Lake Bell, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Joseph Tudisco say HBO’s The Chair Company keeps everyone guessing—especially Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin, who reshuffle scenes, cast surprising performers, and renew the show for Season 2 while revealing almost nothing abo
For a show built on rules that never seem written down, “The Chair Company” still somehow pulls off the rare trick of leaving its own stars uncertain—sometimes right up until the moment a scene lands.
Lake Bell. Lou Diamond Phillips. and Joseph Tudisco recently sat down for interviews about what it’s been like stepping into Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin’s mind-bending HBO comedy. the one that follows bizarre fake-company workplace energy while widening into family drama and a weekly mystery you can’t solve from the couch.
Bell—who plays Barb Trosper. a suburban mom and entrepreneur whose husband Ron (Robinson) gets sucked into a massive chair-related conspiracy—described the project as tonal “subversion” she hadn’t really seen before. When she read for it, she said she immediately thought, “Where do I sign?. How do I get to be a part of this?” She felt the creators’ track record would mean a “new flavor” of comedy. and she wanted in.
Phillips. meanwhile. came into the casting process with a very particular sense of himself and what he tends to do well. “My first reaction when I read the script is who thought of me?” he said with a laugh. adding that people often don’t step outside the box when it comes to him. He’d been told before that his “people” are the ones who would have to advocate for him—because he’s played “a bad guy.” So when he was considered for this role. he said. the person who reached out clearly had to be “a genius. ” even if he still didn’t know who made the decision.
Tudisco’s experience started with a different kind of readiness. While the others had seen “I Think You Should Leave” and knew the shape of Robinson’s comedy. Tudisco described himself as a newcomer to that world. He said he did “a little research” when he booked the job. watching the kind of humor Robinson is known for. then realized the role—sometimes-mobster Mike Santini—had elements that felt familiar to him personally. He told the interview that he didn’t “preordain anything. ” and instead tried to live in the moment using himself as the character.
That approach appears to match the show’s overall rhythm: nothing is locked in until it isn’t.
Phillips said that even after shooting scenes, he sometimes couldn’t figure out the intended tone. He described feeling “more fluid in a role” than he’d experienced elsewhere because. between reading scripts and being on set. he couldn’t always predict what they were aiming for. He said that when he’d come home and ask his wife how it went. he’d have to admit. “I have no idea.”.
His account of production wasn’t just about surprise—it was about process. Phillips said scenes were approached “in two or three different ways,” followed by re-blocking, rethinking, and improvising. Even then. he said he never knew which nuggets Tim and Zach would end up gravitating toward. and he would leave each day with the sense that the work was strong—but without clarity on the “shape of things.”.
For Bell. the surprise wasn’t as much about her own uncertainty as it was about what her character is meant to do inside the chaos. As Barb. she said her job is to serve as a dramatic foil—grounding the show in a way that lets the absurdity land. When asked about balancing human drama with the show’s strangeness. Bell said it’s absurd. but Barb is “integral” to grounding the viewers. She framed Barb as the general-population reaction to Ron’s escalating mess: patient. consistent. and steady in a way that helps the rest of the story work.
Bell also explained that even tiny roles are cast with intentional experiments in mind. She told a specific story from a flashback scene set at a Christmas party. when Barb and Ron are at an event and Ron is talking to a man who won’t stop talking. Bell said she arrived expecting a simple day-player moment—until she learned the casting choice.
“There they cast a gentleman who only, and he’s never been on camera, he only is a Curly impersonator,” Bell said. “He does Curly from The Three Stooges and he only does Curly. Also, where do you hire this person?”
Bell couldn’t answer follow-up questions about whether that Curly impersonator was part of a trio of Three Stooges impersonators or whether separate freelancing is required for Moe and Larry. But she continued describing the exact kind of trial-and-tweak detail that. in her telling. leaves performers scrambling to adapt to whatever arrives on set.
She said the actor would toggle his performance—turning Curly up, then dialing him back. The team tested it with full Curly. then “half Curly. ” and then “turn completely Curly off.” She added that the impersonator couldn’t even speak in a way outside the act. Still. she said. he was “so sweet. ” and he essentially told them he didn’t know how to do it without being Curly.
Across the conversation, Tudisco, Bell, and Phillips agreed that the mayhem is possible because of the kind of creative openness Kanin and Robinson bring to set—an energy that doesn’t always match what their on-screen persona suggests.
Tudisco said things started slowly. He described the vibe as not exactly guarded, but also not quite sure where the dynamic would go. Then he said it evolved into a different kind of collaboration: “He gave a lot.” Tudisco said Robinson never demanded much from him. let him make his own choices. and tweaked what needed tweaking without taking the role away. He added that working with Robinson has been “wonderful,” saying Robinson is “very generous,” “very gracious,” and “very supportive.”.
And even now, as the show moves forward, they’re still not getting much of a roadmap.
“ The Chair Company” has already been renewed for Season 2. and yet the stars said they barely understand what happened in Season 1—never mind what’s next. Phillips put it plainly when asked if he knows anything about what comes for Jeff. “Zero. Nada. Nothing,” he said, adding that Tim and Zach “play their cards close to the vest.”.
He described joking with Zach at the premiere party—telling him, “OK, loving the show, man. Don’t kill me, OK?” Phillips said Zach paused, and Phillips took it as the kind of response that means “that’s on the table.”
“The Chair Company” Season 1 is now streaming on HBO Max. and if the interviews are any indication. the show’s greatest trick isn’t just how it reframes workplace comedy or keeps its mystery humming. It’s how it makes even its leads treat every new episode like a fresh gamble—because in this world. the rules are always changing. and the people in charge rarely explain why.
The Chair Company HBO Max Tim Robinson Zach Kanin Lake Bell Lou Diamond Phillips Joseph Tudisco IndieWire Season 2 I Think You Should Leave