Comedian, actor, writer and producer Nick Kroll (Big Mouth, The League) will be launching his new production company, Good At Business, with a television adaptation of the upcoming Calvin Kasulke novel Several People are Typing, via Deadline. Though embarking on a new venture, Kroll will continue his work on season four of Netflix’s Big Mouth on which he serves as writer, producer and voice actor.
Kroll, who got his start in the world of sketch, improv and stand-up comedy, will be continuing his legacy of comedic storytelling with Good at Business. Deadline reports that “Good At Business will be a comedy-focused company producing work across all formats, including TV, film, podcasts, plays and live events.”
Alicia Van Couvering (Drinking Buddies, Tiny Furniture) has joined the Good at Business team as an executive and shared her excitement for Kroll’s vision “of building a company with a long list of awesome things” when speaking with Deadline. Van Couvering added that “[Kroll’s] radar for finding the deep, meaningful, universal truth underneath even the silliest joke is peerless” (Deadline).
The first project to cross Kroll’s radar is the upcoming novel Several People Are Typing, an absurd work-place story about an employee whose consciousness gets uploaded onto his work’s Slack server. The novel won’t hit shelves until fall 2021 and will be author Kasulke’s first, but the unique premise alone has already intrigued Kroll. The comedian has decided to make a television adaptation of the novel Good at Business’ very first production. Upon Wednesday’s announcement, Kasulke and Kroll shared a short and celebratory exchange on Twitter.
Though there are no further details available about the show at the moment, Kroll assures Deadline that Good at Business has “a strict no assholes policy.” This assures that whoever joins the team of Several People Are Typing will meet Kroll’s stamp of approval to ensure “that the experience of making something [is] as rewarding as the final product” (Deadline).
Kroll’s Instagram announcement about Good at Business elicited excitement and congratulations from the likes of Alison Brie (GLOW, Community), Lena Waithe (Master of None, The Chi), Natasha Lyonne (Orange Is The New Black, Russian Doll) and Steve Agee (New Girl, Superstore). Producers Jenni Konner (Girls, Camping) and Keith Calder (The Guest, Blair Witch) also chimed in with their excitement about Van Couvering’s addition to the Good at Business team on Instagram and Twitter, respectively. Some, like comedian Rob Huebel (Children’s Hospital, Transparent) are already volunteering themselves for Godd at Business projects. The comedian, who’s worked with Kroll on several projects including The League, quipped “can I please play on the company softball team?” on Kroll’s Instagram.