Common Sense Media Review
By Melissa Camacho
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Funny reality show promotes popular humor website.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
The reality series LOLWORK features the staff of icanhascheezburger.com, one of the largest humor publishers on the Internet, as they use their talents to enhance images of cats and other animals with grammatically incorrect captions in hopes of getting people to laugh for five minutes a day. CEO Ben Huh heads up the eclectic Seattle-based team, including web content staff like Forest, Paul, and Ali, art director Sarah, and Tori, the production manager. Helping them all out is Monda, the office assistant, while Huh's wife and company editor-in-chief Emily also joins the fray. As the staff comes up with creative (and often wacky) concepts to enhance user-provided video, content supervisor Will and Chief Revenue Officer Todd tries to reign them all in so that the company stays out of trouble while remaining profitable.
Is It Any Good?
LOLwork offers a real-life version of The Office by featuring the staff engaged in quirky conversations, odd behaviors, and offering their private thoughts about each other in one-on-one confessionals. But underneath the workplace humor are glimpses of what makes the company successful, including explanations offered by Ben Huh about some of the decisions he makes, and how they balance creativity with the practical needs of a successful Internet business.
Granted, viewers are bombarded with animal videos, company logos, and other images that continually encourage them to go to their website. Meanwhile, most of the show feels like it is being staged and produced to maximize its humorous appeal, rather than trying to create a voyeuristic reality experience. But it is the staff's varied personalities that make the show work, and thanks to them, the series is quite entertaining.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what makes a successful Internet business. Why do things like images of animals like icanhascheezburger.com and social media sites like Facebook appeal to the public? How do these things function as profitable businesses?
Do humor and entertainment sites have the same responsibility to protect people's privacy as Internet sales and social media sites? What can you do to protect your privacy when you go to any web site? Parents: what are some of ways you can help your family protect itself when going online?
TV Details
- Premiere date : November 7, 2012
- Cast : Ben Huh , Emily Huh , Todd Sawicki
- Network : Bravo
- Genre : Reality TV
- TV rating :
- Last updated : September 21, 2019
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