Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Two coworkers, one a little uptight and by the book and the other perhaps a little too loose for their own good, have their fates and jobs intertwined by happenstance. Then, hilarity—with a dash of honesty and vulnerability—ensues. This is the tried-and-true setup of Small Achievable Goals, a new comedy series from Jennifer Whalen and Meredith MacNeill. As the series opens, Julie (Whalen) and Kris (MacNeill) run into each other on their way to work. Julie is the successful producer of a hit podcast and is expecting a promotion, and Kris is an up-and-coming makeup influencer about to expand her brand with her first podcast.
You can probably already see where this is going: Julie is passed over for the promotion despite years of personal sacrifice in favour of someone younger. Kris is told that she will be given a young, hip co-host instead of a solo show. On top of all of this, both women are in their late 40s and dealing with menopause. By the end of the first episode, they realise that to succeed, they’ll need to work together, and to do that -and maintain their sanity—they decide to work on small, achievable goals to help them stay ahead of the game and avoid being replaced entirely by younger employees.
The issue with a familiar premise like this is that it needs something else–a je ne sais quoi, if you will—to hook viewers. Luckily, this show has Whalen and MacNeill, who are both excellent actors and comedians.
If you’re familiar with their past work together as co-creators, writers, and performers on CBC’s Baroness Von Sketch Show, then you have an idea of the characters they’re playing and how they are playing them. Whalen’s Julie is very by the book and professional and slightly closed off to people, except when she loses her cool. Her line delivery makes the series worth watching; she has a particular skill for cutting dialogue that works for her in the first episode.
MacNeill’s Kris is more outgoing, people-oriented, and much like in Baroness Von Sketch, she is incredibly animated; she uses her whole body to express herself in weird, intense, and always funny ways. She has a real gift for physical comedy, which she leverages to great effect. The series also balances itself well; there are many moments of sharp dialogue and hilarious observational humour, and then there are also scenes where both women end up in a bathroom in their underwear.
The two of them have fun chemistry as opposites who need to work together and as older women who realise they need to support one another, a theme that most women will likely be able to relate to. In short, while the setup will feel familiar, Whalen and MacNeill make sure that Small Achievable Goals is smart, funny, and relatable. While women are the target audience, the show does have that extra dash of honesty and vulnerability that will help it resonate with anyone who watches.
Small Achievable Goals premieres on CBC Gem on Tuesday, February 25.
