Episode 2 of The Z-Suite opens with our new CEO girlboss Kriska (Madison Shamoun) getting ready for her first day in the newly appointed role. (Wait, can we still say “girlboss”?) This, of course, must start with some positive affirmations to get the confidence flowing. “Okay Kriska. You are a strong, powerful, capable woman. You have worked at Atelier for 168 days, and for 43 of those, you were in the office.” Inspiring.
In case you were wondering, CEO outfits these days consist of a cropped collared dress shirt, biker shorts and black cowboy boots. Rethinking this outfit choice, Kriska spots a crisp white pantsuit in a store window, goes in, then comes out in the exact same outfit plus a new green leather blazer. Now she’s ready to sashay into her new private office. Except, Monica and Doug are still loitering. A bit in denial of their predicament, the pair are pushed out once again.
Monica and Doug recuperate at the former’s apartment, which houses an exact replica of her office at Atelier. Doug needs another job ASAP to fund his addiction. And no, it’s not one of the big O’s, as per Monica, opiates, online gambling or ozempic. Much worse– it’s collecting miniature Christmas village figurines. (In an exclusive interview with Katie O’Brien, the showrunner promised Decider this niche character quirk isn’t a one-time thing and will show up again further in the show.)
“Is that miniature Santa Claus that you carry around in your pocket all the time part of this?”
“Tiny Claus? he started it all.”
Doug’s resigned that their situation is irreversible. “I need my social security number for this job application. I know yours but I don’t know mine.” Important note for readers, if an initial job application asks for your SSN, your identity might be stolen.
Monica makes desperate pleas for employment, calling all agencies she knows, only to find out she’s been shunned and officially cancelled in the advertising world after a story is published about the Vibezz Headphones catastrophe. She even goes as far as breaking into her boss Oliver’s Hamptons home and stalks his son at school, bribing him with a candied orange peel and anise seed pastry to give a letter to his daddy. Little Oliver Jr. (Simon Webster) delivers one of the best lines of the episode, retorting, “Keep your anus seeds, I’m not interested.” Breakout star in the making. Finally realizing the scope of her situation, Monica is defeated. But hey, Doug bought a new mini Christmas train!
Back at the office, employees are understandably nervous about the company now being led by a 24-year-old who’s only worked there for 168 days. “Talk about ageism,” in the words of Clem. Kriska preaches her agenda of being the anti-Monica to the staff and creating a vibrant new company culture. Coworkers are not colleagues, but friends. Her new plan of action is getting to know each employee individually. Enneagrams and trigger words are discussed — the clients? They’re not important.
Elliot and Clem obtain the coveted company black card to completely redecorate the office space to boost morale. No workplace is complete without a ball pit, silent disco, churro cart and biting llama. Things quickly get out of hand when everyone is suddenly drunk off of the alcohol Clem unknowingly stocked. 12% is nothing compared to 100%, right? “My second day as CEO, and I’ve got the equivalent of an AARP after-prom party on my hands,” Kriska says. The solution is to sweat it out in a silent disco dance party that big boss Oliver walks in on. The place is trashed, people are stripping their clothes off and there’s a llama on the loose. Not a good look for Miss Crisco.
Someone who hasn’t yet found his footing on the show is Minnesota Matt (Evan Marsh). He says things like, “I haven’t been this energized since I saw Hamilton,” and has a mustache sticker on his laptop. The office millennial bumbled around Monica in episode 1, hoping to prove his creative worth to be able to work on an ad campaign and is doing the same thing to CEO Kriska. Hopefully, in future episodes his painful awkwardness will become more endearing, and his caricaturistic attempts at comic relief will yield better substance.
Elliot’s (Spencer Stevenson) ridiculous and offhanded quips continue to be the hidden gems of each episode so far. Stevenson does a fantastic job of embodying the absurdity that exists within the Gen Z language and persona without overdoing it. With Oliver now witnessing some of the consequences of handing inexperienced Gen-Zers the key to a company with no experience, who knows what’ll come out of his mouth, and we can’t wait to see.
New episodes of The Z-Suite debut every Thursday on Tubi.
Claire Waheed is a recently graduated freelance writer currently based in Texas. She loves all things pop culture and new adventures.
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