Outsourced was what we got in 2010, Squid Game is what we got in 2021. As a well paid former call center worker I look at this show in retrospect and think to myself "I never knew that exploiting devalued labor markets could be so moderately HILARIOUS!" Using cultural differences to make a comedy is a wonderful idea. Unfortunately this application of that premise is intensely tone deaf to the exploitation and that makes this show more than a little dystopian to watch. Yes, haha that cultural misunderstanding led to a funny situation, I get it. The corporate creators of this show seem to have actively avoided addressing exploitation and thus broadening the potential for great comedy through satire. Think what this show could have been if someone like George Carlin had been the creative director. I guess NBC felt that advertisers would likely recoil in anger should viewers be made aware of the destitute individuals overseas who make and support the things they purchase. In the real world worker moral is so low at Indian call centers that they hire mental health experts for their employees. The creators happily use cultural harmony as a shield against announcing those wall-smashing elephants in the room. I guess "jobs nobody wants" should pay next to nothing because that's completely consistent with capitalism.
Review of Outsourced
