User Reviews

Before the first episode even aired, I've already heard from people how this show is supposed to negatively stereotype Indian people and that it's a kind of show that shouldn't be encouraged. So I started watching it with low expectations...

It's actually very, very good. Hilarious, even! My family's from the Indian continent and I watch tons of Bollywood movies, and I did not see anything that could be construed as negative stereotypes. The show got a lot of the cultural aspects and mannerism right, and the jokes I've seen have appeared in Bollywood flicks as well. But I guess in the naysayers' mind, they watch only the previews and think, "There's a lot of Indians on the show - there MUST be stereotypes going on!" This is simply NOT true. If anything, a lot of people I know are ecstatic that Indians are finally making a foray into American television - and during primetime, no less (Although I've heard there's hope the show will reflect more modernized/westernized aspects of Indian culture as well, but I think we'll get there). The Indian characters are portrayed as equals to their American counterparts, and in some cases are more sympathetic and likable while an American character (Diedrich Bader) is portrayed as being close-minded. The Indian assistant boss, Rajiv, might seem a little over-the-top and cruel, but I have seen his type of character in Bollywood flicks many times and he occasionally shows flashes of his good side (when he yelled at Madhuri to stay after work as a clever ruse to give her a place to sleep for the night).

Yes, there's the unfortunate side story of Americans losing their jobs overseas, and some who were personally affected may look at this show with disdain for that reason. They have my sympathy. That's the ugly side of free-market capitalism at work, but CEOs and stockholders who are demanding higher returns by pressuring for cheaper labor are more to blame than anyone else. Did people boycott Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times" because manual jobs were being lost to factory machines?

Back to my point. This is a very decent show with a lot of promises as the show matures. "The Office" started off very weak and was almost cancelled, but it was given a chance and look how successful it became. Same with "Park & Recreation", it had a horrible 1st season and now it's just hilarious. Just put away whatever misconceptions you have about the show. Give it a chance. It will grow on you. We always ask TV execs to come up with more original ideas. This is it - a bold foray into the lives of people from another culture that is just as unique as it has surprisingly similar parallels with our own culture. If it fails, they'll just go back to their bland cookie-cutter shows based in LA or New York and accompanied with a cheap laugh track and all-Caucasian characters. Is that really what you want?

Watched this completely by accident and I am Hooked,The cast are all well thought out and each member plays their roles very nicely. I have always been a fan of "mind your language" and this sitcom comes very close to a modern version,i.e. a sitcom that encompasses different cultures and is extremely funny. Hope this sitcom continues for a while, and the writers continue doing such a superb job. Would definitely recommend it!!!! One fun thing we do is we sit down with a couple of my Indian pals and watch this show. its hilarious, plus we get to make fun of all my pals (added bonus). All in all, i wish there were more shows like this and if anyone in the networks is reading this..... Please do another "mind your language"

In the pilot of Outsourced, Todd (played by Ben Rappaport)arrives at his workplace one morning to find the Midwestern joke catalog callcentre he manages desolate. Todd is told he can either follow the work, which has been outsourced to India or find another job. Rather than face job hunting in this economy, he chooses India.

The utter charm of this show is in the storytelling from Todd's point of view; Rappaport's simple, untraveled Todd embraces the vast cultural differences he encounters in his new home with mystified delight. As a long time American ex-pat in a different culture, I remember that feeling of discovery.

Some people have complained of stereotyping and at the beginning of the show, the characters did come off as stereotypes; Todd, like us (the American audience for whom the show is written), is uninitiated and meets several new people on the same day just as we meet them in the first half hour. Due to some of the best sitcom scriptwriting EVER, characters have developed, Todd's POV has dampened and the show has become a true ensemble.

I could write several more paragraphs about Outsourced, rhapsodizing the scriptwriting, superb ensemble cast, direction and arc of the show- but I will instead tell you this; outsourced is a show about Joy- about reveling in our differences and sameness and foibles and strengths.

The only reason I didn't give it 10 stars is that is reserved for M*A*S*H* and the first few years of Taxi.

