Turns out they made a TV series based on this movie and I didn't know until I recommended the movie to my Facebook friends. It wasn't until Netflix pulled Outsourced (September 2, 2018) (PLEASE COME BACK SOMEDAY!!! ðŸ˜). It was only then I turned to Amazon Firestick's search feature and that's when it happened: I found the series on it was on Hulu.
So here I stand, having finished the one and only season of Outsourced and ready to compare. Let's get to it!
VS
1. The Plot
There are some slight differences in the movie and series plot. In the movie, Todd Anderson is the top salesman for Mid America Novelties and one day he report to work and he's the only one there except for his boss. His boss explains that they've outsourced his department to India and they want him to go set it up and train the guy who'll eventually replace him. Naturally Todd protests but his boss dangles his stock options and a bad job market over him so Todd relents. From here the storyline focuses on Todd trying to get the call center MPI (minutes per incident) down to 6 minutes.
In the series, Todd (Dempsy in this version) just finished management training and learns that the job he trained for has been outsourced to India. He's told if he wants to keep that job he has to go there and manage the call center. In the series, this is the job. There's no coming back unless he gets transferred. The plot of the series centers around helping the call center employees get familiar with American culture while learning a few things about Indian culture.
2. The Characters
In the movie, there were only a few stand out characters but even fewer got regular roles in the series. Besides Todd, only Asha and Manmeet made the cut. Puro in the movie is replace by Rajiv and they're polar opposites. While Puro was attentive and eager to learn, Rajiv was manipulative, overbearing and constantly plotting to oust Todd despite actually needing his teaching. Asha doesn't hold the same authority as she does in the movie and Manmeet quickly assumes the best friend role...until Todd meets Charlie. He operates another call center. I believe his character was based on Bob in the movie (he only showed up for a brief scene where Todd thought he could get a cheeseburger). New characters include Gupta, Tonya and Madhuri. It was pretty cool that they could make the show diverse but still feel wholly Indian.
3. The Verdict
I like both. The series is not nearly as complex as the movie but it makes for good comedy. I'm actually sorry the show didn't survive to a second season but I think the whole Todd/Asha dynamic would have been hard to maintain. So it's definitely worth checking out but I don't feel like it has the same re-watch factor as the movie.
