Outsourced (TV series)

Outsourced
Genre	Comedy
Developed by	Robert Borden
Starring	Ben Rappaport Anisha Nagarajan Diedrich Bader Parvesh Cheena Pippa Black Rebecca Hazlewood Rizwan Manji Sacha Dhawan
Theme music composer	Michael A. Levine
Composer(s)	Transcenders
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	22 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Ken Kwapis Robert Borden Victor Nelli Jr. Tom Gorai David Skinner
Producer(s)	James Simons Jim Ellis Patrick Walsh Sonny Lee
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	21–23 minutes
Production company(s)	In Cahoots Productions Universal Media Studios Open 4 Business Productions
Distributor	NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 23, 2010 – May 12, 2011
External links
Website

Outsourced is an American television sitcom set in an Indian workplace. It is based on the John Jeffcoat film of the same name and adapted by Robert Borden of George Lopez and Universal Media Studios for NBC. The series originally ran from September 23, 2010 to May 12, 2011.^[1] The show was officially picked up by NBC on May 7, 2010^[2] and on October 18, 2010, the show received a full season order.^[3] Outsourced was filmed at Radford Studios in Studio City, Los Angeles, California.^[4]

When the renewal of the show was not announced with renewal of other NBC shows, the cast and crew started a campaign for fans of the show to request its renewal.^[5] On May 13, 2011, NBC announced that Outsourced was cancelled after one season.^[6]

Outsourced is set in a call center in Mumbai, India, where an American novelties company has recently outsourced its order processing. A lone American manages the call center and must explain American popular culture to his employees as he tries to understand Indian culture.

Characters

Main characters

• Ben Rappaport as Todd Dempsy, a Kansas City native who is transferred to India to run the call center for Mid American Novelties. He does not understand Indian culture and is constantly unintentionally offending workers. He was revealed to be a big fan of Kansas City Chiefs football. Eventually he becomes more aware of Indian culture. He is currently employed as executive manager.
• Rizwan Manji as Rajiv Gidwani, Todd's assistant manager at Mid American Novelties. He is hard-nosed and unapologetic and he aspires to be Todd's replacement (whether that happens due to either Todd's success or his downfall). When Todd is promoted to executive manager, he is promoted to manager. His intentions are not to be mean, but to only run the company professionally and business-like. It had been his lifelong dream to become a successful business manager so he can win the hand of Vimi, whom he had loved since childhood. Once he became manager, he married Vimi, his fiancée.
• Sacha Dhawan as Manmeet, a call center employee for Mid American Novelties, who dreams of America and quickly becomes good friends with his boss, Todd Dempsy. He is known for being the "hip" one, who is fascinated by American culture. Manmeet is girl-crazy; he has had several "over the phone" relationships with American callers and flirts with almost every woman he meets. He seems more interested in American women than Indian women, stating in one episode that American women are not concerned with his father's occupation or where he went to school. This, along with his reluctance to ask one of Tonya's friends to dance at a Halloween party, indicates that Manmeet may actually have a bit of an inferiority complex.
• Rebecca Hazlewood as Asha, a call center employee for Mid American Novelties and love interest of Todd, who is frequently the voice of reason in the office and plans to pursue an arranged marriage. There may possibly be a relationship or love situation going on between Todd and Asha despite there already being one with Tonya. Just before the series finale Tonya breaks up with Todd because he still has feelings for Asha. In the last scene of the finale, Asha tells Todd to fight for what he wants, and takes his hand as they look out over the nighttime ocean at Rajiv and Vimi's wedding, strongly implying that she wants him to fight for her because of her feelings for him as well.
• Parvesh Cheena as Gupta, a very talkative call center employee for Mid American Novelties, who constantly yearns to be the center of attention. His alter ego is "Aluk". After Todd inspires him to grab some independence from his parents, Gupta rents his own place in the apartment directly above Todd's.
• Anisha Nagarajan as Madhuri, a shy and soft-spoken call center employee for Mid American Novelties whose income alone supports her entire family. As time passes, Madhuri opens up, becoming one of the office gossips. Madhuri also has a beautiful singing voice, and the others convince her to enter a singing contest.
• Diedrich Bader as Charlie Davies, another American call center manager for the company All-American Hunter. For several episodes, Charlie nurses a crush on Tonya, but eventually has a short term relationship with Tonya's mother.
• Pippa Black as Tonya, an Australian call center manager for the company Koala Airlines who is easygoing with a sense of adventure; by mid-season, she and Todd are romantically involved until just before the end of the series.

Main recurring principal characters

These two were featured and then became breakout characters.