We have loved this show from the beginning. It's funny, clever and sweet and the characters are genuinely likable. It might not be for everyone, but if NBC hadn't shoved it to the end of the Thursday lineup and filled in the 8:30 slot with pointless newbies and endless Office repeats, people who don't have a DVR but do have a job to get up for in the morning might have had a chance to enjoy this show.

They announced its demise today along with the addition of four new shows, none of which sound promising.

I'm going to see the suit that makes these decisions in hell, and he isn't going to like the encounter.

I would never have guessed that this show would be as funny as it is! I actually watched each episode back-to-back and it continued to get funnier as the shows progressed. It's great formula comedy and the characters have fantastic comedic timing!! If you haven't yet -- give this one a chance! I was expecting the story lines to be staid and predictable. So far, so good -- not a one yet has been anything I expected. The principal interacts with his counterparts so well it makes it seem that the work environment could be real! I've never been to India, but this would almost entice me to visit. The people in this sitcom are very watchable. You'll find yourself laughing out loud - promise!

As an Australian who has lived both in the US and India, as well as worked extensively in the call centre industry, Outsourced really hits the spot in allowing the viewer to see the funny side of both American and Indian culture. Does it stretch situations a bit, yes most definitely, but not so much as to loose the plot.

Having spent a lot of time in India I do love the characters who do give us all a small insight to the fascinating lives and culture of Indian society.

For those who think its crass for poking fun at someone else's culture, all I would say is lighten up and be thankful that Indian actors are getting a spot in prime time TV in the US.

Great show and really funny. Let there be more!!!!!

Flipping through the channels, came across this show and just started cracking up. Never made it through the movie...which is still in my netflix 'instant' queue. As I remember, it was a little slow getting started (to me at least). But this? Hooked from go. Would not have chosen it purposely (b/c of the movie), but very pleasantly surprised...which is why I recommend. Could not even change the channel without coming back asap (I know, I'm a terrible American-I don't have a DVR)- and I am sooo not a sitcom person (except for HIMYM). The jokes are funny, the characters are solid & I want to see more of them. What have they been up to? What can I expect next? Can't believe I've been missing it. Will have to start at the beginning and catch up. Sorry there's not much of the program details in my first review, just my frame of reference. Hopefully it'll be useful to someone & my reviews will get better with time.

As someone who has TWICE within the last 7 years lost my position to outsourcing I winced at the news of this show coming to NBC. After all, WHY would I want to watch a show, and a comedy at that, based upon a concept that has left me jobless. I have to be honest; I was hoping that the employees would be foolish, cultural stereotypes, and therefore I would have an excuse to poke fun at them. So I sat back, got my generic snacks and soda ready (can't afford the name brand stuff anymore) and prepared myself for a chance at cultural ridicule. But a funny thing happened; about 10 minutes in....I laughed! Not at the locals naive concept at American excesses, NOT at their reverence of all things beef-related, NOT at their stereotypical accents (actually in THEIR country the American had the accent) but because I heard something funny. So I put my pride in my pocket and started to watch this show as though I was interested in what I was watching. Then I realized something; just because someone is naive doesn't make them stupid or deserving of ridicule. What I ALSO realized was that these characters were just like me...wanting a job so they could pay their bills, put food on their table and a roof over their heads. And even though the locals were naive and kind of goofy in a sweet way I found myself caring about them. For example, the young girl who barely speaks above a whisper; THIS is a job for someone like her? Of course not. But her character was so innocent and so sweet and wouldn't give up I was rooting for her to succeed. The guy who couldn't stop talking...we ALL know someone like that but he wasn't obnoxious, probably just lonely and haven't we ALL been there? The American manager who was sent to India to head this rag-tag group could have been written as a cruel SOB but he wasn't. Their success was HIS success and he goes above and beyond to see that his employees succeed so he could secure his own position and contribute to the company's bottom line (without being a creep in the process). These are likable, well conceived and well acted characters and guess what...the show is funny. Maybe not "The Big Bang Theory" or "30 Rock" or even "Family Guy" funny but I'm willing to give them every opportunity to rise to the occasion.

Im sad that they canceled this show but I can understand how most people wouldn't really get the humor.

