US sitcom to poke fun at India outsourcing
Source: Agencies |
August 1, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE controversial practice of outsourcing jobs to India has inspired a new comedy on US TV in a striking departure from the dysfunctional families and romantic entanglements that typically make Americans laugh.
"Outsourced" is centered around a fictional American maker of novelty goods - fake pools of blood, farting garden gnomes and giant fake cheese slices - that has moved it customer service center to the bustling city of Mumbai.
A naive young American is sent overseas to manage the new setup, fueling jokes about everything from differences in food to cultural clashes regarding sex, dress and attitudes toward women.
"We have all had the experience of talking on the phone to someone in a call center in India. That's what makes the show so relatable," executive producer Ken Kwapis told reporters on Friday.
Kwapis brushed aside suggestions from some TV writers who have seen the first episode that the show stereotypes, or is offensive to, Indians. American audiences will get to see the comedy for the first time in mid-September.
"It is certainly not coming from a mean-spirited place. A third of the writing staff is Indian," he said. "I think there is a way to treat cultural confusion without being offensive."
"Outsourced" is centered around a fictional American maker of novelty goods - fake pools of blood, farting garden gnomes and giant fake cheese slices - that has moved it customer service center to the bustling city of Mumbai.
A naive young American is sent overseas to manage the new setup, fueling jokes about everything from differences in food to cultural clashes regarding sex, dress and attitudes toward women.
"We have all had the experience of talking on the phone to someone in a call center in India. That's what makes the show so relatable," executive producer Ken Kwapis told reporters on Friday.
Kwapis brushed aside suggestions from some TV writers who have seen the first episode that the show stereotypes, or is offensive to, Indians. American audiences will get to see the comedy for the first time in mid-September.
"It is certainly not coming from a mean-spirited place. A third of the writing staff is Indian," he said. "I think there is a way to treat cultural confusion without being offensive."
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