New NBC show "Outsourced". A slap in the face?

Mythbuster

I think it's bad timing, not going to be deemed "hilarious" by the many unemployed who lost their jobs due to outsourcing and is not going to last long given our current economic climate.

http://www.nbc.com/outsourced/

The NBC forum for the show where folks are not so happy.

"Outsourced" is a comedy where the Midwest meets the exotic East in a hilarious culture clash. The series centers on the all-American company Mid America Novelties that sells whoopee cushions, foam fingers and wallets made of bacon -- and whose call center has suddenly been outsourced to India. Todd Dempsy (Ben Rappaport, off-Broadway's "The Gingerbread House") is the new company's manager who learns that he's being transferred to India to run the operation.

Overwhelmed, Todd discovers that his new staff needs a crash course in all things American if they are to understand the U.S. product line and ramp up sales from halfway around the world. But as strange as America seems to his eclectic sales team, Todd soon realizes that figuring out India will be more than a full-time job.

Hmmmm, I wonder if NBC will put on a show called "Illegals" which shows how people from across the borders (N & S) are sneaking into the USA and stealing Americans IDs? We can all giggle at the pains it causes the real owner of the ID.

How funny would that be?

Yeah, this show sounds like a real hit. Especially during a recession when these types of jobs are being sent to India so an Indian with an MBA can tell me why my laptop isn't working. Or not.

Palimpsest

I find it bizarre, but for a slightly different reason. NBC executives have said at promo sessions that one of the main reasons behind their desire to get this show on the air is that they want to tap into the booming Indian viewing audience in the U.S. They think they're guaranteed high ratings because there are no other Indian-themed shows on the air, so they assume every Indian-American family will be watching.

Except...the Indian community isn't all that excited about it, because -- at least according to articles and interviews I've read -- many of them take it as an insult to think that the only representation they can get in the U.S. media is as help center employees. It's not really showing Indian culture; it's showing American culture using Indian actors. So it doesn't seem like they really thought this one out.

My guess is that it will have high early ratings due to the curiosity factor, then level off, and then die a quiet death. I don't think they'll cancel it immediately because they won't want it to look like they caved to criticism. But hey, maybe it'll shock us all and become the next big thing. *shrug*

littlebird

I've seen the commercials, probably wont watch it unless Im bored. I think its in poor taste. I think americans loosing jobs oversees basically "sucks" and I despise playing "push one, then three," then I get someone I cant understand and they cant understand me, and we're saying "what did you say?' about ten times during what should be a 3 min call. Sorry to be crabby, I should go to bed.

Broken Promises

Hmmm, yes, it is poor timing and rather insensitive.

The premise reminds me of a British show, the name of which escapes me. It’s common for American producers to remake popular British shows.

It’s gonna bug me for the rest of the day now.

JeffT

It sounds like its based on a movie of the same name. We saw it on netflix a while back, I thought it was a great look at clashing cultures on the problems created by outsourcing. I think it was kind of a small indie film that met with some success. TV will probably screw it up.