I spent time in Europe in a masters with a VERY international crowd (more than 40 nationalities), including about 25 Indians....after this I visited India ....I also lived about 7 years in the USA, so I think if this hadn't been my experience I might not get the the jokes in this series (making fun of Americans and Indians).

So, for someone like myself this show is freakin' hilarious, and its not really insulting to the cultures...its more like a social commentary on cultures and traditions.....it makes fun of Americans the way Americans (who have traveled outside the USA) do, and it makes fun of Indians in the same way Indians do.... so its not really insensitive, just playing on the stereotypes. But we all know, stereotypes exist for a reason!

Bring it back!

While I'm against outsourcing by Big Business, I must confess that I loved this show. NBC snagged me at screen-side while with this charming cast of Ben Rappaport, Rizwan Manji, Sacha Dhawan, Rebecca Hazlewood, Parvesh Cheena, Anisha Nagarajan, Diedrich Bader and Pippa Black (our Aussie poor girl Nicole Kidman), who portray the different facets of the Indian working-class and their non-Indian counterparts.

"Outsourced" highlights the misconceptions that staff and management hold when East and West meet at Mid-America Novelties in India. And while it's not all PC (thank you!), it's good to see a genuine multi-cultural cast, rather than the token Asian or African-American tacked onto the cast credits. I'm usually not a big fan of the station, but Gupta's chatty talk, Manmeet's wonder at American dating customs, Todd's confusion about local customs, and Charlie, his bluff-and-bluster friend, prove that opposites do attract. I applaud NBC for taking this small but vital step towards this meaningful celebration of cultural diversity.

It's a shame that NBC chose to cancel this little diamond in the rough, in favor of the usual Primetime Pablum.

i watched the entire first season in one day and i loved it! the show is very funny, one of the best i've seen in a while. yes, it has some inappropriate jokes, but that's what makes it even funnier. the group has every type of personality and they are all very lovable characters. it really is a shame they cancelled the show, i would have loved to see more.

one of my favorite jokes from the show: t: everyone here has potential; r: OK, i'll file that under American myths, right between 'sky's the limit' and wnba.

unless you're just super easily insulted, you'll love this show.

Outsourcing is touchy subject and understandably some people who directly got hurt by this business concept are mad and would remain so for sometime. But lets face it this is what is reality of the times.

If you can get past that the show is just incredible. With some clichés thrown in with quick witted repartee on those clichés from Indian/us perspective is just laugh out loud funny.

Absolutely love the show. Started laughing from first minute and after having seen 4 episodes the show has not slowed at all.

Best way to melt the days tension away in laugh.

Especially the A-Team guys are off the hook.

Would recommend to all.

Watching the pilot(s), I was very skeptical as to how the creators could make a recurring show out of a call center concept where a bunch of folks sit together in a room and answer phone calls. However, I'm pleasantly surprised to see the creativity around each character and leveraging the richness/nuisances of both Indian and American cultures.

Given how the American workplace is evolving, shows like this help create a better understanding of different cultures. Don't get me wrong – it's not that a silly comedy show teaches us Indian culture. It's about understanding that fun is universal. People are people – with feelings, emotions and shortcomings. (On an unrelated note, I've indeed started being more polite to the customer service folks when my calls are routed to outside US ... to somebody equally human as me.) One thing about the show that I like is that it's an equal opportunity show making fun (in a playful manner) of both Indian and American cultures. The Indian Gupta and the American Charlie Davies are simply killer characters. Charlie's dialogs (especially around interpretation of India and in one episode Australia) are just hilarious. Gupta is equally funny, and adds physical comedy which just cracks my entire family up.

I hope the show continues to do well and has a strong Season 2. It may benefit from continued investment by NBC to make the sets richer (like what we saw in Rajiv's wedding episode). Also, a little bit of tighter editing will help clean off some jokes that fall flat occasionally or look too silly.

