"In the novel, the decision to work overtime leads to her downfall: She becomes addicted to work, ends up in the hospital and loses a new beau, who has a decidedly more relaxed attitude toward his own job. But on the TV show, which began airing in April, Ms. Higashiyama is destined for a happier fate, said the producers"
They're subverting the novel and using it as a tool to support the obsession with putting in more hours, not avoid it, apparently.
But I will tell you an actual and more direct example. The recently elected president of Ukraine LITERALLY is a comedian who was the star of a show where he plays the President of Ukraine! He had very little in the way of policies, but a lot of sharp humor, criticism of Poroshenko and the fact that many people routinely could see him on TV being the “President”!
It was one of the first, if not the first, portrayal of a black woman on television in a non-stereotypical, non-subservient role, even if it was just secretarial duty on a spaceship.
[0]https://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132942461/Star-Treks-Uhura-Re...
Showing the idea to a broad audience on tv is actually one way to do this.
(although there are ways this can backfire)