REVIEW: ‘Partner Track’ Seals the Deal

Netflix dramedy isn’t always great. Sometimes the melodrama overwhelms like Emily in Paris, and other times the push toward social commentary is executed as deftly as someone using a catcher’s mitt to sign their name like in Ginny & Georgia. But somehow, the latest Netflix dramedy Partner Track manages to hit a near-perfect work-life balance between drama eccentricities and natural workplace commentary for a group of attorneys who definitely don’t look like the people around them. The series showrunner and writer is Georgia Lee, with Directors Tanya Wexler, Adam Brooks, Lily Mariye, and Kevin Berlandi serving as series directors. The series stars Arden Cho, Bradley Gibson, Alexandra Turshen, Rob Heaps, Matthew Rauch, Nolan Gerard Funk, Dominic Sherwood, and Roby Attal.

Partner Track follows Ingrid Yun, a 1st generation Korean American and the first lawyer in her family, as she tries to make Partner at her prestigious law firm. While this isn’t a case of the week series, audiences get to watch Ingrid experience the trials and tribulations of excelling at Parsons Valentine, where she constantly has to assert her value, talent, and intelligence to the men she’s surrounded by. However, with the support of her friends, she battles through workplace challenges to break through the glass ceiling on her path to becoming Partner. That said, Ingrid doesn’t just have to make her way up the lawyer ladder; she also has to find space in her life for romance too.

As a series, Partner Track deftly handles the ways of office microaggressions and the boulder-up-a-hill journey marginalized professionals face without managing to make the series a PSA for workplace discrimination. Why is this important? Because oftentimes, workplace discrimination as portrayed on TV is brash and in your face at all times. Sure, some of those moments happen here to really drive the point home, but for the overwhelming narrative conflict over 10 episodes, it all feels like a real experience. Having come from academia and into the tech sector, so many of the moments where Ingrid has to work harder and longer for half the praise feels like watching the women I know, and myself, on screen.

In addition to that, the series also manages to showcase that Ingrid isn’t the only person at her firm having a rough go. In fact, Partner Track takes time in a few episodes to map out how we need to look out for, well, the new “us” rising the ranks of our industries instead of icing them out or making them face the same tribulations we have. Ingrid’s realization of this is a subtle one, but one that allows the goal-oriented character to more than just push for Partner, but think about how she could help those around her, just like lawyer bros at the table do.

Partner Track also handles its romances well. There is a committed relationship between Tyler and his boyfriend, a love triangle, a fling, and they all showcase different ways people manage a high-stress job while also trying to make time for themselves and build intimacy. Add in some smart humor and intrigue, and boom, Partner Track seals the deal with a balance of legalese and an approachable dramedy for those not looking for a legal drama.

Partner Track is available now exclusively on Netflix.