“If you’ve ever had to be in a cubicle, if you’ve ever had too much fluorescent lighting, if you’ve ever felt like, ‘This isn’t the life that was promised to me,’ I think you will relate to Corporate,” Vanderbilt alum Jake Weisman (‘05) said.
Weisman, B.A. in English, is a creator, actor and executive producer of Corporate, Comedy Central’s new dark satire. The series premiered Jan. 17, 2018 and runs Wednesday evenings at 10 p.m. EST.
Corporate focuses on daily life at American corporations and finds humor in PowerPoint and spreadsheet-induced misery. Set in a mega-corporation called Hampton Deville, the characters navigate awkward coworkers, Microsoft Office proficiency and dreadful conference calls. The brainchild of Weisman, Pat Bishop and Matt Ingebretson, Corporate takes a no-holds-barred approach to exposing and satirizing the dark side of corporate America.
“The show is about all the ways in which corporations are ruining Americans’ lives. It’s kind of like Fight Club if you never started a fight club. We’re not under any illusion that we can change the system, and we think that’s funny,” said Weisman.
After moving to Los Angeles, CA after graduation to work as a film production assistant, Weisman realized that the professional world is not as clear-cut as he once imagined. Dissatisfied with his job and eager to find direction, Weisman began performing stand-up comedy with friends and posted videos of his performances to YouTube. Eventually, Comedy Central executives discovered him. It wasn’t an easy road, however, and Weisman accredits much of his success to risk-taking.
“Everyone who does something is just someone who tried to do it and failed for a decade and is all of the sudden doing it. It really is achievable, you just have to be willing to give up the comforts that so many people will take right out of college.”
These days, Weisman spends most of his time writing and is a self-proclaimed “workaholic.” In order to succeed and continue growing in the entertainment industry, he points out that you have to work much harder than most other people. For him, finding his ideal job (and staying out of the cubicle) is worth the risk.
Watch Corporate here.
Editor’s note: Interview conducted by Priyanka Sheth.