The Chair, a Netflix original series, is off to a great start in its debut season. Critics and spectators alike have praised the drama, which stars Sandra Oh in the lead role.
After the disaster that was Game of Thrones season 8, this is David Benioff and DB Weiss’ first effort at a TV series. And the concert has been a huge success, serving as a sort of redemption for the partnership.
The comedy-drama isn’t their only achievement, though. Amanda Peet, a well-known actress, and Benioff’s wife, deserves equal, if not greater, credit for the show’s success. Given that this is Peet’s maiden foray behind the camera — her first effort at developing and hosting a TV show — the show’s audience response is even more amazing.
But how did she manage to achieve it? How did Peet come up with and launch a successful television show on her first attempt?
Amanda Peet Was Required To Conduct Extensive Academic Research for the show
Following the basic concept, she had to conduct research for her script. Given her upbringing, navigating academia wasn’t a big concern for her. Peet was raised in New York by a psychotherapist. At the age of 14, she allegedly started her own analysis sessions and attended Columbia University in Manhattan.
Despite this, she was “intellectually intimidated” when she began interviewing professors for the show. She first fine-tuned her approach for the presentation with Annie Julia Wyman, a former Harvard and Cambridge professor. She also spoke with a large number of other professors. She was received with a lot of positivity and willingness from the professors she was speaking with after the initial nervousness.
Many of them told her about their experiences in academia, including tenure concerns, student interactions, and the system as a whole. All of these broadened the show’s potential. The show captures the mundane and seemingly insignificant tasks that occur on college campuses while also depicting real-life themes like rage, dissatisfaction, and mislabeling. All of this has combined to create a show that has captured the hearts of practically everyone who has seen it.
The Chair is a certified hit, with a Metacritic score of 73 (no negative reviews), an 88 percent Average Tomatometer, an 82 percent average audience score, and 7.3 out of 10 IMDb ratings.
The idea for ‘The Chair’ came to Amanda Peet by chance.
The Chair is a comedy show, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t address some of today’s most pressing concerns. The show tackles serious and often divisive issues including university “cancel culture,” as well as microaggressions and white privilege. The show’s concept was conceived by Peet. However, she had a lot of support along the way with her writing.
The idea occurred to the actress-turned-writer when she was working on another project. She was attempting to write a rom-com for another actor in the six-episode series, Jay Duplass. She tapped into a larger issue about a clash of beliefs in the workplace, as well as the generational divide between people who hold similar ideologies.
Then she converted it into a comedy, which seems appropriate given that she got her start in the profession doing stand-up comedy. Her early roles were Seinfeld and The Larry Sanders Show.
You May Also Like To Read: Brendon Burchard, Mia Hayward, Jo Ling Kent, Andrew Dunbar