When one thinks of academia, a famous quote often attributed to Columbia professor Wallace Stanley Sayre comes to mind: “Academic politics is the most vicious and bitter form of politics, because the stakes are so low.” Nothing sums up the Netflix comedy The Chair better.

Starring the talented and charming Sandra Oh, The Chair crams a lot into its three-hour runtime. Despite juggling weighty subjects such as cancel culture, diversity in academia, racism, ageism and inter-racial adoption, co-creators Amanda Peet and Annie Wyman have managed to write a light, funny show that isn’t dragged down by the serious themes it explores.

Partly this is because many of the difficult themes raised are superficially examined as the story flows along at a quick, entertaining clip — not that this necessarily detracts from the quality of the show or makes it any less watchable.

Oh is Dr Ji-Yoon Kim, the newly-appointed Chair of the English department at the fictional Pembroke University (“a low-tier Ivy” set in what seems to be New England/ the Northeast). We know Kim is doomed from the beginning: as a triumphant Kim walks into her new office and slips into her chair, it ominously breaks underneath her — a sign of worse to come.

The Chair is a light, funny show that isn’t dragged down by the serious themes it explores

The new Chair has her plate full. The department is haemorrhaging students and money — mostly because it’s packed with professors in their 70s who are stuck in the past, and fail to draw in many enrollments. On her first day, the Dean (David Morse) asks Kim to force three professors into retirement — the trio of “dinosaurs” include Chaucer scholar Joan Hambling (Holland Taylor), American-lit professor Elliot Rentz (Bob Balaban) and English Professor John McHale (Ron Crawford), who spends most of his days napping in the library. Rising star Yaz McCay (Nana Mensah) is up for tenure but her confirmation gets ensnared in racial and academic politics, with Kim caught in the middle of all the drama.

All this is before Bill Dobson (Jay Duplass), one of Pembroke’s most popular professors, gets mired in a controversy leading to mass student protests — another headache for Kim to deal with.

During one of his lectures, Bill mockingly performs the Sieg Heil Nazi salute. Some students are recording the lecture on their phones; soon a viral meme riles up the students and drags the university into crisis mode. If readers think such a scenario is improbable, reality has proven to be even more absurd (as last year’s controversy at University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business illustrates).

At one point, Bill is suspended, creating the space for a guest lecturer, a cameo played deliciously by David Duchovny (X-files, Californication) as himself. Complicating matters further is that Kim and Bill have feelings for each other. As their lives get more entangled and Bill descends into a downward spiral, Kim struggles to stay above the fray.

At home, Kim is constantly at loggerheads with her adopted daughter, JuJu (Everly Carganilla), who is of Mexican descent and resents that she is adopted by a Korean mother. Kim spends a lot of time cajoling her reluctant father Habi (Ji-Yong Lee) into babysitting JuJu, who can be a handful and has a knack for stirring trouble wherever she goes.

The scenes depicting Kim’s domestic life are a treat — the relationships between Kim, Habi and JuJu are endearing and thoughtfully depicted. The subtle details in the portrayal of Kim’s Korean family and community add a touch of authenticity. And it’s refreshing to see a harried mother, who constantly doubts her decisions, portrayed without judgment on television. That it’s the self-sabotaging Bill who turns out to be better at parenting is an interesting twist on traditional gender roles.

While Oh, who is known more for drama (Grey’s Anatomy, Killing Eve) finally gets to showcase her brilliant comedic skills, it’s Carganilla who steals the spotlight with her portrayal of the troublesome, enfant terrible Juju and who delivers some of the best zingers of the series.

It’s tricky to navigate such weighty subjects and still keep the story light and entertaining, but there are plenty of funny moments in The Chair. There are no outright gags; just dead-pan humour and wry moments. “We’re still in our intellectual prime and have plenty to offer,” Elliot wails to an uninterested John at one point as he tries to plot against Kim. The silence that follows is broken by a fart. “Was that you or me?” asks John.

If you’re looking for answers to burning questions about the education-industrial complex, this isn’t the show for you. But if you’d like to spend a few hours devouring a searing satire dressed up as a rom-com, nothing beats The Chair.

Published in Dawn, ICON, September 5th, 2021