We’ve all been there. Watching Netflix and wondering how we got here. Rolling our eyes at that one show that just can’t stop drawing attention to how quirky and in-the-know it is — the entirety of the dialogue being social media slang.

At first glance, “Inside Job,” whose first season premiered on Oct. 22 on Netflix, seems like it is one of those. However, its unique characters, self-awareness and unapologetic willingness to talk about the conspiratorial begs to differ. Created by Shion Takeuchi, a former writer on “Gravity Falls” and “Regular Show,” this adult animated series demands your attention.

Tasteful Chaos

“Inside Job” follows a team of employees who work for the “deep state,” which masks itself as an average corporation called “Cognito, Inc.” In this series, all conspiracies are facts, and those that don’t believe in them are the ones in the dark. But the Deep State can only be powerful if it remains a secret. It is up to Cognito Inc.’s socially awkward genius Reagan Ridley (Lizzy Caplan), and her clumsy co-worker and partner-in-crime, Brett Hand (Clark Duke), to make sure the world order remains a secret so that it can continue to exert control over people’s lives and the world.

The first season packs a punch. Every episode is taken as an opportunity to get weird and controversial, and for the most part — it succeeds. We experience a robot presidency gone wrong, a killer clone invasion, and the reptilian equivalent of the Oscars. There are some overdone moments, packed with joke after joke, where the humor is lost and becomes less striking. Other moments provide a more tasteful balance between humor and timely commentary about the current, real-world socio-political landscape. 

Beyond its fun chaos, “Inside Job” offers satisfaction with the arc of its characters over the season. With heartfelt moments of self-reflection among its brash and boisterous humor, it gives viewers the chance to catch their breath from the chaos. 

Conspiracy and Cultural Commentary

No conspiracy theory is off-limits in “Inside Job,” whether it be about the moon landing, flat Earth or celebrities who are reptilian underneath their human exterior. Sometimes it is hard to tell whether the series is trying harder to be controversial than it is complex or compelling. 

Still, the self-awareness of “Inside Job” works most of the time. The series embraces the weirdness of our world, and not only laughs at it but criticizes it. Cut through the humor is ample commentary on media, pop culture and politics. 

If you like laughing just as much as you do cultural analysis, “Inside Job” is for you. 

“Inside Job” is now available to stream on Netflix. 

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@tervela_g