Tim Robinson’s a goofy guy: his tenure at SNL, cult classic TV show Detroiters, and Netflix sketch series I Think You Should Leave have all been fabulously ridiculous and profane. The latter, I Think You Should Leave, does what a lot of sketch shows do, but Robinson cranks it up a notch, and then another, and then another. And then another. The rule of 3s isn’t real for Robinson, he’s not afraid to hit a joke a hundred different ways, or drop a punchline just once, under his breath or lost in the speed of a breathless rant. But his new show for HBO, The Chair Company, surprises me in new ways every week.

With The Chair Company, I find myself laughing in the tensest of situations. That’s not necessarily odd for me, I am well versed in modern cringe comedy like Vancouver-born comedian Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal, a comedy show in which Fielder blends real-world people situations with carefully placed actors that allow him to control and manipulate the world around him.

Conversely, The Chair Company is strictly fictional, and it’s framed like a thriller, steeped in suspense. Robinson stars as William Ronald Trosper, a man who stumbles his way into investigating a massive conspiracy after an embarrassing incident at work enrages him.

Much like in Bob’s Burgers, many, but not all, of the characters in Robinson’s Chair Company universe speak with a dialect unique to their show, giving the whole story an exaggerated air of mystique. People say and do crazy things: a member of the protagonist’s office, Douglas, hosts a cryptic “Mistakes Party” where he says he will encourage his coworkers to “make mistakes”, though as manager, William is not invited.

The strangest part is, despite the extreme tension, the dialogue still makes me laugh. In this week’s episode, Douglas returns to work after being crushed by a refrigerator, and explains how he survived trapped underneath it. “I couldn’t pick what I had,” he told the whole office, gathered around his wheelchair. “I just grabbed whatever I could touch. But I was able to survive, even though I couldn’t pick.” There is something hilarious about this creepy guy being so beloved.

Anything could happen at any time in the world of The Chair Company, the violence and confusion of the modern world around us is apparent even through the surrealist extremism of Robinson’s characters.