Indie Spotlight: ‘Agency’ Takes On The Modern Advertising Firm

We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now.  Read previous installments here. 

Office culture has served as inspiration for several of the web series I’ve reviewed in this space over the past few years. To find the latest series utilizing that conceit, we have to go all the way down to New Zealand, where a comedy called Agency skewers the modern advertising firm.

Agency‘s first episode begins with a fake commercial advertising a placenta-related promotion; while that may seem like a crude beginning, creator Judah Finnigan and his team eventually steer the series to orbit around the distinct personalities of its three leads. There’s Tom (Ben Forman), who brings a nonchalant attitude to his work; Summer (Samantha Reed), his high-energy co-worker; and Duncan (Glen Puklowski), the bumbling employee they both tend to bully.

The three released episodes all touch on the daily ins-and-outs of ad agency life, albeit with plenty of absurdity thrown in. Agency, according to its website, is “for anyone who has ever had an irritating boss, an impossible client, a production disaster, a blundered pitch, a work-related ethical dilemma or a drink too many at the company Christmas function.”

Even if you’ve never set foot in an agency, there’s still plenty to appreciate in Agency‘s combination of crazy gags and deadpan characters. Check it out.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• Bad Moms In Movie History. An animated web series offers a modern spin on famous movie mothers.
• Rap Super Friends. Fictionalized versions of famous rappers hang out with each other.
• The Late Late News. The well-tread satirical news format gets a new spin.
• Merce. Musical numbers meet an HIV-positive protagonist.

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.