TV Show Review: Inside Job

By Calista Lee ’24

Inside Job is a science fiction comedy series that follows Reagan Ridley, a half-Japanese American engineer who works in the government. It was created by Shion Takeguchi, a writer for Gravity Falls. 

Inside Job is based on the idea that America is secretly run by a secret government and pretty much every ridiculous conspiracy theory is real. Influential celebrities are reptile people, the president is actually a robot, the weather is controlled by Gerald from accounting, and so on. Cognito Incorporated, the company where the protagonists work, is considered the Deep State controlling the world. It’s led by a group of shadowy robed figures who are “always watching” and will appear as holograms throughout the series, but never interfere with much. Under the shadow board is the CEO, a man named J.R., and under him are the six main characters of the show.

This series does a great job of creating likable and relatable characters with depth. Reagan, the main character, is the head robotic engineer of Cognito. She is socially awkward and has difficulty leading her team because of this. Her father, Rand Ridley, worked alongside J.R. before getting fired for almost exposing the Deep State’s secrets. She replaced him, and now he spends his time getting wasted in her apartment.

The second lead, Brett Hand is her best friend and co-worker, hired in the first episode to help Reagan support the team emotionally. He is in “every single frat” and was only hired because his face is so generic that satellites can’t identify him. 

The remaining four of the group consist of various humans and human-adjacents who don’t take their jobs as seriously as Reagan. Gigi, the head of Media Manipulation and Subliminal Messages, controls the news and social media. Glenn Dolphman is a very conservative half-man and half-dolphin with lingering feelings for his ex-wife. He takes care of Cognito’s weapons arsenal. Dr. Andre Lee is a biochemist who is addicted to the substances he creates, and Magic Myc is a brightly-colored mushroom-shaped organism that has the ability to read peoples’ minds. 

I would say that the show has a very interesting combination of dry humor and surrealism. Having been built on this premise that all the conspiracy theories are true, the show’s writers are not afraid of getting too ridiculous. Furthermore, some of the show’s funniest moments are slight nods to this premise. In this world Tupac is still alive, Oprah runs the Illuminati, and the sea monsters from maps of old live inside the hollow earth.

These characters all bond together through the trials and tribulations that the show puts them through. They all have developed personalities and connections, and watching that is especially entertaining. This is the most enjoyable part of the series.

I did not find much to criticize while watching this. The only thing I would say is that it can be a little stressful seeing the strange situations Reagan gets herself into. But overall, the “found family” dynamic in this show is its strongest attribute. I give it eight out of ten stars and urge you to give it a watch!