The Consultant premieres on Prime Video on Friday, February 24.
Based on Bentley Little’s book by the same name, The Consultant follows what happens when a consultant is hired to right the corporate ship of a well-respected tech startup.
Tony Basgallop, who is best known to readers as the creator and showrunner for the Apple TV+ series Servant, has worked magic to bring The Consultant to life.
Christoph Waltz stars as the titular character, a man who is what he seems, although seeing what he is takes everyone around him by surprise.
Those familiar with Little’s work will recognize the uneasy feeling Regus Patoff brings to the workplace, which has a similar aura to Basgallop’s work on Servant. You know something’s not quite right, but you don’t know what it is.
We had the chance to jump on the phone with Basgallop to talk about the series and his process of breathing life into the interesting tale.
I’m a big fan of Bentley Little, so I’m really interested to know how this idea to adapt his book came about.
Well, I was coming off the back of Servant, and I was looking to do a workplace thriller. So I’d mentioned to a producer friend that I was looking for something based in an office, something that’s got those kind of thrills and that I didn’t have the idea yet.
I was just talking about the general arena I wanted to work in. And then he said, “Hey, you should read this. It feels like it’s similar to what you’re looking to do.” So I read Bentley’s book, and I just felt there’s a tone to it, and there’s a sense of humor to it that I really, really loved.
I felt, obviously, with the way the book is structured, it wasn’t going to quite fit into a television returnable series type of a show, so I had to take some liberties with that and update it from 2015 to 2023, essentially, since, as you know, everything that’s happened in the workplace in the last eight years has been a huge change.
So there was a lot of stuff to do on it, but essentially, I fell in love with his cruel sense of humor, which I think we share, in a sense, and his mischief-making. As a writer, I really enjoyed those things about the book. And that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to bring in that sense of “you shouldn’t be doing this.”
Things you shouldn’t be saying and things you shouldn’t be doing. So yeah, that’s my introduction to it.
It seems like many of your projects have explored the dynamic of power and hierarchy, so this would fit right in.
Yeah, I think that’s quite a natural thing. Also, being British, I think there’s a sense of class system that runs through everything I do. So I’m always looking for hierarchies. It’s just the British way of working, I’m afraid. We always look to see who’s above us and who’s below us.
And it also seems like Servant has that same dark sense of humor in the way that story is presented. And so, it seems like it would be relatively easy for you to adapt this book, whereas maybe some other people might not have had the same luxury.
I felt like it was a natural fit for me when I was reading it. Very early on into the read, I was like, “I’ve got to do this. This feels like a lot of fun.” Like I said, I feel like Bentley Little and I, we do share that sense of humor. And I think it’s been evidenced in my work previously and was something I was looking to do again.
So it felt like I was adapting his work, but also that I was bringing something to it and feeding off what he’s done. But I do need that sense of humor, particularly when it’s a very dark subject matter. The more comedy you can have in there, the more palatable it is, I think.
And how did making it all the way through Servant, from the beginning to the end, actually inspire you and help you to write this particular story?
I don’t think the two things were necessarily connected. Servant was a very personal story to me, conceived when my children were very young, and I was hiring childcare and imagining the worst-case scenario and everything. So that was a very personal one.
With Consultant, it felt like, well, this isn’t a personal story for me because I don’t work in an office space like this. But I just felt the sense that this feels like the world we’ve been living in over the last few years.
I wanted to do something that had that contemporary spin on it. So yeah, they felt very like different approaches. I think my style is clearly similar in both, but I did them for very different reasons, I feel.
And what would you consider the challenges of bringing a dark social satire like The Consultant to life?
I think the challenge is the word “dark.” As soon as the people who are commissioning shows hear that word, I think they run a little bit scared. Or they used to, in particular. I think it’s slightly easier now.
But yeah, when you present something as just being dark, I think it’s quite off-putting to everyone. I think you have to have the right level of humor or whatever it is running through it to take the edge off. It’s kind of like the little sprinkle of sugar on top if you need something like that.
And the casting, of course, always makes a difference. How early in the process did you know that Christoph Waltz would be Regus Patoff, and how did he embody your vision for the character?
Well, it came quite early. I’d already written the pilot episode. I hadn’t written that with anyone in mind.
And then when Matt Shackman, our pilot director, came on board, we started having the conversation of, well, we need to find a Regus Patoff because this thing is really going to stand and fall on that type of casting. It’s such a big role that you have to get that right.
Christoph’s name was mentioned, and I think, for Matt and I, just like a little light went on inside. We just felt like, look, he possesses everything that we need for this. There’s that undeniable intelligence. There’s the ice in the veins type of thing. And it felt like he could be sinister and charming at the same time. He can be evil and boyish.
Yeah, so really, the moment we heard the name, we just lit up to it. We weren’t sure that he would do it at all. So we sent him the script, and he responded great to it. He wanted to meet. And Matt, I, and Christoph sat down for coffee one day and talked about the world and the show and what we wanted to do with it. And he came on board.
And from that moment, it just felt very natural. It didn’t feel like we were ever struggling to find the character. It always felt like Christoph was bringing ideas to it every day. He was asking questions only when utterly necessary. He was always bringing something to set that we weren’t quite expecting.
So, everyone had a little part in it. Everyone helped build that character. I don’t feel like I own it or he owns it or anything. It feels like public property at the moment.
And back to the book, Bentley Little’s tone is pretty particular, and I’m surprised at how well you adapted that, even with changes to the story. There’s just underlying… I don’t even know how to describe it, just an unease that you don’t know if you’re supposed to laugh or if it’s serious.
Like, what is happening here? You captured that so well. How would you describe that, and how did you capture the magic of that uneasy tone?
