Last night, CBS debuted its new sitcom , about Outdoor Limits, an outdoor-focused magazine making the transition from a print-dominated past to a digitally-driven future. (Sound familiar?) The show stars Joel McHale as Jack Gordon, a grizzled, well-traveled correspondent called back from the hinterlands by the magazine’s owner and dropped into a screen-lit open office manned by pasty millennials. Because the show looked so, well, familiar, the staff at ϳԹ decided to fact-check the premiere to see just how accurate it was. Here are the results.
1. The office features a climbing wall.
False! We can’t fit a climbing wall in our HQ (at least not since we converted the gym to a photo studio). So we use in-office fingerboards.
2. The office is filled with millennials with patchy beards.
Partly true! Though a few of our editors look like they're wearing mangy squirrels on their faces when they grow their beards out, 's beard is astoundingly full. You could clean a camp stove with it. As for millennials, the running tally is 14. Out of 18.
3. We drink whiskey during pivotal conversations.
False! This is New Mexico. Tequila is our beverage of choice.
4. Staff writers are out of touch and snarky as hell.
Half true! Though 's wit is biting, his is approximately 200 percent stronger than anyone else's.
5. The kitchen is stocked with MREs.
False! We’re energy-bar people.
6. Everyone wears down or fleece vests.
True! Though , our resident expert, had this to say of Gordon’s pleated down vest: “That’s way too posh.” (Note: At that very moment, Judd was wearing a suspiciously nice vest.)
7. Everyone drinks out of a Hydro Flask.
True! Well, either a Hydro Flask or a Yeti tumbler.
8. Staffers carry annoyingly technical bags wherever they go.
True! We’re easy to spot at the bar.
9. The website is only interested in publishing stories like “Five Things to Do if You’re Attacked By a Bear.”
Ouch! Recent articles on our site include “What Todd Orr’s Mauling Teaches Us About Bear Attacks” and “What’s in Bear Spray?” But we maintain that both were serious and important pieces of journalism. Also, we recently declined to cover the . For the record: doing so was really, really hard.
And we have to admit: that climbing wall would be a pretty nice addition.