• Guru Singh as Ajeet, a tall, silent Sikh whose character was developed throughout the season. Shows displeasure at Todd's cultural gaffes throughout the series. Madhuri's love interest. He is a poet. He first speaks in the season finale episode and played a major role.
• Thushari Jayasekera as Pinky, a fun and hard working call center worker at Mid America Novelties, who is adventure seeking, ready to learn and whose character was developed in depth through the season. Does funny and awkward things. Ready to defend her fellow call center team as well as party with the big boss. Played a leading role in the season finale.

Recurring characters

• A-Team, a group of higher authorities, rude, snobby, and taunting, they on the higher class scale of value in their company which happens to be located in the same building
• Jerry Stern (played by Matt Walsh), Todd's supervisor; he is often careless and somewhat of a jerk. After his wife left him he became a "party guy" for a moment then went back to professionalism, then promoted Todd to executive manager which put Rajiv at manager.
• Santosh, the maid at Todd's apartment,
• Vimi, (played by Sarayu Rao in Jolly Vindaloo day and Noureen DeWulf in the rest of the series), Vimi is Rajiv's wife, they married after Rajiv became manager.
• Ashlynn (played by Melissa Stephens)

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.S. viewers (million)
1	"Pilot"	Ken Kwapis	George Wing & John Jeffcoat	September 23, 2010	7.44[7]
When Todd Dempsy finishes management training for his job at Mid America Novelties, he finds that his call center has been outsourced to Mumbai, India, and that in order to keep his job, he must relocate to India and manage the call center there. He is picked up from the corporate housing by Rajiv, his assistant manager, who is interested in replacing him, and meets the rest of his employees. He also meets two other call center managers: Charlie, who gives him advice over lunch, and later Tonya, who immediately shows an interest in him.
2	"The Measure of a Manmeet"	Victor Nelli, Jr.	Paul A. Kaplan & Mark Torgove	September 30, 2010	5.85[8]
Management tasks Todd with evaluating his team, and laying off an employee due to low revenues. Gupta believes that he will be the one laid off as he incorrectly lip-reads Rajiv and Todd's conversation. Todd is invited by Manmeet to a hotel to eat steak and quickly befriends him. Todd finds out that the reason why revenue is down is because Manmeet flirts with his customers instead of selling products. He confronts Manmeet, who uses his flirtatiousness to sell more novelties and increasing revenue, so no one needs to be laid off.
3	"Party of Five"	Gail Mancuso	Robert Borden	October 7, 2010	5.22[9]
Todd and Charlie plan a double date with Asha and Tonya, only to have Gupta tag along.
4	"Jolly Vindaloo Day"	Victor Nelli, Jr.	Linda Videtti Figueiredo	October 14, 2010	5.40[10]
Rajiv attempts to keep Todd out of the office while his potential father-in-law visits. Some of the employees deal with harassment from the A-Team.
5	"Touched by an Anglo"	Ken Kwapis	Michael Pennie	October 21, 2010	4.95[11]
A shipment of sexual novelties leads to a seminar on sexual harassment. Someone calls the company hot-line to file a complaint against Todd.
6	"Bolloween"	Michael Lehmann	Sonny Lee & Patrick Walsh	October 28, 2010	5.94[12]
Todd explains Halloween to the employees, and throws a party to get closer to Asha.
7	"Truly, Madly, Pradeeply"	Victor Nelli, Jr.	Michael Loftus	November 4, 2010	5.74[13]
As Asha's arranged marriage process moves forward, Manmeet helps Todd infiltrate her list of potential suitors. Rajiv attempts to end Gupta's new-found enticement with chewing paan.
8	"Home for the Diwalidays"	Linda Mendoza	Vera Santamaria	November 11, 2010	5.48[14]
Todd wonders why everyone is well-dressed and finds out it is Diwali. He asks Management if he can give his employees time off for it and is denied. Todd decides to let them leave, and handle the calls himself, while Tonya tries to invite for a few drinks he declines and says he has to work. She suggests he put the call center on voicemail, they have sex in the break room table but is caught by Asha; who comes back to the office to help Todd out. Meanwhile, Rajiv buys a Sari for his fiancee that gets burned by fireworks and he ends up buying an overpriced sari from Madhuri
