The first episode of The Chair Company on HBO does more than just introduce a joke. It carefully builds a believable world so that the show’s later chaos feels real and lands with full force. According to the creative team behind the scenes, every choice in the pilot, from the lighting to the clothes, was made with a single goal: to make the audience take the main character’s strange journey seriously.
Director of photography Ashley Connor explained the core idea. She said that from the very start, the approach was to treat everything with complete seriousness.
“I think the pilot sets up the rest of the show,” Connor said. “When director Andrew DeYoung and I first started working on the pilot, the theory behind the aesthetics was always for everything to take itself very seriously. We have to take ourselves very seriously in Ron’s world to be able to depict his descent into more obsessive behaviors really seriously”.
This “descent” is key. The show follows Ron Trosper, played by co-creator Tim Robinson, a project manager whose life unravels after an embarrassing chair collapse at work leads him into a bizarre conspiracy. The visual style had to make his slow slide into obsession feel believable, not like a cartoon. The pilot establishes a calm, almost dramatic look with deliberate framing and lighting. This creates a foundation so that when the tension and dark jokes build, it feels like watching a real person spiral out of control.
Crafting a “No Jokes” Visual Style
The commitment to a serious tone extended to every department, including costumes. Costume designer Nicky Smith worked closely with the pilot’s production designer to ensure nothing on screen tipped the audience off that they were watching a comedy.
“Once I saw Ashley’s boards, I understood that we were all speaking the same language: I’m going to do them in regular clothes. We’re not going to give away anything… No jokes,” Smith explained. “It surprises you when you cringe. It keeps the audience guessing what’s going to happen next”.
This meant the characters, especially Ron, look like ordinary people. Ron is often seen in ill-fitting, saggy pants. His wife Barb, played by Lake Bell, was dressed in practical, suburban-mom clothes from stores like UNIQLO, focusing on her character’s daily reality rather than fashion. The goal was to present a grounded world where the humor and weirdness emerge from believable situations, not from exaggerated costumes or sets. This makes the unexpected comedic moments hit harder because the audience has been lulled into a sense of normalcy.
Finding the Comedy in a Believable World
A major challenge for the show was making its absurd world feel authentic. Ashley Connor acknowledged that fans have compared the show’s strange, immersive quality to Twin Peaks. She is a fan of David Lynch’s work and sees a similarity in the approach.
“Lynchian to me, it’s not photographed strangely. It’s very middle of the road. And that gives the characters… the space to exist and to be real people,” Connor said. She added that creators Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin “have created a world where all these very unique characters, audiences can believe that they exist in the world, even if ‘the world’ feels like a portal next door”.
This philosophy is shown in places like Tamblay’s menswear shop, a location that appears normal but is filled with odd details and a uniquely button-pushing clerk. The clerk was played by Jared Lindner, the real-life co-owner of the suit shop where the scene was filmed. The show’s producers were so impressed by his natural presence during a location scout that they cast him in the role. Lindner, who had never acted before, said the team made him feel completely at ease. Using real people and realistic settings helped build a world that could support the story’s escalating oddities.
The Power of a Unified Creative Team
Creating this consistent tone required close collaboration. Connor emphasized that the entire season was built on the idea of being “on Ron’s team,” helping the audience follow and understand his process. This teamwork started in the pilot, which defined visual rules for different spaces: home was a safe haven, the office was neutral territory, and the outside world felt slightly off-balance.
The production also worked with a practical mindset. Connor noted the show did not have the biggest budget, which forced the team to be creatively smart.
“I find limitations to be a generator of better creative choices… so, how are we going to focus on what we do have and like, sharpen that axe,” she said.
This collaborative spirit extended to the cast. Actor Joseph Tudisco, who plays Ron’s unlikely partner Mike Santini, described the environment as a “wonderful collaboration.” He praised Tim Robinson for being a generous scene partner who gave other actors freedom to explore their instincts. Tudisco, who got his first series regular role at age 76, found layers to his character as the season progressed, discovering Mike’s underlying loneliness.
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A Blueprint for the Entire Season
The careful work in the pilot paid off, establishing a blueprint that the entire eight-episode season could follow. By training the audience to see the world through a serious, grounded lens, the show earned the ability to go to wild places. The finale, which reveals unexpected and absurd twists, works precisely because the show never winked at the audience beforehand. It maintained the sincere tone that was locked in from the very first episode.
The approach has been a success. The Chair Company premiered on October 12, 2025, and was HBO’s biggest comedy debut in over five years. In November 2025, the series was officially renewed for a second season. For the creators, the pilot was more than just a first episode; it was a contract with the audience. By treating Ron Trosper’s life with sincerity, they ensured that every laugh and every moment of cringe would feel earned.
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