In the first episode the realisation of how far he's fallen in terms of career viability really hits him hard. He bowls up to LA's famous outdoor theater The Greek, which holds 6000 people, feelin' confident and leaves utterly crestfallen.
Looking out at the endless rows of empty seats his spirits begin to damper but it's only after a string of meetings with booking agents that the idea of utter failure and humiliation begins to resemble something more than an oblique possibility in his head.
"This is a little bit crazy," one agent says to him from the stage after learning he's already booked and paid for the massive venue. "I would not do this."
Another asks if he has a catch phrase and is answered with a befuddled stare. "Well, I say 'prick' a lot," he replies. Delighted, the agent beams, "So you're the Prick comedian!".
Another strongly suggests that to make it big he'll need to change his surname.
"Romesh Rang has a nice ring to it," she says, oblivious to the pun. "I'll call you, if you miss the call I'm sure someone will tell you that Romesh rang," he quips, ending the meeting.
The dream is broken. "This is a nightmare," he says to camera before heading to a taco hut for some comfort food.
While you can't believe everything you see in this style of show - it is a show after all - Ranganathan is obviously burdened by the very real weight of his task. He sighs a lot. He desperately looks for answers, or at least hope, but finds none. Not even amongst his fellow comedians.
That night he rolls up to a number of comedy clubs and attempts to get some stage time. In the UK he'd be welcomed in, celebrated, cheered. Here, he can't even get past the doormen.
A last resort sees him trying to get a 5-minute slot in a show being held in the back of a sex shop. After talking to the guy inside he slumps back to the street where his camera crew's waiting.
"He shushed me at one point," he says, defeated. "He says to me, 'I can't get you on,' then he looked down and there's a dildo right there. It makes is sadder somehow."
It's almost midnight. Getting out of the Uber he sums up the night as an "abject failure," tells the crew he's getting some food and disappears glumly into the night.
After making a pal, Jose his cheery server at the taco hut, he's a bit more hopeful it'll work out and tries again in earnest to get going. He needs to find a house before his family and uncle arrive and he needs to get cracking selling tickets.
To that end he cringes his way through a meeting with Social Media experts, attempts a hilariously misguided viral stunt with his uncle and tries to connect with famous American comedian Jim Norton whose path he keeps crossing. Trouble is, Norton doesn't know who he is and particularly care to.
"I saw how charming and wonderful Jim Norton can be when he doesn't think you're an ass****," he says after a painfully cringey conversation at a comedy club. "And then Pauly Shore left and I was reminded of what he thinks of me."
I don't yet know if America embraces Ranganathan and his dry wit and I don't know if he gets a standing ovation or the bum's rush at his big gig at The Greek. But so far, it's been extremely funny watching him fail.