9	"Temporary Monsanity"	Reggie Hudlin	Laura Gutin	November 18, 2010	5.43[15]
Todd pressures the employees in attempt to win the Black Friday sales competition. Charlie challenges Gupta and Manmeet to a game of laser tag.
10	"Homesick to My Stomach"	John Putch	David Gross & Greg Lisbe	December 2, 2010	5.32[16]
Todd gets homesick watching his friends on webcam do a tailgate party for their football team. He learns from Charlie that he can watch his favorite football team's game at a local restaurant that has satellite TV. Todd is seen wearing a custom Chief's football jersey, buys a coconut and pretends to score a touchdown. Asha spots him, they talk and he eats the street food she just bought. Asha reminds him he is not used to that kind of dirty food and gets sick before the football game. After a few visits to the toilet he is carried out of the office by Charlie to the restaurant with Manmeet. At the restaurant Todd misses the game spending much time in the toilet both sick and homesick. Rajiv assumes managerial control when Todd becomes ill from street food. Madhuri, Asha, Charlie, Manmeet and Gupta visit Todd after work to have a tailgating party of their own.
11	"A Sitar is Born"	John Scott	Geetika Lizardi	January 20, 2011	3.95[17]
Todd overhears Madhuri sing in the bathroom and tries to coax her into singing in a local talent show. Gupta misunderstands Todd and volunteers himself as lead.
12	"Sari, Charlie"	Victor Nelli, Jr.	Luvh Rakhe	January 27, 2011	4.13[18]
Charlie discovers Todd and Tonya's relationship when he catches them kissing. Corporate informs Rajiv that the employees will be reviewing him.
13	"Training Day"	Victor Nelli, Jr.	Pete Holmes	February 3, 2011	3.74[19]
Todd rewards his workers with a retreat. Tonya tries to help Charlie find a date.
14	"The Todd Couple"	Reggie Hudlin	Amit Bhalla	February 10, 2011	3.61[20]
Todd suspends Gupta from work after he becomes angry with callers. Manmeet tries to juggle two online Valentine's Day dates.
15	"Guess Who's Coming to Delhi"	Matt Shakman	Terry Mulroy	February 17, 2011	3.20[21]
Todd is worried about how the workers will behave when his boss visits the call center. Charlie gets in trouble for being culturally insensitive.
16	"Take This Punjab and Shove It"	Dennie Gordon	Robert Borden	February 24, 2011	3.27[22]
When an employee quits, Todd jumps on the opportunity to hire someone new, only to have his recruit poached by someone close to him. Gupta finds himself in financial trouble as a result of him moving out of his parent's house into his own apartment, and must find a way to clear the dues.
17	"Todd's Holi War"	Victor Nelli, Jr.	Michael Pennie	March 17, 2011	3.59[23]
Todd discovers another company is hogging the air conditioning, leaving Mid-American Novelties to suffer through the heatwave. Meanwhile, Rajiv struggles to find an original way to propose to his girlfriend.
18	"Gupta's Hit & Manmeet's Missus"	Troy Miller	Mark Torgrove & Paul A. Kaplan	March 24, 2011	3.61[24]
Manmeet makes a video to send to his girlfriend Ashlynn in New York. Meanwhile, there is trouble between Gupta and Rajiv when Gupta accuses Rajiv of hitting him. World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler The Great Khali appears in a cameo.
19	"Charlie Curries a Favor From Todd"	Kevin Dowling	Linda Videtti Figueiredo	April 7, 2011	2.91[25]
Todd hires Charlie to work for Mid America Novelties. Rajiv attempts a scam, to get money for his honeymoon.
20	"Mama Sutra"	Alex Hardcastle	Patrick Walsh & Sonny Lee	April 14, 2011	3.50[26]
Tonya's mom comes to India and hooks up with Charlie while Todd and Tonya butt heads over Asha; Madhuri tells Gupta his lifeline is short, leading him to undergo a karmic cleanse.
21	"Rajiv Ties the Baraat (Part 1)"	Victor Nelli, Jr.	Michael Loftus	May 5, 2011	3.14[27]
Todd throws Rajiv a bachelor party; Manmeet nervously awaits his American girlfriend's arrival.
22	"Rajiv Ties the Baraat (Part 2)"	Victor Nelli, Jr.	Story: Charlie Hornsby Teleplay: Vera Santamaria	May 12, 2011	2.99[28]
Rajiv worries the wedding may be called off, then considers doing so himself; Manmeet is not on the same relationship page as his girlfriend.