I could not help but notice that some reviewers rated this show negatively based on their inherent bias against outsourcing or the hurt it's causing to their cultural feelings. Honestly, I do not agree with penalizing a small show, which is merely trying to bring a smile on your face, for all that dense stuff. I'm sure the audience is not dumb enough to stereotype things based on a tiny show. Dunder Mifflin in the show Office does not represent the state of the art US corporate culture that supports the world economy, the buffoons in the show Community do not represent the hard working folks who go to a community college, the intellectual scientist community does not behave like the eccentric kids in the Big Bang Theory … Nevertheless, these shows provide us good entertainment – a hearty laugh after a day's hard work. Overall, the show is a joy to watch. Highly recommended and kudos to all involved for creating such a joyous series.

Outsourced is Hilarious!

Granted that one who has more insight on Indian culture would find it funnier than someone who is still coming to terms with real-life outsourcing, any viewer with an open mind would easily find an easy laugh out of this story.

The protagonists have not yet been fully developed but with each new episode, more comedic talent is displayed and each so far has been better than the last. This show has the building blocks of a solid comedy, interesting and funny characters, fresh ideas, and a different setting from our typical abstract-humor based comedies like Frasier.

The biggest gripe that non-fans have with this show is that it seems insensitive to those who may have lost their jobs to actual outsourcing. Perhaps if the show went a different way, where a bunch of Indians came to open a gag-prop business in America, they would feel less insulted.

Regardless of ones taste for comedy, the show has its own merits and gives promise of great potential but hey,

IT CANT BE ANY WORSE THAN ***"THE CLEVELAND SHOW"***

Never really wanted to go to Mumbai, but this apparent TV sitcom take on a 2006 movie (didn't see it) about a mid-level management type in charge of a new novelty telemarketing office in India gives it an almost college campus-type setting - complete with cafeteria - that almost makes it look like an interesting place to go. The culture clash between mid-stream, midwestern America and the Indian call center employees could've been ugly or boring. This is neither. The light relationship banter, reminiscent of "Better off Ted," keeps the characters interesting, and sets the stage to await further developments. There's obviously a lot more rich cultural material to mine. Have to admit, the novelties are interesting enough that you wonder, if someone is actually selling them somewhere, how much would they be?

one of the best TV shows that makes me laugh and watch again and again...call centers are the bread and butter to more than a million population in India..Ben and Rizwan are one of the best and contrasting bosses..even a pat on the back treated as sexual harassment and fake holidays are my favorites..the sets in California looks just like Mumbai!! hats off to the production department..!! the head babble is another one that was amazing to me.. i had no idea that Americans couldn't understand it! Maduri, Gupta and Manmeet are the core entertainers!!on the whole.. this is a great show.. so sad it stopped with season one!

As a big fan of the original Movie, I was intrigued to see how the transition to the small screen would work. In many respects the TV show is unique in its approach but stays true to the themes of the movie. I just bought the DVD set and in re-watching the episodes, the depth of characterization, beyond just throwaway stereotypes, is actually quite surprising. If you want to try this show, you must watch A Sitar is Born. Just fabulous. A Bollywood movie brought to the small screen. Amazing. It is clear that the main cast members are very talented actors and comedians. While the writing is sometimes inconsistent, it is more with the handling of the Ex-pat characters than with the native characters. I actually looked forward to seeing the next episode each week. So happy to have the DVD set now.

This show is basically a re-formulation of "The Office", except that it's set in India, the office is a call center, and the company sells novelty products (like a butt-shaped coin bank).

Cross-cultural misunderstandings are a core element of the show's humor, and several of my friends have voiced annoyance at the stereotypes in the show. The Indian characters -- a young and attractive "Don Juan," a very quiet and unassertive girl, a gossipy loud-mouth, an easily-offended man, a fun and beautiful girl, and a heartlessly ambitious assistant manager -- seem more like personality stereotypes than cultural ones, and I've seen similar characters in other shows that don't offend the same friends. I think their offense is misplaced.

I find the show funny. Comically, jokes range from smart to stupid, including personal relationships, physical humor, bathroom humor, and embarrassing situations. This is supplemented by the extreme personalities, cultural clashes and ridiculous "novelty products." Religion, food, and economics are poked at, too, and sometimes in dubious taste. Sadly, I predict that the most interesting types of humor will go stale quickly.

