The season 2 opener of NBC comedy American Auto left off with CEO Katherine (played by the never-not-funny Ana Gasteyer) making a rare heroic choice to sacrifice her generous severance package in the hopes of saving her team. Now, with 6 months left before they're all on the chopping block, the team at Payne Motors must dig themselves out of the recall-sized hole they made for themselves. In order to accomplish this, Katherine brought in the services of crisis manager Ian (Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet).
American Auto is the latest workplace comedy from Justin Spitzer, who was responsible for the beloved Superstore. The ensemble of employees is really what lies at the heart of the series, and it includes Harriet Dyer, Jon Barinholtz, Humphrey Ker, Michael B. Washington, Tye White, and X Mayo. Spitzer gushed to Screen Rant about Stonestreet's guest role in season 2, explaining, “We were so excited to have Eric us for season two of American Auto. We really enjoyed seeing him bring the character of Ian to life.” The clip below is proof of his words:
What To Expect From American Auto, "Most Hated CEO"
Screen Rant's exclusive clip from tonight's episode of American Auto, titled "Most Hated CEO," begins with Sadie (Dyer, The Invisible Man) stepping into Ian's makeshift office with a very important question. Though Ian apologizes for taking up her space (and her M&Ms), he very quickly changes tack when she brings up his complete 180 on Katherine making an apology video. He very candidly its that he stole her idea, which is merely one step in his overall plan to steal her job. Sadie is understandably left shell-shocked, and viewers are left wondering how she will fight back.
Elsewhere in this week's American Auto, Katherine has become the punchline of the late-night comedy circuit, which is precisely the reason Sadie wanted to try out an apology video. While Ian makes a show of tripping up his professional rival, Katherine asks Dori (X Mayo, who cut her teeth writing for The Daily Show) to tackle her social media and add some popularity points there. Naturally, Jack (White) and Cyrus (Washington) are compelled to help, which only makes things spin further out of control.
As the American Auto still above shows, Katherine does go through with an apology video and has her family in tow, but one can only assume things will get worse before they get better. The Hail Mary , of course, winds up being a Seth Meyers guest spot as the "Most Hated CEO" scores an interview with him to tell her side of the story. Whether she will win him and therefore America to her side has yet to be seen, but even if she does, Sadie still has to destroy Ian at work before he destroys her career.
American Auto airs Tuesdays at 8:30 pm ET/PT on NBC, with episodes available to stream on Peacock the day following their premieres.