Sandra Oh in a puffer jacket, looking perpetually stressed while navigating the crumbling architecture of a fictional Ivy League-adjacent university, is basically a mood for anyone who has ever worked in a dying industry. When The Chair hit Netflix, it didn't just dump a bunch of high-profile actors into a room; it curated a very specific, high-IQ vibe. Honestly, the cast of The Chair is the only reason the show manages to balance the sharp, biting satire of "cancel culture" with the genuine heartbreak of watching an old guard realize they're no longer the smartest people in the room.
It’s a short series. Six episodes. You can inhale it in a Saturday afternoon. But the reason people are still googling the actors years later is that the chemistry felt lived-in. It felt like these people had been grading papers in windowless offices for thirty years.
Sandra Oh is the Glue
Sandra Oh plays Ji-Yoon Kim. She’s the first woman—and first person of color—to chair the English department at Pembroke University. If you’ve seen her in Killing Eve or Grey’s Anatomy, you know she does "frenetic energy" better than almost anyone in Hollywood. In this show, she’s the bridge. She has to bridge the gap between the Dean (who only cares about endowments), the aging faculty (who can’t use email), and the students (who are ready to burn the whole place down over a bad joke).
Ji-Yoon isn't just a girlboss trope. She’s struggling. Her father doesn't speak English well, her adopted daughter is acting out, and her department is a financial black hole. Oh’s performance is subtle. It’s in the way she winces when a colleague says something slightly racist but "well-intentioned." It’s a masterclass in internalizing professional frustration.
Jay Duplass and the "Messy Academic" Archetype
Then there’s Bill Dobson. Jay Duplass plays him with this specific kind of disheveled, "I’m too smart to brush my hair" energy that exists in every liberal arts college in America. Bill is a superstar professor. He’s also grieving his wife, drinking too much, and accidentally inciting a campus-wide protest by making a Nazi salute during a lecture on absurdism.
Bad move, Bill.
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The dynamic between Duplass and Oh is the heart of the show. It’s not a standard "will they, won’t they" romance. It’s more of a "we are the only two people who understand each other, but you are making my life a living hell" situation. Duplass, known for his work in the indie "mumblecore" scene, brings a groundedness that makes Bill sympathetic even when he’s being an absolute idiot.
The Old Guard: Holland Taylor and Bob Balaban
This is where the cast of The Chair gets really interesting. The show creators—Amanda Peet and Annie Julia Wyman—brought in heavy hitters to play the senior faculty.
- Holland Taylor as Joan Hambling: Joan is a legend. She’s been at Pembroke for decades, relegated to an office in the basement next to the gym. Taylor plays her with a mix of righteous fury and hilarious eccentricity. She’s the feminist trailblazer who realizes the new generation of feminists doesn't actually like her.
- Bob Balaban as Elliot Rentz: If you need someone to play a dry, slightly pompous academic who is terrified of change, you call Bob Balaban. He’s the antagonist, sort of. He represents the tradition that is suffocating the department. His rivalry with the younger, more popular Professor Yaz McKay is painful to watch because he truly believes he’s the one being wronged.
Watching these two interact with the "modern world" provides most of the show's dark comedy. They aren't villains; they're just fossils.
Nana Mensah and the Future of Pembroke
Nana Mensah plays Yaz McKay. She’s the star. The students love her. She’s teaching Moby Dick through the lens of modern power structures, and she’s the one Ji-Yoon is desperately trying to keep at the university. Mensah brings a necessary coolness to the cast. While everyone else is spiraling, Yaz is just trying to do her job and get tenure without being exploited as the "diversity hire" for every committee meeting.
Her presence highlights the absurdity of the older characters. When she’s on screen, the stakes feel real because she’s the one with the most to lose.
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The Supporting Players You Might Recognize
The rest of the cast of The Chair is filled with faces you’ve definitely seen before if you watch enough prestige TV.
- David Morse as Dean Paul Larson: Morse is usually the "tough guy" or the "intimidating cop." Here, he’s a bureaucratic nightmare in a suit. He’s the personification of the "university as a corporation" model.
- Everly Carganilla as Ju-Hee (Ju-Ju): Ji-Yoon’s daughter. Child actors can be hit or miss, but she is genuinely great. Her scenes with Jay Duplass are surprisingly tender.
- Ji-yong Lee as Habi: Ji-Yoon’s father. His relationship with his granddaughter and his daughter provides the cultural grounding the show needs to keep it from being just a workplace comedy.
Why the Casting Matters for SEO and Discovery
When we talk about the cast of The Chair, we aren't just listing names for an IMDb trivia page. The casting is the message. By putting a powerhouse like Sandra Oh at the center and surrounding her with comedic veterans like Holland Taylor and indie darlings like Jay Duplass, the show signals that it’s high-brow but accessible.
Google tends to surface these types of articles because people often search for "Who plays the old lady in The Chair?" or "Is Jay Duplass really a professor?" (He’s not, but he definitely looks like one). The show’s longevity in the digital space comes from these specific performances.
The Controversy of the Narrative
Some critics argued the show was too soft on the "Bill Dobson" character. Others thought it was too hard on the students. But the cast handled the nuance well. You don't walk away hating anyone completely. You just feel sorry for how broken the system is.
The show tackles "Cancel Culture" without being a preachy op-ed. It does this by making the characters human. When Bill messes up, you see his grief. When the students protest, you see their genuine desire for a better world, even if they're occasionally misguided in their targets.
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Practical Takeaways for Fans of the Cast
If you loved the cast of The Chair, there are a few things you should check out next to see these actors in similar "smart people in messy situations" roles:
- For more Sandra Oh: Watch Quiz Lady (2023) on Hulu. She plays the complete opposite of Ji-Yoon Kim—a chaotic, over-the-top sister to Awkwafina’s repressed character. It shows her range.
- For more Jay Duplass: Dive into Transparent or his directorial work like Cyrus. He specializes in the "flawed but lovable" man-child.
- For more Holland Taylor: She’s iconic in The Truman Show and Legally Blonde, but her recent work in The Morning Show carries that same "formidable woman" energy.
- For Nana Mensah: Check out Queen of Glory, which she wrote, directed, and starred in. It’s a brilliant indie film that proves she’s a major force behind the camera as well.
The reality of The Chair is that it likely won’t get a second season. Netflix has been quiet, and the story felt like a contained "limited series" even if it wasn't officially billed as one. But as a snapshot of academic life in the 2020s, it’s perfect. The casting directors—Douglas Aibel and Henry Russell Bergstein—deserve an award for putting this specific group together.
If you're looking to understand the modern American university, or if you just want to see Sandra Oh trip over a chair in a moment of physical comedy gold, this is the show. It’s smart, it’s short, and the acting is top-tier.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
To get the most out of your re-watch or first viewing, pay attention to the background actors in the classroom scenes. Many of them were actual students or locals in Pittsburgh (where it was filmed), which adds to that authentic campus "drabness." You can also look up the filming locations at Washington & Jefferson College to see where the beautiful (and crumbling) Pembroke University exists in real life. Finally, follow Nana Mensah’s career closely; her trajectory after this show has been one of the most interesting to watch in the industry.