You’re right; it is uneasy. I’m not sure I can put my finger on it as well. Like I said, I feel like I share that sensibility with him. I feel like we’re slightly contrarians, I guess. And again, I say this without knowing the man, which is kind of quite a shocking way to do it, but I feel like I can figure him out from what he writes and what he consistently writes in that style.
I feel there’s something of the contrarian, of just wanting to go against the grain sometimes to get a reaction. And I find that his characters do that a lot. Regus Patoff, in particular, he’s just a menace. And it’s seemingly sometimes without reason, but the story isn’t really about him; it’s about the people he impacts.
It’s that desperation of, “I’m dealing with a menace; I’m dealing with a sadistic psychopath, whatever he is. I don’t know what to do with it, and my enemy is enjoying himself.”
I think he’s always looking to top himself. It can lead to the absurd. And then, once we’re in an absurd place, comedy is very easy. It’s hard to put my finger on it, but I do recognize similarities between his and my approach to storytelling. Sometimes it’s the shock; sometimes, it’s just being the naughty child in the room.
I think if you go back to the characteristics of who we are as a writer. It’s like, well, why do we write? We want to get attention, or we want to be heard.
When I had asked about the similarities between Servant and The Consultant, that’s what I was tapping into, that sense of unease and that you don’t know what’s around the bend. You had that same exact thing in Servant. Even though you don’t work in a workplace like this, you captured it really well.
How do you go about your day when you have to be with this person, doing what this person says when it goes against everything you believe? What do you do to maintain your status at this company without becoming somebody you don’t want to be?
Exactly. It’s survival, isn’t it? I think that’s what it is. These characters always fight to survive in absurd and ridiculously dangerous scenarios. And I think that’s what makes it funny. As soon as you go too far, it naturally becomes funny. Yeah, he’s definitely got a temptation to do that like I have.
And you also had a great cast that was working opposite Christoph Waltz.
Oh, yes.
I mean, Amy Carrero was just hot off The Menu, which is more social satire. Matt Wolf-
Yes.
He’s probably best known for The Stand, and that’s kind of the same thing. They’re all looking at these dark topics with a sense of the absurd, really.
Yeah, with Brittany O’Grady as well.
In White Lotus. Yeah.
Yeah. They’re all having their moment, and we are very fortunate to get them at the time we did. And I think what appealed to all of them because, naturally, I think maybe they would’ve turned this roll down if it wasn’t the promise of going up against Christoph Waltz.
I think that really worked in our favor that we could get the cast that we really, really wanted. They knew that it was an opportunity of a lifetime to work alongside him in something like this. And I think they all held their own, and they’re all amazing actors. But yeah, it was very much a part of the appeal for them, I’m sure.
It seems like there are a lot of special effects that are incorporated into it, just based on the things that are required of the characters and what they’re working on. Was incorporating that challenging? What was the most challenging part of the production for you?
It wasn’t too much of a challenge, the VFX side of it. I think, obviously, there are screens all over the place, but we got these games built very early on. When we were building the set, we had people mocking up these games, sometimes just based on titles we had.
Like Fuck Dragons, which was just a line in the script at one point. And suddenly, I turned around, and our art department had designed a game where we got two dragon shapes meeting together for intercourse. I’d say, “Oh, fantastic, that actually looks like a game.”
It was quite challenging to know that we’d got all that right. But that was also very rewarding. That was a lot of fun watching everyone trying to come up with silly puns and new games that don’t exist. Yeah, we had great fun on set with that.
But it didn’t feel like anything was necessarily challenging. I think we had quite a simple shoot in that respect. It was about getting everything done in the time scale that we had. So yeah, it didn’t feel like anything was too hard or too challenging.
What was the most fun you had bringing this all together?
Oh, the most fun? Oh, God. Let me think. I think probably reaching the end. I mean, I don’t know if you’ve watched the full end, but there’s a party at the end. I think that was it. We catered all the food, and we had all the cast. And there’s something nice about when you finish a season to get everyone back.
Instead of having a little episode about just two of the characters, there’s that party where everyone that we’ve met throughout the season sort of comes back into the fold for one final hurrah. And that was fun.
Even the fact that we had to get a load of fresh shrimp in a studio and turn up the lights, and it sat there all day, gathering flies and getting warmer and warmer. Those moments, they’re never good, but as long as it looks all right on screen, you can’t smell it, so it was good.
And a couple of things before people watch. How would you describe Regus Patoff?
Charming, deadly, manipulative, I think.
And without giving the story away, what would you say is his message and the message of the series overall?
Always respect the contract.
Oh, that’s good.
And that’s what I really like about him. Despite the fact that he’s a nasty piece of work and everything he does is questionable, he’s always loyal to his employer, and he’s always loyal to his contract.
He doesn’t break his word. What he says at the beginning, he’s kind of what he is. There’s no perception here. It’s what you assume he is, which is where the story exists. He’s pretty much true to his word.
I think, given his contract, it is what you hope he is versus what you think he could be.
Yes. But again, it’s our imagination of what he is. It’s us trying to figure out what his intentions are that make the story. He could be the sweetest, innocent man who’s just a little bit misguided. You just don’t know. Every time we do something, you can sort of spear either way. Did he kill this woman, or did he help her? You don’t know.
And what do you want people to know before they begin watching? How should they go into it?
With an open mind and forgiveness. [chuckles] I don’t know. I’m not sure, really. Just kind of take it for what it is. I don’t think we want to give too much away about what the show’s about. I think it’s very easy to understand. We’re at an office. Everyone knows what an office is. It’s like turning up for work, but it’s on the darker side of it.
All eight episodes of The Consultant drop on Friday, February 24, for a delicious weekend treat.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.
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