The sound editing is horrible in this show, with theme music blaring at remote-lunging volumes and fading to low whispers during dialog.

My first glance at this new comedy was met with hesitance, as I am a huge fan of Modern Family I wanted to watch something else just as diverse. Several episodes later I am hooked. This show was well thought out with its diversity, history and of course COMEDY! I thought this show would offend some people of Indian descent or culture but it was the total opposite at my place of work. My coworkers whom are of Indian, Asian, African American, Caucasian and of course, me whom was born and raised in Philly and am of Puerto Rican (Latin) descent, thoroughly enjoy this comedy and discuss the show every week with my co- workers. My Indian co-worker whom has lived in the US for about 10 years now from India, not only enjoys but shares the meanings, cultures and differences with us after every show, I've even learned some new words. In essence, you must look at such comedies as what it is comedy, but in this case it is more of a history lesson of the differences and cultures.

Just watch and enjoy and don't over analyze. Now I can add Outsourced to my list of comedies with punch and change of pace. Like Modern Family, Office, Curb your enthusiasm, Arrested Development and 30 Rock.

Todd Dempsey (Ben Rappaport) works at American Novelty Company's call center. He expects to be the new manager but finds the company has outsourced to India and he transfer to manage the new people. The other westerners are brash Charlie Davies (Diedrich Bader) and Tonya (Pippa Black) who manage other better groups.

The cast is inhabited by a great variety of Indian actors. They are all very colorful reminiscent of The Office. It is very disappointing to have it canceled after only 1 season. It's certainly as funny as The Office. It definitely gave network TV a bit of color. It deserved to be renewed.

When i first saw the trailer i thought it will be an interesting comedy show . I have seen the whole season and i have to say that it's one of the funniest shows ever .

The plot is very simple but the jokes are actually clever . You are not going to Laugh Out Loud (lol) , but i can assure you that you will raise at least 10 smiles per episode . This show always cheers me up with it's jokes .

I strongly recommend everyone to give this show a shot !!!

I'm looking forward for the next season !!!

10 out of 10

This series is a classic example of a stereotypical vision. From my observations I can undoubtedly say that this series was probably made by some guy who is American born and has probably seen pictures of Indian cities taken by his great grandfather in the 1940's or something.

I would not be surprised if they throw in a guy doing "the Indian rope trick" or a women setting her self on fire for her dead husband, because I guess those are the only things that they have missed so far.

To put things straight, the characters are obviously trying to fake an Indian accent, which will be obvious to anyone. The City or rather the environment they are trying to portray looks like what Delhi would have looked 20 years ago, hence,nowhere close to Mumbai, or even reality for that matter. The thought process or the attitude of the characters is again something that would have been fine if this series was made in the 1930's. Cosmopolitan people from India (As portrayed in the series), do not act even close to what they are trying to show. Playing Hindi or Punjabi songs in the background is not going to cover up for the otherwise un-Indian scenarios that these guys are trying to project.

This kind of unrealistic portrayal is the reason why people have misconceptions about different cultures. I would seriously not recommend this series to anyone.

The reason I gave it a 4-star rating is solely because I like the Theme of the series, I just wished the producers would have taken efforts to visit an Indian Metropolitan city first, before going ahead with the script. But apart from this, the Actors have done a superb job in the "Acting" Department. The storyline is great, the jokes are real funny, could have been funnier though.

outsourcing is a hot and happening subject and this is a series totally based on that.it did start of well with a bang only to lose its flair midway,but did come back strong around the end of the season.sadly its heard that there wont be any further seasons of this indo-us combo due to viewer ship issue.but tell u what being an Indian i personally don't feel the series as offensive,even though only the poorer parts of Mumbai have been emphasizes and shown in the series.

Ben rappaport as Todd/manager does an excellent job,Gupta and Charlie are probably the most comic characters in the show with Charlie coming up with some rave ideas and Gupta being as dumb and disgusting as possible.also the Indian accent and u.s culture blending with Indian culture makes it a good watch.

well all in all a good series with a brilliant concept which should be given a try by all of them out there and truly deserves one more season at least.....