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Comment by sharkweek | Hacker News Reader

I love the concept and I thought a lot of the jokes were pretty funny but...

I'm not sure how they'll keep it funny over more than a few seasons, seems kind of like a one trick pony (and maybe that's just fine).

I trust Mike Judge, so I'll likely keep watching, but what made King of the Hill so magical was how he was able to show our changing world through the eyes of a simple propane and propane accessories salesman. Plenty of content there; likely not as much with SV to survive maybe a two season run.

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It's all about characters. If they're able to create an audience connection with characters, the show will be long lasting.

Entourage (this show's closest comparison) had some pretty stupid episodes (the last season in particular was awful), but I stuck through it all because I liked Ari and Drama.

I agree completely. If The Office and Parks & Rec had you laughing at the paper business, or town governance, they'd both be done after two episodes. But they give you nuanced characters that you laugh at and care about at the same time.

That said, I do wish Adam Scott were in this show - he'd be pretty great (esp. if you saw him in Party Down, where he played a character trapped in the catering industry).

I think they'll ultimately need to ease up on the wacky humor and make it more of a drama, similar to Entourage or other HBO rags-to-riches shows like How to Make It in America. I'd be concerned at such a pivot, but Mike Judge had episodes of King of the Hill full of real, warm, human drama, so I think he can pull it off. Office Space had heart at its core, too.

I think SV will go in that direction too, the last scene sure made it seem like the show cared about its characters.

I think almost the opposite relationship can be explored. What is the normal world's relationship to a bunch of people trying so hard to "Think Different"?

That's a really good thought -- If anyone can pull this off, it's likely Judge. I've never seen a pilot that wasn't at least a slight bit awkward too, so as I said above, I'll definitely give Judge the benefit of the doubt for a while at least.

Startups don't last long so it'd be pretty fitting for a show about them to only last a season or two.

3-4 seasons ending with an IPO where they dump the shares on an unknowing public and make it rich!

I think it'll last quite a bit. So many absurd things happen so quickly out here, I feel he'll have plenty of things to satirize. There'll be an endless supply of fodder for Judge.

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