Grief and dismay reign at the mobile games company CompWare: their boss, the tech prodigy Sang Woo (Brian Yoon), was shot dead in cold blood in his office – by a child. And while his employees are still in shock, a new boss introduces himself: Regus Patoff (Christoph Waltz) appears out of nowhere and takes over not only the executive office, but also the fate of the company from one moment to the next. Sang signed a contract with him before his death.
With Patoff at the head of the company, a new, sharp wind is blowing in the company. He fires employees who show up to work seconds late, calls for fierce competition within the workforce and follows a strict austerity course. It soon becomes clear that this man is hiding a special secret.
Two employees work particularly closely with Patoff: the programmer Craig (Nat Wolff) and Elaine (Brittany O’Grady), the assistant to the former boss. They go in search of clues and find out that there is not much to be found out about their new superiors: Regus Patoff borrowed his name from “Reg. U.S. Pat. Off” (“registered with the US Patent Office”), otherwise it seems not to exist at Google and Co. The only thing that becomes clear during her research is that everyone who can be associated with Patoff quickly regretted it.
And at CompWare, too, the employees will soon not only fear for their jobs, but also for their lives. But as Craig becomes Patoff’s sworn nemesis, Elaine works her way up to become his close confidante — and gradually adopts his ruthless methods as well.
The highlight of the series is undoubtedly Christoph Waltz in his role as a manipulative, mysterious boss. With his fine tips and impenetrable facial expressions, the Austrian gives another taste of his acting skills, which sends shivers down the spine of the audience – nobody would wish for such a boss from hell and many have probably already experienced it.
“The Consultant” satirically deals with the modern working world between home office, Silicon Valley offices and cost pressure over eight episodes. Regus Patoff is the prototype of erratic bosses trying to turn a company around using unorthodox methods. However, one thing distinguishes him from many others of his trade: Patoff has no personality cult. And so – if there should be a second season – at least one big question still has to be clarified: Who is this man actually?
