‘The Chair’ Was Inspired By Classic Rom-Coms

Netflix has introduced a wealth of new content within the past year, including several original TV shows and a number of big-budget movies with star-studded casts. One of the hottest new shows to hit the streaming platform in recent months is The Chair, a series that includes a little bit of comedy and a heaping helping of drama, all packaged in an easily consumable format that is designed to appeal to viewers of all ages. Starring Sandra Oh, The Chair might seem familiar to many viewers — and, as show creator Amanda Peet revealed in an interview with Forbes, that is because showrunners took a lot of inspiration from a beloved genre. 

What is ‘The Chair’ about?

The Chair tells the story of Professor Ji-Yoon Kim, the newly-appointed chair of the English department at the prestigious Pembroke University. As the first woman chosen for her position, Kim must not only navigate some serious professional challenges, but personal ones as well — including the ongoing struggle of parenting her adopted daughter and figuring out how to handle her lingering crush on her colleague, Bill Dobson. 

Oh plays Ji-Yoon Kim, the put-upon chair. Oh, who is best known for her work in Grey’s Anatomy, has been a major presence on the entertainment scene for nearly two decades. Jay Duplass also stars in the series as Bill Dobson, Kim’s crush and a widower who is struggling with empty nest syndrome in the wake of his daughter leaving for college. The Chair also features such renowned character actors as Bob Balaban, Nana Mensah, and Holland Taylor. The show’s creative team is full of influential names as well — with longtime Hollywood favorite Peet as the show’s creator and executive producer. 

Amanda Peet opened up about what inspired ‘The Chair’

Although The Chair effortlessly blends comedy and drama, Peet admitted to Forbes in a recent interview that it is the romance genre that really inspired her to write The Chair. “We really wanted to take a stab at writing a romantic comedy,” Peet said. “Once we had the idea that Sandra was going to be newly promoted I thought about what would happen to this woman who is in love with this man and she’s in this position where finally the stars have aligned and there is an opening for this job and then he has a transgression at work and she’s forced to decide what his fate will be…A lot of my favorite romantic comedies definitely have this drawn out simmering period.”

Peet admitted to having rewatched many classic romantic comedies to get a good sense of what would work in The Chair. Ultimately, she told the publication, she wanted the series to feature some serious topics as well as light, fun ones — topics and storylines that dive deep into the struggles that working women face every day. 

Will there be a second season of ‘The Chair’?

Many fans have become invested in The Chair, and have binge-watched the entire season, even though it has only been available on Netflix for a few weeks. Some are looking ahead to a possible second season, but anyone who is expecting to see Ji-Yoon Kim’s storyline continued will have to wait a while. To date, a second season of The Chair has not been announced, and even Peet isn’t sure about whether they will get the opportunity to continue the story. 

With all the love shown for the series by critics and fans, however, it is very possible that showrunners will decide to move forward with a second season.