The serialization builds on the success of the movie, which was watched by more than 2.6 million people in the theaters and snagged a number of coveted awards including a Piala Citra for best original story at the Indonesian Film Festival (FFI) last year.

Premiering exclusively on the streaming service on Wednesday, Cek Toko Sebelah the Series is currently in its first 12-episode season, with new episodes airing every Monday and Wednesday at approximately 20 to 25 minutes each.

All actors from the movie reprise their roles for the series, including Ernest as Erwin, a high-rolling white-collar worker who helps run the humble mom-and-pop store owned by his father Koh Afuk (played by Malaysian actor Chew Kin Wah).

Faced with the onslaught of minimarket franchises and unproductive staff, Erwin decides that a modernization process is needed to keep the store afloat.

The plot closely mirrors the movie it is based on, being set as a slice-of-life in the middle of the movie’s plot rather than a stand-alone sequel or prequel.

Difficult employee: Stand-up comedian Yusril Fahriza (left) plays Naryo, a feminine, vaguely homosexual shop employee who refuses to do a task under the pretense of letting his clear nail polish dry. (Courtesy of PT. Kharisma Starvision Plus/-)

Ernest explains that the timeline of the series focuses on the one-month break that his character takes in the movie to take care of the store.

“In the movie, Erwin’s break wasn’t told in detail, so we zoomed in on that period of time and stretched that out to a full-fledged season,” Ernest said, adding that the series was considered a “sidequel” to the main movie.

Ernest, who wrote and directed the Cek Toko Sebelah movie retains his role as writer and director in the series. Joining Ernest as directors are stand-up comedians Arie Kriting and Bene Dion, who each directed four episodes.

According to Ernest, the decision to share directing duties came from an industry wide viewpoint, as he thought the Indonesian film industry needed a fresh batch of aspiring filmmakers for its future.

“Why three? Our film industry is continuously growing and needs new crewmembers, so we need a regeneration of sorts. We also have six writers on board, four of them new, so the answer is as simple as that.”

Even with Ernest sharing his roles, Cek Toko Sebelah manages to preserve its humorous tongue-in-cheek moments from the movie, as well as the little tidbits that made the movie such a box office success.

The character roster feels just as diverse without being forced, with most regions in Indonesia being represented. Accents and regional languages intermingle together, perhaps as a nod to Jakarta’s melting pot of various ethnicities living together in relative harmony.

The gang's back: The original cast of Cek Toko Sebelah reprise their role in the series. (Courtesy of PT. Kharisma Starvision Plus/-)

Even jokes that touch on ethnic and racial identity receive a pass, most notably in Erwin reprimanding his employee Kuncoro (Dodit Mulyanto) for spending his time flirting with Tini (Arafah Rianti), the employee of the competing store next door.

“Even the Great Wall of China cannot stop us from loving each other,” Kuncoro proclaims proudly, to which Erwin replies that he did not have to bring China into the conversation.

Realizing that Erwin is of Chinese descent, Kuncoro sheepishly apologizes, offering a substitute to the phrase as ‘The Great Wall of Tiongkok” – a more politically correct form of addressing China.

However, Cek Toko Sebelah does not shy away from cheap laughs from stereotypical subjects as well, most notably in the character of Naryo (Yusril Fahriza), a feminine, vaguely homosexual character who spends his time gossiping with customers and refusing to do a task under the pretense of letting his clear nail polish dry.

All jokes aside, Cek Toko Sebelah also deals with heavier themes underneath its barrage of jokes, such as modernized minimarket chains outselling small family owned businesses. 

The topic of family itself is also discussed, mainly in the dynamics of Erwin’s family, such as Afuk refusing to sell the store because of its significance to the family’s history, the bitterness felt by Afuk’s eldest son, Yoan (Dion Wiyoko), over being passed over, and Erwin’s own dilemma between running the store he grew fond of or leaving to take up a promotion in his day job.

All in all, Cek Toko Sebelah the series is a promising entry in Ernest’s budding repertoire, and only time will tell if viewers will love the small screen adaptation as much as they did the movie.