Steven Hansen (Ian Campbell Dunn) is your average, everyday Joe. He has a good job with his company, Multi-State Insurance, serving as the lead on a number of major accounts within the firm. He's happily married to his wife Claire and is about to move into a new home. Life is good for Steven. And then he meets his new neighbors Marc, Dan, Greg, and Paul. In a very short period of time, these four individuals manage to make Steven's life a living hell. Steven's crime? For being stupid enough to move in next to them.
This is the premise for the new comedy pilot Overcrowded, a very broad, silly, and ridiculous look at four of the most horrible people you'll ever meet who share an apartment and terrorize their neighbors. And do they ever! These guys are their own brand of crazy and the 40-minute pilot follows them on their adventures in delusion and debauchery.
While the proceedings are ably directed by Dan Kowalski, overall the pilot is a bit of a mixed bag. The script, written by co-creator Dan Conrad, goes on a little too long, with much of the focus paid to a pair of under-developed subplots involving one characters' sudden need for Enlightenment and another character's battles with the Yakuza. Yes, the Yakuza.
More focus should have been paid to the the best scenes involving Greg, (Greg Vorob) who is always looking for a job. Greg is a real go-getter — so he says — but he tends to go a little over the edge when he gets a job. A little over the edge is being kind. Upon meeting his new neighbor Steven, Greg finagles his way into an interview with Steven's company. He manages to wow the boss Mr. Smith (Timothy J. Cox), and lands a job as Steven's assistant, even though he has absolutely no experience with insurance whatsoever. Almost immediately, Greg makes an impression, even taking on Steven's accounts with success, much to the delight of Mr. Smith and the company shareholders and the chagrin of Steven, who quickly begins to crack up. But Greg doesn't stop there. He wants to go to the top quickly. Sure, he's charming and very quick on the uptake, but Greg is the kind of guy who sees himself going from assistant to CEO in two days time. He's his own worst enemy, but he's too far off his rocker to notice or care.
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