The new workplace comedy that completed its first season this month demonstrates that the form is not as exhausted as the recent commentary about network comedy has implied. The show is not transformative; it is competent in the specific ways that the form requires.

What it does well

The casting is the show's principal achievement. The seven principal performers have been chosen with attention to the kinds of comedic timing and ensemble texture that the form depends on. The chemistry is real; the ensemble works.

The setting

The setting is a regional accounting firm in Cleveland. The choice is the kind of choice that smaller-scale comedy benefits from: specific enough to feel real, ordinary enough to be relatable, with the kind of working-life texture that the form has historically mined effectively.

The pacing

The pacing across the first season is more confident than first seasons of comparable shows often are. The show found its rhythm by episode three; the remaining episodes settle into a pace that supports the kinds of small character-driven moments the form is built around.

The verdict

The show is the kind of network comedy that does not announce itself but that, episode by episode, builds the audience that workplace comedy of this scale needs to sustain itself. The renewal that has been announced is deserved.