Jon Barinholtz has a few pertinent thoughts about the state of the U.S. automotive industry.
“There definitely is a scramble right now to figure out what is the next thing. It feels like you’re constantly on the brink of what could be the next big innovation,” he says. “It makes for maybe, in reality, a very hectic and anxious workplace.”
But as fodder for a sitcom, the corporate side of Motor City carmakers “makes for really entertaining viewing,” says Barinholtz, who stars on the new NBC series “American Auto.”
Now it’s time to see whether viewers agree. “American Auto,” which aired two episodes in December as a sneak peek, officially premieres in its regular time slot at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday.
Set — but not filmed — in Detroit, the comedy explores the day-to-day catastrophes of Payne Motors, a fictional 100-year-old car company that’s struggling to stay afloat at a time when the future of the entire industry is evolving and unclear.
The series finds laughs in car-related issues. The pilot, for instance, focuses on the launch of a self-driving vehicle with artificial intelligence flaws that make it awful at braking for people of color.
Yet “American Auto” resonates most as a critique of big business — specifically the vast power invested in bosses who issue orders that affect the lives of thousands of their employees.
Barinholtz says the series explores “how these decisions are made, and it’s not with as much thought as you would hope it is, if you’re a worker. It’s sometimes kind of just flying by the seat of their pants.”
One example? The new CEO of Payne Motors, Katherine Hastings, who is played by “Saturday Night Live” alumna Ana Gasteyer, is a former drug company executive who is almost completely unfamiliar with the product she’s now selling.
In one scene, Katherine practices pronouncing a basic car term by repeating “Brassy Shirley Bassey got on her chassis.”
During a briefing before a news media event, Katherine’s communications chief, Sadie, played by Australian actress Harriet Dyer, advises her to say a few words about why she took this new job.
“Oh, I can do that in two words: the money,” says Katherine. “I mean, obviously, it wasn’t just money. There were stock options.”
“American Auto” is the latest TV show from Justin Spitzer, a former writer for “The Office” and creator of NBC’s underappreciated “Superstore,” one of the best sitcoms ever about working for hourly wages.
Spitzer originally pitched “American Auto” to NBC in 2013. The goal was to do a comedy about corporate life that just happened to be rooted in cars.
“It wasn’t really supposed to be a story about the auto industry or set in Detroit or anything. I just wanted a more specific industry than just, like, generic widgets,” he explains. “And I wanted it to be a big multimillion- ,billion-dollar company that touches on a lot of areas. And the auto industry sort of fit into that.”
When the network passed on the concept, Spitzer moved on to creating and running “Superstore,” which attracted a loyal following and lasted for six seasons before ending its series run last March. As the years passed, he held on to the idea of a workplace comedy set inside a company headquarters. It would be the flip side of “Superstore,” which depicted clerks and cashiers toiling at a Target-like store called Cloud Nine.
When he stepped down from his duties as showrunner for “Superstore” in 2019, Spitzer returned to “American Auto” and updated it to reflect changing times. This time, NBC gave its OK to the pilot and then the series.
Spitzer admits he isn’t a car person and brought no special knowledge of cars to the project.
“I think it’s great when people have that sort of passion for it, but it’s nothing I’ve (ever) been a part of,” he said. “I’ve done as much research as I can and will continue to do it.”
During his research process, he touched base with Alessandro Uzielli, the head of Ford Motor Co.’s global brand entertainment division and the company’s liaison to Hollywood.
Uzielli, who happens to be the great-great-grandson of Henry Ford, invited Spitzer to come along on his next trip to the Motor City.
Spitzer, who describes Uzielli as “unbelievably nice, generous,” was able to visit Ford’s corporate offices in Dearborn, and he briefly met former CEO and president James Hackett in an elevator. He also toured Ford’s design labs and the Dearborn Truck Plant where F-150s are made.
“I just got a sense of the world of it. … It really was very impressive and just gave me a sense of how that world looks,” says Spitzer of the trip he took more than two years ago.
Payne Motors in “American Auto” already is drawing comparisons to real-life car companies. USA Today’s review called it “a thinly-disguised Ford Motor Company.” But Spitzer is adamant that “American Auto” isn’t based on any single company — and neither are its storylines.
“It’s not based on anyone. It’s not based on GM, It’s not based on Ford,” he says.
Well, what about the detail that the founder of Payne Motors is described as a bigot, a theme that echoes the real Henry Ford?
“I had the thought of this is a 100-year-old company with a … creator who has issues with racism, anti-Semitism, before I even knew this was going to be the auto industry,” Spitzer says. “If you’re a 100-year-old company, your founder probably wasn’t the most progressive guy.”
And what about the fact that the new CEO of Payne Motors is a woman? Spitzer says the character is “definitely not Mary Barra,” the groundbreaking head of General Motors who rose through the ranks of that company. Gasteyer’s Katherine doesn’t even know how to drive — hence the laughs.
“If your boss is competent, intelligent, great at their job, it’s a little harder to get comedy,” says Spitzer of the decision to make Katherine a fish out of water.
When “American Auto” does intend to draw real-life parallels, it won’t hide them, according to Spitzer. He points to the second episode story about a serial killer who’s on the loose in a white van made by Payne Motors.
“Of course, we were thinking O.J. (Simpson) and the Ford Bronco, but that one we call out,” he says.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
