CJP’s The Temp Life is one of those on-the-nose sponsored series, being as it is a comedy about the abused life of the temporary employee, sponsored by actual staffing company Spherion. But as an early adopter in that world, the series has proven that you don’t need to drop the sponsor into every scene in order to spread the message. And its fourth season, which launched this week, ups the game in terms of guest stars, while also representing a big narrative evolution for the web series world in general.
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However, that one scene is hardly the sole spot of funny here, as Temp Life found a fresh way to include some web-famous guest stars in this universe. Each set of episodes released on a weekly basis includes a “video resume” from figures like Taryn Southern, Sandeep Parikh, and Gold creator David Nett. Each creator was given free reign to create a character and write/direct his or her individual short, and Southern’s installment, released this week, is just the right mix of bizarre but human — her character, Oklahoman Nancy, is clueless, sweet and eccentric, and the piece is well-paced and edited, with some great bits of well-timed comedy. A brief sample of Parikh’s contribution was made available for review, and while the effort put into the piece isn’t quite on the level of Southern’s, it still showcases his talent for putting a fresh spin on stereotypes — in this case, the USC frat boy.
Despite some missteps, Temp Life still represents a strong combination of elements, and personally I look forward to a Tommy Westphall-esque chart being possible for the web series world. (Step 1: get Southern to reprise Nancy on another series. Step 2: Repeat.)