History Series / Outsourced

* SpiritualSuccessor: The creators and cast have outright called it ''Series/TheOffice'', but with people who actually like their job.

* CaliforniaDoubling: The movie was really filmed in India. The TV show is, of course, filmed in California aside from {{Establishing Shot}}s and DrivingADesk type shots.

%%* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: Todd and Rajiv.
* TheCastShowoff: An episode was written so Anisha Nagarajan, a Broadway musical performer, can sing in the climax.
%%* TheCharmer: Manmeet.

%%* DoubleDate

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1385117532096247700
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* Todd Dempsy (Ben Rappaport) - TheEveryman and a FishOutOfWater, like his filmic counterpart, though with some more DeadpanSnarker leanings added. He's also a bit too fond of the IdiotBall. Younger than the movie character, who was approaching middle age and had been a manager for some time. In contrast, the TV version is still fairly fresh out of college and had only just finished management training before the pilot.
* Rajiv Gidwani (Rizwan Manji) - Todd's two-faced assistant manager, who would [[EvilChancellor like to displace him and run the call center himself as a whip-cracking dictator]]. His filmic counterpart was named Puro and was a perfectly friendly NumberTwo character, although the less sympathetic TV version is still given occasional PetTheDog moments.

* Asha (Rebecca Hazlewood) - Todd's love interest in the movie, she has {{UST}} with him on the show, but it was, of course, never fully resolved. When she's not being used for romance plots, she's a GenericGirl who tends to be OutOfFocus in favor of the quirkier Madhuri.
* Gupta (Parvesh Cheena) - A WackyGuy with no counterpart in the movie. The show's ButtMonkey, though occasionally a {{Jerkass}}. Never stops talking. Ever.
* Madhuri (Anisha Nagarajan) - A ShrinkingViolet and another filmic LivingProp promoted to series regular. Began to show some {{Cloudcuckoolander}} leanings towards the show's end.

* Tonya (Pippa Black) - An Australian call center manager in a LoveTriangle with Todd and Asha. A GoodBadGirl type [[BettyAndVeronica in contrast to the more conservative Asha]]. Does not have a counterpart in the movie. Todd dated her for a while, but she was OutOfFocus a lot before and after their relationship.

* ArrangedMarriage: Asha, similar to the film.
* AscendedExtra: All the call center operators besides Asha. In the movie, they were {{Living Prop}}s, but in the TV show they're {{Regular Character}}s with their actors credited in the [[PromotionToOpeningTitles opening titles]]. And in-show, Pinky.

* BenevolentBoss: Todd.

* CaptainSmoothAndSergeantRough: Todd and Rajiv.

* TheCharmer: Manmeet.

* ControlFreak: Rajiv.

* DeadpanSnarker: Rajiv.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: An ArrangedMarriage plays a major factor in the current storyline, and despite the fact that the practice clearly offends the American protagonist, the show has taken a surprisingly non-judgmental route with the whole thing.

* FanService: Manmeet turned into a WalkingShirtlessScene in the last few episodes. Tonya has [[http://1.fwcdn.pl/ph/78/01/567801/244416.1.jpg her moments]] in Todd's Halloween party.

** Vindaloo Day on the other hand...

* FiveManBand:
** TheHero: Todd
** TheLancer: Manmeet (officially Rajiv, but not really).
** TheSmartGuy: Rajiv
** TheChick: Madhuri
** TeamMom: Asha
** TeamPet: Gupta

* IdiotBall: Many of the problems Todd encounters could be avoided by reading a travel guide about India.

* JerkAss: Gupta can come across like this at times, more so than his ButtMonkey status. YMMV though.

* OlderAndWiser: Charlie for Todd.

* OperatorFromIndia: No, really?

* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Tonya and Charlie have jobs running call centers similar to Todd's. We don't see Tonya's workplace until the sixteenth episode. We rarely see Charlie's subordinates. Charlie is shown goofing around with Todd's co-workers more often than his own. Maybe that gives a hint why [[spoiler:Charlie's call center was shut down?]]
** [[FridgeBrilliance Makes sense when you think about it]]. Tonya's staff is considered one of the best in India, so they don't need her constant supervision. Charlie is the BromanticFoil, so in contrast to Todd, Charlie doesn't even know the name of his staff.
* PopculturalOsmosisFailure

* ShrinkingViolet: Madhuri, who speaks unintelligibly quietly. As {{Lampshaded}}, working a, you know, ''phone line'' may not have been her [[IncrediblyLamePun calling]]. She finally talks in a just intelligible voice at the end of the pilot, making a sale and thus apparently [[UltimateJobSecurity securing her position]].
** Maybe FridgeBrilliance if you think about it-Rajiv mentions he hired her [[JerkAss specifically so he could fire her in front of the others as a show of force]]. So that would explain how she got the job. And you notice hints throughout the series that she and her family aren't really well off, so it makes sense that she'd apply for an available job even when it wouldn't really suit her.

* TakeThat: A not-so-affectionate reference is made to Film/SlumdogMillionaire by Todd's boss, Jerry.
* TooDumbToLive: Todd, desperately trying to not offend people in a new culture, seems to go out of his way to do just that.

* TheUnfavourite: Poor Todd, compared to his brother.

* WindowPain: The first scene of the pilot.
* WorkCom

* AscendedExtra: All the call center operators besides Asha. In the movie, they were {{Living Prop}}s, but in the TV show they're {{Regular Character}}s with their actors credited in the [[PromotionToOpeningTitles opening titles]]. And in show, Pinky.
** Also Bearded Turban Guy, who showed up as a LivingProp but who is, as of the finale, [[spoiler:Madhuri's boyfriend.]]

* Tonya (Pippa Black) - An Australian call center manager in a LoveTriangle with Todd and Asha. A GoodBadGirl type [[BettyAndVeronica in contrast to the more conservative Asha]]. Does not have a counterpart in the movie. Todd dated her for awhile, but she was OutOfFocus a lot before and after their relationship.

* TheOtherDarrin: Rajiv's fiancee Vimi is originally portrayed by SarayuRao in "Jolly Vindaloo Day" and NoureenDeWulf from "Todd's Holi War" onward.

* GuileHero: Madhuri has figured out how to con Rajiv quite well, getting him to pay 21,000 rupees for a 3,000 rupee sari. Eventually Todd uses this skill of hers to get the better of the [=GloboCon=] call center.

* HiddenHeartOfGold: Rajiv when Madhouri is in need.

* NiceGuy: Despite all of his moments of unintended [[CultureClash cultural insensitivities]] and his many instances of holding the IdiotBall, Todd is an all around friendly person, and cares about his workers and their well-being.

* OutOfFocus: Poor Asha. She was the secondary lead in the movie, but on the TV show she's lucky to get a MandatoryLine in between the shenanigans of her wackier co-workers.

** [[FridgeBrilliance Makes sense when you think about it]]. Tonya's staff is considered one of the best in India, so they don't need her constant supervision. Charlie is the BromanticFoil, so in contrast to Todd, Charlie doesn't even the know the name of his staff.

** The air-conditioning being hogged by [=GloboCon=] is another nice revenge story. First, when the rival call centre manager talks off Todd, Manmeet spills coffee on him. Then, they divert the air conditioning so that things get so hot upstairs, they are worried about losing a client because of that, and offer to double Todd's office internet speed, [[spoiler: only to freeze all their computers with a virus]]. Todd eventually returns, and [[spoiler: wages a [[IncrediblyLamePun Holi war]] on the employees of [=GloboCon=], littering the area with paint, just as their clients step in]].

** May be FridgeBrilliance if you think about it-Rajiv mentions he hired her [[JerkAss specifically so he could fire her in front of the others as a show of force]]. So that would explain how she got the job. And you notice hints throughout the series that she and her family aren't really well off, so it makes sense that she'd apply for an available job even when it wouldn't really suit her.

* TheOtherDarrin: Rajeev's fiancee Vimi is originally portrayed by SarayuRao in "Jolly Vindaloo Day" and NoureenDeWulf from "Todd's Holi War" onward.

** Eventually Charlie shows up so, when he find that [[spoiler:his call center has been shut down and he's without a job, and has mounting daily expenses, and struggles to find a new job]].

* WelcomeEpisode: Starts with one of these

* Manmeet (Sacha Dhawan) - TheCasanova[=/=]CasanovaWannabe type character, who was a LivingProp in the movie. Todd's [[TheLancer Lancer]], more or less, largely taking over the role which Puro had in the original movie.

