The series follows Alex Schuman, a radio journalist, husband, and father of two, who decides to quit his job and start his own company.
Cast and characters
Main
Zach Braff as Alex Schuman,[1] a radio journalist, Rooni's husband, and father of Ben and Soraya, who has left his old job to start his own podcast company
Tiya Sircar as Arunima “Rooni” Schuman,[1] a lawyer, Alex's wife, and mother of Ben and Soraya
Hillary Anne Matthews as Deirdre, a producer at Alex's old job who left with him for his new company
On August 29, 2016, it was announced that ABC had ordered Start Up, a single-cameracomedy television series, as a put pilot. Matt Tarses, Zach Braff, John Davis, John Fox, Chris Giliberti, Alex Blumberg, and Matt Lieber serve as executive producers. Zach Braff also serves as director. The series is a production of Davis Entertainment and is based on the podcast StartUp.[2] On January 25, 2017, it was announced that a pilot for the series was officially picked up.[3] On May 11, 2017, it was announced that the series was officially picked up. The series is further a production of Sony Pictures Television and ABC Studios.[4] On May 16, 2017, it was announced that the series was renamed to Alex, Inc.[5][6] On January 8, 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on March 28, 2018.[7][8] On May 9, 2018, it was announced that the series was canceled after one season.[9]
Casting
On August 29, 2016, it was announced that Zach Braff was cast in the series.[2] On February 15, 2017, it was announced that Tiya Sircar was cast in the series.[10] On March 8, 2017, it was announced that Michael Imperioli was cast in the series.[11] On March 14, 2017, it was announced that Hillary Anne Matthews was cast in the series.[12] On March 22, 2017, it was announced that Chris Sacca would play himself in the series.[13] On May 11, 2017, it was announced that Elisha Henig and Audyssie James were cast in the series.[4] On February 8, 2018, it was announced that Sophia Bush would guest star in the series.[14]
Radio journalist Alex Schuman has tired of only being allowed to do feel-good stories, so he quits his job and decides to instead create his own podcast through which he believes he can change the world. The sudden death of his intended first interviewee (a supposedly wrongly convicted murderer) and continuous problems with financing make Alex drop the project, but Ben's magic show makes Alex change his mind, and he successfully pitches an idea to Chris Sacca: a podcast about Alex and his family's everyday lives.
Alex has barely begun working on his podcast, but is already feeling the pressure of trying to juggle his private life and work. Meanwhile, Deirdre and Eddie are arguing and eventually sabotage each other by scheduling two important meetings at the same time; both of which Alex has to attend. All of this makes Alex doubt himself, but Ben's wax museum project makes Alex change his mind, and he successfully convinces advertisers and a major interview subject to support his podcast.
Eddie ignores a decision by Alex and installs a recording booth at the office. Alex feels his authority is being undermined by this (and Eddie's behaviour in general), and the two have an altercation which quickly turns physical. Meanwhile, Rooni chaperones Soraya's school trip to the Butterfly Pavilion, where Rooni accidentally commits a murder.
With Alex having started his own company and also having to hire an assistant, he and Rooni need to cut down on expenses. As a result, they fire their beloved babysitter Rosalba and instead hire Ben to look after Soraya; a job Ben proves utterly incapable of doing. Due to a misunderstanding, Rosalba believes she instead has gotten the assistant job; a job she proves utterly incapable of doing.
Alex struggles to name his company while also having to deal with his judgmental mother-in-law Joya. He eventually gives up and hires a branding agency to name the company. But after Joya tell him about her childhood experience of being sent to the market alone for the first time and overcoming her fear of "ajana," the unknown, Alex decides to name the company Ajana.
Guest stars: Anjali Bhimani as Joya, John Patrick Jordan as Harley, Courtney Richards as Emile
To promote his podcast Our Family's Business, Alex goes on the raunchy Vanessa Stanhope Show where he is baited into revealing he had sex with Rooni on their first date. Rooni gets angry but when Alex eventually apologizes to her, she reveals her anger stems from Alex paying attention only to his company and not to his family. Meanwhile, Deirdre's former employer offers her a job, and Ben realizes his bandmate has a crush on him.
Alex's company Ajana is looking for potential podcasts to produce, but none of the pitches they receive seem quite right. After Rooni makes a great teaser for a true-crime podcast, Alex decides to produce the podcast but cut her out of the process since he finds her too controlling in work situations. This leads to a row between the two, making Alex leave the project and the inexperienced Rooni take over. Meanwhile, Ben's relationship with Emily is getting crowded by her friend Lauren, and Deirdre goes out on a date with a prospective podcaster.
Guest stars: Matt Walsh as Detective Phipps, Joel Kelley Dauten as Jeremy
Rooni and Ben work hard on Soraya's diorama for school, but only get a B. Meanwhile, Ajana's teaser for their Our Family's Business podcast is met by a barrage of trolling, deeply hurting Alex's feelings and making him worry he will let down his family and employees. He decides to stay home, rather than go to the launch party, but a talk with Rooni makes Alex change his mind and attend the party.
Alex has put an expensive focus group on Ajana's new podcast, but Deirdre accidentally deletes all the feedback. To avoid Alex finding out, she creates her own, free focus group to get new data. Meanwhile, Alex's mother-in-law is visiting. Alex worries she is badmouthing him whenever she talks in Bengali, so he downloads a translating app which accidentally reveals a big secret. In addition, Alex discovers Soraya is pretending to be sick for reasons she won't reveal.
Our Family's Business unexpectedly becomes the most downloaded podcast in the US, so main investor Chris Sacca wants Ajana to create five new podcasts with the help of famous podcast producer Serena Bans. This in turn leads to conflict within the office. Meanwhile, Alex worries he and Ben are drifting apart and tries to rectify that by making a live podcast about Ben.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 40% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 4.46/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "By failing to establish the credibility of its lead, Alex, Inc loses sight an appealing premise and strands a likable Zach Braff in a sea of wasted potential."[26]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 49 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[27]