Reception

The show received mixed reviews, reaching a 46 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic.^[29] Another review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes, gives the show a rating of 21% based on 14 reviews, with the critical consensus, "This culture-clash sitcom is too mired in unfunny jokes and stereotypical characters to provide much insight into the global marketplace."^[30] Joel Keller of TV Squad in a review of the pilot episode stated, "As long as the show can examine the cultural divide, show how all offices are the same no matter where they are, and stay away from the easy jokes, NBC could have another Thursday comedy hit."^[31] Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times stated "The fact that it's neither embarrassing nor deeply offensive—once it gets rolling, the show is actually quite charming—is a credit to the cast and the writers."^[32] Critics such as blogger Mikey O'Connell have accused Outsourced of being racist.^[33] Matt Rouse of TV Guide wrote, "The culture clash premise drowns in a sewer of caricatures and lame jokes".^[34]

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations for Outsourced

Year	Presenter	Award	Result
2011	People's Choice Awards	Favorite New TV Comedy	Nominated
2011	NAMIC Vision Awards	Best Performance - Comedy for Anisha Nagarajan	Nominated
2011	NAMIC Vision Awards	Comedy	Nominated

International broadcasts

Outsourced was picked up in Canada, for broadcast on Global at the same time as the American broadcast.^[35]

Outsourced has been broadcast in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Hong Kong on Universal.

• In Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka, Outsourced has been broadcast on Comedy Central.
• In Australia, Outsourced has been broadcast on Seven Network.
• In Fiji, Outsourced has been broadcast on FBC TV
• In Brazil, Outsourced has been broadcast on Rede Record, premiered on November 5, 2011, with the title Aprontando na Índia. It is also being broadcast on TBS.^[36]
• In New Zealand, Outsourced has been broadcast on FOUR.^[37]
• In the Philippines, Outsourced has been broadcast on 2nd Avenue.
• In Norway, Outsourced has been broadcast on MAX.
• In South Africa, Outsourced has been broadcast on SABC 3.
• In Mexico, Outsourced has been broadcast on Warner Channel.
• In Sweden, Outsourced has been broadcast on TV3^[38] and TV6.^[39]
• In Denmark, Outsourced has been broadcast on TV3+.
• In Poland, Outsourced (Dostawa na telefon) has been broadcast on Comedy Central Poland.^[40]
• In the Middle East, Outsourced has been broadcast on OSN COMEDY.
• In Latin America, Outsourced has been broadcast on Warner Channel
• In Malaysia, Outsourced has been broadcast on RTM's channel tv2.
• In Italy, Outsourced has been broadcast on Mediaset Premium channel Joi.
• In the Czech Republic, Outsourced has been broadcast on Prima Cool with title Haló, tady Indie.
• In Iceland, Outsourced has been broadcast on SkjárEinn.
• In Singapore, Outsourced has been broadcast on MediaCorp Channel 5.
• In Hungary, Outsourced has been broadcast on Comedy Central.
• In Greece, Outsourced has been broadcast on Star Channel.
• In the Netherlands, "Outsourced" has been broadcast on RTL 5.

See also

• Mumbai Calling, a 2007 British sitcom with a similar premise.
• Outsourced (film), a 2006 movie from which the TV show takes its basis.

