Though it’s decidedly less glamorous, academia isn’t entirely dissimilar from Hollywood. The wealthy and powerful minority convince themselves that meritocracy governs the system, and the underappreciated, underpaid majority struggle just to get their feet in the door and are expected to smile politely when it inevitably gets slammed shut in their faces. “The Chair” revels in all of the ugliness and hypocrisy of life in higher ed, an institution that prides itself on intellectualism but is governed by politics.
The Netflix series sees Sandra Oh starring as Dr. Ji-Yoon Kim, a professor who has recently been named as the Chair of the English Department at a prestigious university. She’s the first woman to take on the role, and one of the few faculty members of color at the school.
While it’s prestigious sounding, Ji-Yoon’s new position and title aren’t quite as empowering as she imagined. “I feel like somebody handed me a ticking time bomb because they wanted to make sure a woman was holding it when it explodes,” she admits. The English department is in the midst of a major crisis. A beloved professor (Jay Duplass) — who also happens to be Ji-Yoon’s crush — is at the center of a scandal that’s causing division among faculty and students. Budget cuts and waning enrollment threaten the department’s future. Ji-Yoon is feeling less like a boss bitch and more like the department’s bitch, constantly having to massage egos and deal with her decisions being questioned and undermined.
Ji-Yoon’s home life is similarly chaotic. She’s having difficulty connecting with her adopted daughter (Everly Carganilla), whose behavior is causing conflict at school and with babysitters.
Despite all of the pressure she’s under, Ji-Yoon continues to dedicate a great deal of time and energy to championing a colleague. Yaz (Nana Mensah), a young Black professor who has gained a major following for her teaching style, is up for tenure, and Ji-Yoon is working to ensure that the process goes as quickly and smoothly as possible, serving as the mentor she wish she’d had in the sexist and racist cesspool.
The fact that we see so little of Ji-Yoon actually talking about her academic work and interacting with students is a reflection of how much nonsense she’s dealing with outside of lecture halls and behind the scenes.
Oh’s comedic chops carry the show. She is, as always, a delight, and her performance has convinced me to return to “Killing Eve” for its fourth and final season.
“The Chair” is now streaming on Netflix. Amanda Peet and Annie Julia Wyman created the series and the former serves as showrunner.
