Aahana Swrup
The Netflix workplace comedy show ‘Unstable’ follows a father-son duo who are compelled to work together despite their dysfunctional relationship. Ellis Dragon, an eccentric billionaire, heads a biotechnology company that relies on his genius to keep going. Therefore, once his wife dies, leaving him off-center, his socially awkward son, Jackson, has to step in and save him from careening into disaster. The duo’s dynamic continues into season 2, further aggravated by Ellis’ pressing need to find a replacement for the future of his company, Dragon.
The earliest step into the same arrives with BioTexpo, a biotechnology conference for which Ellis needs to choose a speaker: his son, Jackson, or the highly-qualified Peter Martin. As the storyline leads down chaotic spirals, the central conference invites intrigue about its basis in reality.
BioTexpo: A Fictitious Conference for a Real Industry
As a sitcom, ‘Unstable’ fictionalizes most of its narrative elements to bring its comedic storylines to life. A lot of such instances are rendered entirely to one-off jokes or references. While BioTexpo—a fictitious conference—is utilized in part within the same confines, it also ends up having a purpose within the plot. The show centers around Dragon’s biotechnology office, assigning significant relevance to the inner workings of the industry to create a natural habitat for its tale. BioTexpo plays a crucial role within this environment as it becomes a touchstone to measure Ellis’ dynamics with Jackson and Peter in season 2.
Therefore, even though the viewers never get to experience the conference as it is explored, it remains an instrumental part of the narrative in Ellis’ decision of who would one day ascend him as the head of Dragon. Consequently, since it has an extended bearing on the plot, it isn’t an entirely fictionalized concept. Like any other industry, biotechnology also has several expos and conferences worldwide, where companies can showcase their future plans and promises. Some notable examples of this can be found in Biopharm America or the Biotech Showcase and others that serve as significant annual spots of convergence for investors, companies, and others involved in the industry.
Yet, even though one may be able to find a conference or an event that sports a similar name to BioTexpo, the internationally relevant conference showcased in ‘Unstable’ remains confined to its fictional narrative. Within the show, BioTexpo simply serves the purpose of providing a climatic goal for the characters to accomplish in relation to their professional lives. For the same reason, while there are multiple storylines leading up to the expo, the event itself is never depicted on screen. As such, while biotechnology conferences are a common occurrence in real life, the BioTexpo event is a fictional element exclusive to ‘Unstable,’ which holds no relation to a real-life conference.
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