References

1. Gorman, Bill (July 15, 2010). "NBC Announces Series Premiere Dates For Fall 2010 Schedule". TV By the Numbers. Retrieved 2010-07-15.
2. Seidman, Robert (May 7, 2010). "NBC Picks-Up Three Scripted Series: 'Love Bites,' 'Outsourced' and 'The Event'". TV By the Numbers. Retrieved May 23, 2010.
3. Seidman, Robert (18 October 2010). "NBC Orders Full Seasons of ‘The Event,’ ‘Outsourced’ and ‘Law & Order: Los Angeles’". TV By the Numbers. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
4. "'Outsourced' Brings Jobs to Studio City". Studio City Patch.
5. "NBC TV fans, artists launch ‘save outsourced' campaign". The Times Of India. 2011-05-09.
6. Rice, Lynette (May 13, 2011). "NBC cancels 'The Event' and 'Law & Order: L.A.'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
7. Seidman, Robert (September 24, 2010). "TV Ratings Thursday: The Big Bang Theory Scores at 8pm; Grey's Anatomy Tops Night With Young Adults; My Generation Premiere Stalls". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
8. Gorman, Bill (October 1, 2010). "Thursday Finals: Grey's Anatomy, Big Bang Theory, $#*! My Dad Says, CSI Adjusted Up; Vampire Diaries, Private Practice, Apprentice Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
9. Seidman, Robert (October 8, 2010). "Thursday Finals: Bones, Community, Grey's Anatomy, Big Bang Theory, $#*! My Dad Says, The Office Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
10. Gorman, Bill (October 15, 2010). "Thursday Finals: The Big Bang Theory, $#*!, 30 Rock, The Office, Outsourced, Grey's Anatomy, Fringe All Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
11. Gorman, Bill (October 22, 2010). "Thursday Finals: Grey's Anatomy, Big Bang, CSI, Vampire Diaries Adjusted Up; Private Practice Down; Plus NLCS Game 5 Ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 23, 2010.
12. Gorman, Bill (October 29, 2010). "Thursday Final Ratings: Grey's Anatomy, Big Bang Theory, Shrekless, Office Adjusted Up; Nikita Down; Plus World Series Game 2". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
13. Gorman, Bill (November 5, 2010). "Thursday Final Ratings: Big Bang Theory, The Mentalist, Office, Vampire Diaries Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
14. Seidman, Robert (November 12, 2010). "Thursday Final Ratings: Fringe, Community, 30 Rock, Outsourced, The Office Adjusted Down; Bones, $#*! My Dad Says Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
15. Seidman, Robert (November 19, 2010). "Thursday Final Ratings: $#*! My Dad Says, 30 Rock, Outsourced Adjusted Down; The Office Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
16. Gorman, Bill (December 3, 2010). "Thursday Final Ratings: ‘Private Practice,’ ‘Bones,’ ‘Nikita’ Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
17. Gorman, Bill (January 21, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: '$#*! My Dad Says' Adjusted Up, 'Bones' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
18. Seidman, Robert (January 28, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'American Idol' Adjusted Up; No Adjustments for 'The Vampire Diaries' or 'Nikita'". TV By the Numbers. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
19. Gorman, Bill (February 4, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Vampire Diaries,' 'Mentalist' Adjusted Up; 'Private Practice,' 'Parks & Recreation' Adjusted Down". TV By the Numbers. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
20. Gorman, Bill (February 11, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'American Idol,' 'Vampire Diaries' Adjusted Up; 'Private Practice,' 'Bones,' 'Office,' 'Parks & Rec' Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
21. Seidman, Robert (February 18, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'American Idol' Adjusted Up; 'Parks & Recreation,' 'Private Practice' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 18, 2011.
22. Seidman, Robert (February 25, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Grey's Anatomy' Adjusted Up; 'The Office,' 'Outsourced,' and 'Private Practice' Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved February 25, 2011.
23. Gorman, Bill (March 18, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'American Idol', 'Wipeout' Adjusted Up; 'Bones' Adjusted Down, Plus CBS NCAA Basketball Ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
24. Seidman, Robert (March 25, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'Private Practice,' 'Parks & Recreation,' '30 Rock' Adjusted Down; 'American Idol,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Wipeout' Adjusted Up; Plus CBS NCAA Basketball Ratings". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
25. Seidman, Robert (April 8, 2011). "TV Ratings Thursday: 'Bones,' 'Rules,' 'The Mentalist' Up; 'Idol,' 'CSI' Down; 'Outsourced' Hits Low; 'Vampire Diaries,' 'Nikita' Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
26. Gorman, Bill (April 15, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'American Idol,' 'Vampire Diaries,' 'Office' Adjusted Up; 'Bones,' 'Parks & Recreation' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
27. Seidman, Robert (May 6, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'American Idol,' 'Big Bang Theory,' 'CSI,' 'The Mentalist,' 'Community,' 'The Vampire Diaries' Adjusted Up; 'Bones,' 'Parks & Recreation' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
28. Gorman, Bill (May 13, 2011). "Thursday Final Ratings: 'American Idol,' 'Big Bang,' 'Community,' 'Rules,' 'Mentalist,' 'Office,' 'Vampire Diaries' Adjusted Up; 'Bones' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
29. "Outsourced – Season 1 Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
30. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/outsourced/s01/
31. Keller, Joel (July 6, 2010). "Pilot Watch: 'Outsourced'". TV Squad. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
32. Stanley, Alessandra (22 September 2010). "At Call Center, Cultural Clash in Reverse". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
33. Buncombe, Andrew (29 September 2010). "US Sitcom about Indian outsourcing is racist". The Independent (London).
34. TV Guide September 13-19, 2010 pg. 50.
35. "Global Fall Preview". Globaltv.com. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
36. "Aprontando na Índia - TBS muitodivertido". TBS. TBS. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
37. "Outsourced". FOUR. Auckland, New Zealand: FOUR. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
38. "New Comedy series on TV3 Sweden". tv3.se. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
39. "Outsourced on TV6 Sweden". tv6.se. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
40. "Nowe seriale w Comedy Central". media2.pl. Retrieved 2011-04-14.

External links

• Official website
• Outsourced at the Internet Movie Database