphasizing that except for the critically acclaimed and Emmy Award-winning Hacks, HBO has not had many recent hit comedy series. There is now a chance for The Chair Company to shift this perception and become one of HBO’s most prominent original comedy series in a while.

An overwhelmingly positive critical reception and high premiere ratings set up The Chair Company for success as the episodes continue to release throughout October and November. If this momentum can continue throughout the rest of season 1, there is a good chance that the show could be renewed by HBO as well, as long as Robinson and Khanin want to expand the series further.