The series, born from the collaborative genius of Robinson and Zach Kanin, spans eight episodes and delves into a theme that fans of Robinson’s work will find familiar. It revolves around a protagonist who, instead of simply accepting an embarrassing moment in front of an audience, digs his heels in deeper, trying to prove his point. “The Chair Company” is currently dominating HBO Max’s charts according to FlixPatrol, while boasting an impeccable 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus applauds it as a “descent into paranoia that finds huge laughs in deeply uncomfortable places.”

Critics have individually lauded the series as well. Chris Evangelista from /Film likened it to an intersection between Robinson’s “I Think You Should Leave” and classic thrillers like “The Parallax View.” Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter described it as a “purposely uncomfortable experience,” perfect for fans of Robinson’s eccentric humor. Meanwhile, Brian Tallerico, writing for RogerEbert.com, humorously described it as a blend of mystery and a man’s descent into insanity.

The series kicks off under the direction of Andrew DeYoung, who previously collaborated with Robinson on the quirky comedy feature “Friendship.” In the debut episode, we meet Ron Trosper, played by Robinson, as he celebrates a significant work achievement with his family. The scene is set for a classic Robinson moment when Ron’s chair breaks during a grand presentation at his workplace, leaving him humiliated.

In the first episode of “The Chair Company” — helmed by director Andrew DeYoung, who recently worked with Tim Robinson on the wonderfully bizarre comedy feature “Friendship” — we meet Ron Trosper (Robinson), an affable if somewhat irritable guy who’s out to dinner with his wife Barb (Lake Bell) and kids Natalie and Seth (Sophia Lillis and Will Price) and who’s celebrating a huge new development that he’s leading at his company Fisher Robay. (The company is building a new mall, leading to a classically weird Robinson-esque interaction with the server, who says she’s never been to a mall even as Ron insists that she has.) At work, Ron takes part in a massive, company-wide presentation that puts him front and center as people praise his leadership … only for his chair to break spectacularly in front of a huge crowd.

Ron is, to put it lightly, destroyed by this incident and develops an obsession with the company that made the chair, Tecca, trying to complain to them and hitting dead ends at every turn. (One of the funniest moments in the entire episode is when Ron proudly finds a customer service email, only for his missive to bounce back, which shakes the man to his very core.) Because this is a Robinson project, there’s a solid chance that Ron will end up being partly correct about a potential conspiracy theory involving Tecca’s chairs, but there’s an even better chance that he’ll drive everybody absolutely bonkers and alienate them throughout the show as he keeps being interminably weird about a broken chair.

If the first episode of “The Chair Company” sounds uncomfortable and cringeworthy, that’s sort of the point. Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin, as we mentioned, are know for their offbeat, often utterly bizarre, and occasionally mortifying brand of cringe comedy, which is most prominently on display inn their Netflix series “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson.” The show, which has won three Emmys as of this writing — two for Robinson as a performer and one for the overall show as a short form comedy series — puts Robinson and other comedy geniuses, like his real-life best friend Sam Richardson, in a series of awkward and weird situations and lets them muddle through as poorly as possible. Frankly, the show’s very first sketch, where Robinson’s character “pulls” a door that says “push” and then rips it off its hinges desperately trying to prove it goes “both ways,” is pretty indicative of the show’s overall feel.

There are, to be clear, some people who really can’t stand Robinson or “I Think You Should Leave,” and that is okay! It’s a very specific and very odd show, and it’s definitely not going to be everybody’s cup of tea. If you’re a Robinson diehard, though, “The Chair Company” will definitely deliver the awkward laughs you’re looking for, and with Robinson in the lead role, you’ll get plenty of his incredibly and wonderfully strange line deliveries and facial expressions (the guy makes the mere act of squinting hysterical, somehow). If you need a primer, “I Think You Should Leave,” which spans three short seasons so far, is on Netflix … but “The Chair Company” is streaming on HBO Max now, and new episodes drop on Sunday nights at 10 P.M.