Critics’ reviews

The Chair Company (2025)

10 reviews from 10 publications. Critics’ score 76: 5 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative.

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76
Positive
5
Mixed
1
Negative
0

Most critics respond warmly to The Chair Company, with praise centred on Tim Robinson’s performance and the way his comedy of social discomfort expands into a conspiracy thriller. The reviews highlight the absurd supporting characters, sinister everyday settings and tension that develops from an ordinary workplace humiliation. Robinson’s eccentricity remains the main attraction, but the supporting cast and the increasingly strange mystery also earn credit for giving the premise enough substance to sustain a series.

Reservations cluster around pacing and appetite for prolonged embarrassment, rather than the quality of individual jokes. Radio Times finds plenty to enjoy but considers the sustained cringe drawn out compared with shorter sketches. Variety sees the series as rewarding existing Robinson fans without winning over newcomers, while Collider finds the humour holds across a full season. The consensus is positive, with disagreement chiefly over how well this comic style withstands the longer format.

The Guardian
13 October 2025
80*

Tim Robinson is hilarious as a man hellbent on taking down a negligent chair manufacturer in this cringe caper full of roaringly good slapstick. The series starts as a workplace comedy before sprawling into mystery/thriller territory and is an ideal vehicle for Robinson’s comic gifts.

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Variety
9 October 2025 · Alison Herman
70*

The critic portrays Robinson’s comedy as polarizing yet effective here, as the series expands his signature social unease and eccentric world-building into an eight-episode HBO show full of off-kilter characters and sinister everyday settings. It rewards existing fans without converting new ones.

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Radio Times
· Huw Fullerton
65*

The review describes the series as an extended I Think You Should Leave sketch that delivers plenty of funny characters and gags from Robinson and Kanin, while noting that the sustained cringeworthy situations can feel drawn out compared to shorter sketches.

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Empire
24 October 2025 · Beth Webb

The critic calls it one of the year’s most bracingly hilarious shows, praising Robinson’s relentless, eccentric performance as a middle-management man spiraling into conspiracy after a humiliating chair incident. The darker tone, oddball supporting cast, and well-crafted tension stand out as strengths.

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IndieWire
9 October 2025 · Ben Travers

The series is a superb, riveting HBO rabbit hole where a simple complaint spirals into an elusive conspiracy. Travers praises the uncanny comedy and hypnotic narrative from the I Think You Should Leave creators.

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The Times
13 October 2025 · ★★★★☆ · Carol Midgley

It is quite something to build an entire comedy series around a broken office chair, but Tim Robinson turns a mundane office occurrence into a crazed theatre of the absurd. This comedy might not be to everyone’s taste and at times it feels stretched too thinly, but it has many layers and deserves plaudits for being utterly original.

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Vulture
9 October 2025

The show is a rich text for Tim Robinson fans, expanding his signature sensibility into a serialized conspiracy thriller with Lynchian dread and emotional coherence. The critic highlights its evocative, weird, and captivating quality for those attuned to its frequency of discomfort.

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Consequence
9 October 2025 · B+
83

Robinson adapts his unique comedic voice to a conspiracy thriller format while staying true to his eccentric style. It singles out the precise dialogue and strong supporting performances, especially Lake Bell, for sustaining the season's weird energy.

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Collider
9 October 2025 · 8/10 · Ross Bonaime
80

The show is one of the most offbeat and outlandish of the year, successfully stretching Robinson's antics across a full narrative season. It singles out the consistent humor and strange adventure for making it worth watching.

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/Film
9 October 2025 · 8/10 · Chris Evangelista
80

The series is a hilarious dark comedy that reflects modern conspiracy thinking through Robinson's signature insecure characters. It singles out the absurd supporting characters and paranoia-tinged humor for making the deranged premise compelling.

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Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate