Pyramid Scheme
A character gets conned into joining a pyramid scheme and tries to sell crappy products to everyone. Often they're successful, but they decide to quit because it takes too much work.
The Office (US)
Appearances
- Newhart: Season 3, episode 5, "But Seriously, Beavers" (1984). Stephanie thinks she's scored a bunch of makeup for free, but she actually signed up for a pyramid scheme where she has to sell the makeup or pay over $600 (over $1,800 today) for it.
- Domestic Life: Episode 10, "Harold at Bat" (1984). Candy starts selling products for an MLM company, and she practices her demonstration for Didi.
- ALF: Season 1, episode 5, "Keepin' the Faith" (1986). ALF feels like a freeloader, so he decides to get a job. He answers an ad in the paper that turns out to be a cosmetics pyramid scheme.
- It's a Living: Season 4, episode 17, "Amy's Rusty" (1987). A multi-level marketing company holds an event at the restaurant, and one of the salesmen talks Dot into signing up. Soon she's trying to sell shoddy skincare products to the rest of the staff.
- Night Court: Season 7, episode 2, "If I Were a Rich Man" (1989). Quon Le starts selling "Bonnie Fay" cosmetics and ends up with 15 cases of products that she has to sell or pay $6,000 for. She plans to hold a "makeup party" in the cafeteria in the courthouse, but gets violently ill just before the party, so Mac has to host it.
- Peep Show: Season 1, episode 2, "The Interview" (2003). Toni invites Jeremy over, and he thinks they're going to have sex, but instead, she gives him her sales pitch for a pyramid scheme, which she claims is "definitely not pyramid selling," and Jeremy is so impressionable that he buys in right away.
- The Office (US): Season 2, episode 19, "Michael's Birthday" (2006). Michael gives a presentation at the conference room about selling calling cards with some guy named Phil. While he's trying to explain to Jim why it's not a pyramid scheme, Jim gets up and draws a triangle around his diagram to show that it is.
- The Goldbergs: Season 1, episode 9, "Stop Arguing & Start Thanking" (2013). Murray's brother, Marvin comes over for Thanksgiving, and he asks Murray to invest in a cosmetics business, which turns out to be a pyramid scheme, and it makes Murray so angry that their fight almost ruins the holiday.