* DenserAndWackier: The movie could take place in the real world, but the show is decidedly set in Sitcomland. Which is [[TropesAreTools not necessarily a bad thing]], as the same could be said of ''Series/ThirtyRock'', ''Series/{{Community}}'', et al., but it does mean the film and the show have completely different styles of humor.

* OperatorFromIndia: [[CaptainObvious No, really?]]

Based on [[Film/{{Outsourced}} the 2006 independent film of the same name]], ''Outsourced'' was a short-lived Creator/{{NBC}} WorkCom about an American heading up a [[OperatorFromIndia call center in India]]. Its one and only season can be [[http://www.hulu.com/outsourced seen in its entirety]] on {{Creator/Hulu}}.

* DoubleDate

* FishOutOfWater

* HalloweenEpisode

* NiceGuy: Despite all of his moments of unintended cultural insensitivities and his many instances of holding the IdiotBall, Todd is an all around friendly person, and cares about his workers immensely.

During its time on the air, the show acquired a LoveItOrHateIt status, with most mainstream critics falling into the "hate it" camp. [[note]] Being responsible for ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' getting bumped to mid-season didn't help either. [[/note]] The show has been accused of everything from being racist to being insensitive to victims of outsourcing, but is more often simply decried as being a weak comedy that's too similar in premise to ''Series/ThirtyRock'' and ''Series/{{Community}}''. Nevertheless, the show was starting to pick up a fanbase towards its end for whom the "racist" allegation in particular has been repeatedly decried as a case of PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad based on the EverythingIsRacist logic, in reality the Indian people were treated like ordinary coworkers, akin to ''Series/TheOffice'', and it was the well meaning but out of his element Yankee Ben who usually ended up looking like an idiot due to his misunderstanding of their customs.

* Charlie Davies (Diedrich Bader) - An American who has been running an Indian call center for some time. A CynicalMentor to Todd. For some reason, Charlie appears to spend his off-hours getting involved in wacky hijinks with Todd's employees. The movie has a somewhat analogous character who appears in only one scene.

During its time on the air, the show acquired a LoveItOrHateIt status, with most mainstream critics falling into the "hate it" camp. [[note]] Being responsible for ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' getting bumped to mid-season didn't help either. [[/note]] The show has been accused of everything from being racist to being insensitive to victims of outsourcing, but is more often simply decried as being a weak comedy that's too similar in premise to ''Series/ThirtyRock'' and ''Series/{{Community}}''. Nevertheless, the show was starting to pick up a fanbase towards its end for whom the "racist" allegation in particular has been repeatedly decried as a case of PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad based on the EverythingIsRacist logic.

** During his lecture on sexual harassment, Todd showed his workers a video from the 80s discussing what is and is not appropriate behavior in the workplace. Not only did Todd's staff think complimenting a coworker's blouse was inappropriate, but his employees to the sight of two people kissing as if it's pornography. Later, Madhuri reacts to their American boss Jerry kissing her hand as if she just had sex with him (or as she says "I just gave the milk away for free.")
** Todd keeps getting reported to the sexual harassment hotline because he incessantly touches people's shoulder. [[CultureClash Naturally Todd has no clue he's done anything.]]
** Jerry is going through divorce negotiations, and feels it is inevitable. Rajeev is aghast at it and delivers a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech gives him a piece of his mind]], accusing him of not trying hard enough to save his marriage. After all, Rajeev eagerly wishes to marry Vimi, much against her father's wishes, and will do what he can to keep his marriage steady for life.

** TheLancer: Manmeet (officially Rajiv, but not really)

* GuileHero: Madhuri has figured out how to con Rajiv quite well, getting him to pay 21,000 rupeees for a 3,000 rupee sari. Eventually Todd uses this skill of hers to get the better of the [=GloboCon=] call centre.

** Similarly, many of the Indian workers come across a little too naive or lacking in knowledge given the amount of American culture that is exported via the internet/Hollywood movie/TV to India.

* IronicEchoCut: Asha chides Todd over 'contaminating the break room table', with a reference to his getting cosy with Tonya over it the night before. Cut to Gupta littering the same table with his eats.

* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Tonya and Charlie have jobs running call centers similar to Todd's. We don't see Tonya's workplace until the sixteenth episode. We rarely see Charlie's subordinates. Charlie is shown goofing around with Todd's co-workers more often than his own. Maybe that gives a hint why [[spoiler:Charlie's call centre was shut down?]]
** [[FridgeBrilliance Makes sense when you think about it]], Tonya's staff is considered one of the best in India, so they don't need her constant supervision. Charlie is the BromanticFoil, so in contrast to Todd, Charlie doesn't even the know the name of his staff.

* RecycledTheSeries

* SensitivityTraining: An entire episode about sexual harassment with the expected jokes involving different cultural standards of acceptable workplace conduct. Todd, for example, doesn't realize that touching Madhuri's shoulder is seen as inappropriate.
* ShoutOut: The plot of rigging the air conditioning to cool Mid American Novelties (Todd's centre) when it was being hogged by the rival [=GloboCon=] centre had a [[Film/MissionImpossible very familiar feel to it]]. It was, however, missing [[MissionImpossibleCableDrop a cable]].

** May be FridgeBrilliance if you think about it- Rajiv mentions he hired her [[JerkAss specifically so he could fire her in front of the others as a show of force]]. So that would explain how she got the job. And you notice hints throughout the series that she and her family aren't really well off, so it makes sense that she'd apply for an available job even when it wouldn't really suit her.

** Eventually Charlie shows up so, when he find that [[spoiler:his call centre has been shut down and he's without a job, and has mounting daily expenses, and struggles to find a new job]].
* ToiletHumour: Sometimes, but not usually the focus. A lot of it is hidden in the heavily censored run on the Indian Comedy Central channel.

* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: First, some of Charlie's A-team members who get plenty of screen time, and then American-born Kamik, first hired by Todd, then poached by Tonya and subsequently [[spoiler:working for Charlie. The call centre run by Charlie is shut down towards the end of the series]].

During its time on the air, the show acquired a LoveItOrHateIt status, with most mainstream critics falling into the "hate it" camp. The show has been accused of everything from being racist to being insensitive to victims of outsourcing, but is more often simply decried as being a weak comedy that's too similar in premise to ''Series/ThirtyRock'' and ''Series/{{Community}}''. Nevertheless, the show was starting to pick up a fanbase towards its end for whom the "racist" allegation in particular has been repeatedly decried as a case of PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad based on the EverythingIsRacist logic.

* MusicalEpisode: Which included a {{Bollywood}} homage in the cold opening.

* GuileHero: Madhuri has figured out how to con Rajiv quite well, getting him to pay 21,000 rupeees for a 3,000 rupee sari.

* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Tonya and Charlie have jobs running call centers similar to Todd's. We don't see Tonya's workplace until the sixteenth episode. We rarely see Charlie's subordinates. Charlie is shown goofing around with Todd's co-workers more often than his own.

Based on [[Film/{{Outsourced}} the 2006 independent film of the same name]], ''Outsourced'' was a short-lived Creator/{{NBC}} WorkCom about an American heading up a [[OperatorFromIndia call center in India]]. Its one and only season can be [[http://www.hulu.com/outsourced seen in its entirety]] on {{Hulu}}.

** During his lecture on sexual harassment, Todd showed his workers a video from the 80s discussing what is and is not appropriate behavior in the workplace. Not only did Todd's staff think complimenting a coworker's blouse was inappropriate, but his employees to the sight of two people kissing as if it's pornography.

** During his lecture on sexual harassment, Todd showed his workers a video from the 80s discussing what is and is not appropriate behavior in the workplace. Not only did Todd's staff think complimenting a coworker's blouse was inappropriate, but most of his employees walked out offended at the sight of two people kissing.

* FakeNationality: Pretty much all of the Indian characters are played by American, Canadian, or British actors. They're of Indian and Sri Lankan descent, but not native Indians like their characters, so they fake the Indian accent with varying degrees of success.

* TheOtherDarrin: Everyone. The movie and TV show have no shared cast members. Happens within the show itself, as the actress playing Rajiv's love interest, Vimi, changes once across the season.

* ScrewedByTheNetwork: Despite getting good ratings at the 9:30 slot on Thursday nights, NBC gave the slot back to its predecessor, ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' (whose ratings were lower when it lost the slot) and pushed Outscored to 10:30. Later that year, the show was cancelled.

* WindowPain: The first scene of the pilot