Jun 3, 2010

Outsourced


A friend of mine told me about this new show, Outsourced, about a guy who's hired to run a Call Center American Novelties, a kind of joint that sells singing trout to fake barf. But the call center gets outsourced to India, so he has to move. It's based on an indie movie made in 2006.

Here's the extended trailer that NBC put up on YouTube. It looks funny. Like a cross between "Community" meets "Slumdog Millionaire." It looks like they're going to tread all over every east-indian stereotype there is. but maybe that's the point. The friend that told me about it IS East-Indian, and she thought it looked good.

4 comments:

Maureen said...

That looks Hysterical! Reminds me of 'The Office' which is a family favorite....looking forward to this one :)

Unknown said...

Oh, that's hilarious! Hopefully it will not offend or stereotype the other culture. I think this program will humanize our view of call centers or outsourcing and show the audience what is really happening on the other side of the line. A majority of the people are pissed and get easily upset with telemarketers or customer service representatives but hopefully this series will change all that negative perception.

We have to admit though that companies who outsource telemarketing operations overseas are hugely profiting from this cost saving move. Countries like India are also benefiting because it helps their economy and give their people jobs. The outsourcing trend will probably continue as more companies want to reduce expenses.

jessi knippel said...

The writer of the tv show, wrote and directed a film of the same name in 2006 staring Josh Hamilton, from which the show is based on. The film is really good and deals not only with outsourcing but also the disconnect that happens when something that is very specific to one culture is translated into another.

Susan Isaacs said...

Hey Jessi, that's great to know the back story. A friend of mine, who is Indian-born, got hired to write for the show. I know she'll bring a great perspective, being Indian and American. I'd like to rent the movie on Netflix and ramp up to the show this fall.

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