Abhiroop Das
Co-created by Jeremy Garelick and Will Phelps, ‘Minimum Wage’ takes off as a new look at a quintessential teenage experience: working part-time, building friendships, and learning crucial life lessons. Across the Netflix comedy series, we follow seven teenagers working at the Slice Club, who are met with the devastating revelation that their outlet of the franchise is the only one underperforming. To make things even more difficult, this bad news is delivered by none other than the founder and CEO himself, Terry Sylvester, who has all the power to shut this place down. However, the more time he spends with this band of misfits, the better he understands their bond and how it secretly makes them a dream team, inspiring even Sylvester, in their own unique way.
The Slice Club Was Filmed at a Makeshift Pizzeria in Liverpool, New York
The Slice Club is a fictional pizzeria created by the writing team of ‘Minimum Wage,’ spearheaded by Jeremy Garelick and Will Phelps, and including the entire main cast of the show. The origins of this invented pizzeria can be traced back to the ‘Minimum Wage’ YouTube shorts series by the main cast, who are perhaps best known online as the creators of American High Shorts. The humorous series largely relies on the same comedic beats, following a group of eccentric teenagers as they try to keep their workplace up and running. While the series started out as a small production filming in a real pizzeria after business hours, the creative spirit has been carried forward in the making of the Netflix series, perhaps most visibly in how the show is lensed in a real restaurant.
The real building used as The Slice Club on the show happens to be a former Limp Lizard barbecue restaurant. Fans can check it out at 201 1st Street, in Liverpool, New York, near Syracuse. The American High group purchased the property and converted it into the fictional pizza shop for filming what was originally envisioned as a YouTube mini-series. However, after taping eight episodes on-site, Phelps and team began considering whether the story could be turned into a full-on show, which is how the collaboration with Netflix came to be. The fact that the building was redesigned as a pizzeria gives it a uniquely authentic feel, as audiences get familiarized with every nook and cranny of this pizza place, its kitchen, tables, and even the exterior signage.
Terry Sylvester is a Show-Only Addition to the Original Ensemble
Much like The Slice Club is a creative construct, Terry Sylvester is a fictional CEO created specifically for the show. What makes him unique in his own right, though, is that he wasn’t created as a part of the cast for the original YouTube series. Rather, he is a later addition to the plot, appearing in the show as a subversive mentor figure of sorts. Actor Randall Park steps into the show alongside the original ensemble to play the eccentric owner of The Slice Club, while also doubling as a narrative counterweight to the teen characters. The really funny thing about his arc, though, is that he is far from a wise, well-equipped CEO-figure that we are initially led to believe. Instead, Sylvester’s personal life turns out to be just as messy as anyone else’s, leading to many interesting subplots.
The character’s appeal, then, comes from the contrast between his role as the authority and all the goofy stunts he ends up pulling. In a way, that makes him reminiscent of other characters who have come to define this archetype, be it Michael Scott from ‘The Office‘ or Ted Lasso from the show of the same name. While Sylvester most likely isn’t based on any particular CEO of a pizzeria chain store, he does help give the show a more realistic touch. Through his role in the narrative, we get a diverse perspective on how such a franchise is run, how wages, marketing, and customer satisfaction are managed, and the difficult decisions that come along the way. Ultimately, though, this is a show about teenagers and their side of the story, and characters like Sylvester help set the field.
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