Indie Spotlight: ‘Business Work’ Is Filled With Punchy Gags

Some web series have complex setups, but others are little more than five coworkers trading silly jokes back and forth. That’s the best one-line description I can muster for Business Work, a clever web series replete with subtle gags.

Like many other web series creators, Business Work “Writer/Director/Boss” John Purcell is a performer at the UCB Theatre in New York; an article he wrote served as inspiration for this popular video about Starbucks baristas. Here, he brings a sketch comedy sensibility to his web series, where episodes rarely last more than 90 seconds. In the most popular episodes, one of the office employees literally sticks his foot in his mouth while awkwardly asking a coworker on a date.

The best part of Business Work are the small, easy-to-miss jokes that fill each episode. This is the kind of web series where an employee rushes into his coworker’s office, tells him that the numbers don’t look good, and then actually hands over a sheet filled with badly-drawn numbers. It’s the kind of web series that never goes too long without a sight gag

. It’s the kind of web series that includes the line, “I’m going through a divorce…and so is my wife.” Don’t let your attention slip when watching Business Work; you will likely miss something.

The bottom line is that Business Work has an incredible density of jokes. It’s a web comedy that would make Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker smile, and you’ll probably appreciate it, too.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• Three. A gay man and a straight woman find a bisexual man and begin a three-way relationship with him.
• Real Life Horror Movie. The team at Yes Please Comedy has crafted some horror comedy bits in time for Halloween.
• Wheelchair Werewolf. If you want a campier Halloween story, check out this homage to old B-movies.
• Boost. A scientist develops a super-powerful drug in this smoothly-shot web series.

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here. For best coverage, please include a full episode in your e-mail.