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If you happened to watch Lin-Manuel Miranda square off against Larry David on the last season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, you know that the Tony Award winner is no slouch when it comes to comedy. He starred as a blowhard who could match resident blowhard David toe to toe, and Curb fans know that just isn’t easy. Now we’ll get to see him flex even more satirical muscle on the new web series, Bartlett.
The six-part musically-inspired comedy puts the advertising world in the spotlight, with young execs trying to battle office politics, gender and race equality, and workplace romance in Silicon Valley. Utkarsh Ambudkar, of White Famous and The Mindy Project also stars in the series, along with Don Read of A Different World fame, and newcomer Eirinie Carson.
Of course, every advertising firm has its troublemaker. Bartlett follows bad boy agency exec Roger Newhouse, played by Anthony Veneziale, who expresses the emotion of his rough year in song. On the fictional label Anxiety Records, Roger lets his imagination run wild with folk, rap and pop videos. Like Em, he really just needs one shot to get a winning pitch for a much-needed victory.
On Bartlett, Mazzeo (who’s also an executive producer) says:
“When it comes to rich topics to explore as storytellers, advertising has got to be at the top of the list. From Mad Men to Bewitched to every ad we relish on Super Bowl Sunday, this is a world worthy of creative exploration. We think viewers will connect with these relatable and truly entertaining characters — they are human in every way and focus on what we have in common vs our differences — I think everyone could use a dose of that narrative these days.”
Bartlett is just one of the many contributions we can expect from Miranda this year. He’s been a steadfast proponent of hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico, and he’s also expecting his second child. Bartlett is available for streaming on Vimeo beginning Jan. 30.
Check out the trailer for the satire comedy below.
