The storied career of music-video-director-turned-explosion-documenter McG is an ever-evolving beast, constantly shifting as he McGs his way into the world. One day, he’ll be adapting a Spanish mystery series; the next, he’s jetted off to investigate the life of poet and illustrator Shel Silverstein. McG is like a shark, unable to ever stop moving, lest the last few letters of his name finally escape his gravitational pull and fly off into space to join their departed kin. Still, even a three-letter whirling dervish can develop affection for his old stomping grounds, and so it’s not entirely surprising that he’s once again working with ABC Family, his partners on the upcoming Mortal Instruments adaptation Shadowhunters, for another new series, a workplace comedy called Kevin From Work.
The show is set in a corporate environment, where a white-collar worker pines for his cubicle mate, despite her attachment to her jerk of a boyfriend. “Isn’t that just The Office?” you ask, inevitably, but McG is already ahead of you, riding the zeitgeist forward like a surfer hanging ten on the edge of tomorrow (who, remember, is also still a shark). “I stay in touch with what’s compelling in current culture,” the director and producer told reporters at the Television Critic Association meeting this week, adding, “Today, kids like Snapchat, there’s Donald Trump, you listen to Nirvana or Flume and what comes out is Kevin From Work.” So there you go: If somebody stops you on the street to ask you what Kevin From Work is about—a constant problem on our modern, McG-obsessed streets— now you have an answer. Nirvana, Donald Trump, and Snapchat, all condensed into a relatable workplace romance, which debuts on ABC Family on August 12.