“Think ‘Tommy Boy’ meets ‘The Office’ when envisioning what we have in store for you with ‘Factory Made,'” said FactoryFix CEO Patrick O’Rahilly.
Since its launch in 2018, FactoryFix has helped connect manufacturing workers with hundreds of thousands of job opportunities.
Now the company is getting into show business.
Last Thursday, Factory Fix debuted the first two episodes of their new webseries, titled “Factory Made.” The fictional series follows Harry Brunswick, a “trust fund idiot with a heart of gold,” and his no-nonsense right-hand man, Carlos Smith, as they attempt to resurrect a chocolate beverage company.
With its mockumentary and short-form style, Factory Made provides viewers with both a quick laugh and a look at common “workforce issues that small and mid-sized U.S. manufacturers are facing on today’s factory floors,” according to FactoryFix.
An online resource for U.S. manufacturers themselves, FactoryFix offers a marketplace for employers to post job opportunities, along with services to help workers leverage their skills. FactoryFix’s overall goal is to fill “workplace voids with the highest caliber talent.”
In addition to bringing attention to their online resources, Factory Made also gives FactoryFix the opportunity to leverage “Hollywood’s power to bring awareness” to issues facing the manufacturing sector.
And feedback from factory workers themselves has “been really great so far,” according to FactoryFix spokesman Evan White.
“[P]eople seem to like the show and relate to the characters,” White said via email. “People have been commenting that they want to watch the series with their Dads or Brothers or Aunts in manufacturing… which is really cool!”
Factory Made works because of the format and the characters. Snap zooms to workers’ reactions in the wake of nonsensical events and interview-style segments help bring the story to life. After just one episode, I found myself invested in the daily events of the fictional factory .
A large part of that is definitely due to the talent of the cast, which features notable actors such as Devin Ratray, known for his role as Buzz in the “Home Alone” movies; Alycia Cooper from “Last Comic Standing”; Paula Bel, who has appeared on “The Tonight Show” and Showtime’s “Full Frontal Comedy”; and Ben Morrison, known for his appearances on shows like “Punk’d”, “NCIS”, and “Funny You Should Ask.”
“U.S. manufacturing is critical to the everyday lives of Americans, whether they realize it or not,” Morrison said in a statement. “I’m proud to be a part of a new production that features some of my friends who happen to be well-known names in Hollywood and produce a show that addresses a growing workforce issue in a way that will resonate with viewers from all backgrounds.”
Morrison has plenty to be proud of, serving as the writer, director, lead actor (yes, he’s the trust fund idiot with a heart of gold), and editor for this hysterical webseries. “In the end, funny is funny, and we think this advertorial is a game-changer for the business of funny,” Morrison said.
He’s right. The series is unique in that it is the first character-driven show to focus on the manufacturing sector of the U.S. workforce, according to FactoryFix. With a setting just ripe for a “The Office”-style series, Factory Made brings out the comedy of everyday factory floor issues while also highlighting the fact that those issues exist in the first place.
Simply put, the delivery is comedic, but the message is serious.
See, the series’ release dates coincide with ongoing talks on Capitol Hill concerning President Biden’s American Jobs Plan. By bringing attention to some of the daily challenges faced by factories, Factory Made bolsters Biden’s message on the need to support American manufacturing.
“We’ve enlisted the comedic genius of some great actors and comedians of Hollywood,” FactoryFix CEO Patrick O’Rahilly said, “and [we] are thrilled to be able to use their…influence to bring awareness to this complex issue facing our manufacturing industry.”
Each episode of Factory Made runs approximately six minutes. It’s a quick watch, it’ll make you laugh, AND it has a great message behind it. Speaking of which, the third episode is live as of today! You can catch the latest episode of the series, along with the previous two episodes, on FactoryFix’s YouTube channel.