Not every new job is a good one. And the job Joe (Lil Rel Howery) is given in Hulu’s The Mill is particularly bad: a successful businessman, or so he thinks, he finds himself in an open-air space where a computer voice tells him he needs to work an ancient grist mill. How did he get there? Is this some kind of perverse demotion? Who knows! It’s all very Sisyphean, really, other than the fact that he’s not pushing the stone up a hill (circles aren’t much better)… and that there are screams and whispers coming from all around.
Joe works for Mallard, a mega-corporation that obviously has some wacky ideas about “advanced career training.” Joe also really wants to get home to his wife. Director Sean King O’Grady said in a statement, “Joe’s tale isn’t merely topical—it’s universal. It’s about feeling trapped in a system that takes more than it gives, feeling like a replaceable cog in a lifeless machine. Have you ever felt powerless or exploited in this way? Do you right now?”
Just some light questions for your mid-week trailer-watching! The Mill is written by Jeffrey David Thomas (Titans) and also stars Pat Healy, Karen Obilom, Patrick Fischler, some doomy-as-hell lighting, and productivity graphics that are enough to give a person nightmares.
The Mill begins streaming as part of Huluween on October 9th.
This post was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
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