It’s been nearly two years since Netflix signed “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to a multi-production deal reportedly worth $200 million. The first project to come out of that agreement has finally come to fruition, but the pair serve only as executive producers for “The Chair,” a six-episode half-hour dramedy starring Sandra Oh and Jay Duplass.
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Instead, the co-creator is Benioff’s wife, actress Amanda Peet, who wrote every episode with former Harvard doctoral candidate Annie Julia Wyman. “The Chair” follows Oh as Dr. Ji-Yoon Kim (Oh), the newly hired chair of the English department at prestigious Pembroke University. Ji-Yoon is faced with a unique set of challenges as the first woman to head the department, not to mention one of the university’s only staff members of color. It’s certainly a unique premise; this peek into the world of academia and its many blind spots.
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Peet previously authored two well-reviewed plays (“Our Very Own Carlin McCollough” in 2018 and “The Commons of Pensacola” in 2013) but has never before been credited behind the camera in such a major capacity. Luckily, she has plenty of talent to work with. Oh is coming off an award-winning performance at the center of BBC America’s critical favorite “Killing Eve,” plus shrewd voice acting on Amazon’s sleeper hit animated series “Invincible.” Meanwhile, Duplass has been keeping busy with a recurring stint on HBO’s “Search Party” and with small roles in indie films like “Horse Girl” and “Shithouse.” Other prominent cast members include Bob Balaban and Holland Taylor as Ji-Yoon’s colleagues and David Morse as Pembroke’s dean.
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In addition to Benioff, Weiss, and ‘Thrones’ veteran Bernadette Caulfield, Peet and Oh also executive produced along with Daniel Gray Longino, who directed all six episodes. Longino is mostly known for his work on “PEN15” and “Portlandia,” niche comedies with a splash of prestige. This show should find a modest but dedicated following with relative ease if his past ability to blend silliness and sophistication carries over. “The Chair” will be available on Netflix on August 27. Watch the first trailer below.
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