I was walking through the living room a while back and caught a bit of what my wife was watching on the television. There were a couple of silly jokes and a bit of wacky interactions between seemingly different people. So, as is my norm, I stopped to see what it was that caught my attention. It was a new workplace sitcom called “DMV,” about a group of individuals working at a Department of Motor Vehicles office, and it got me thinking. The setting was new to me. The actors, some of whom I had seen in other shows, were a diverse and goofy group of people. But it was familiar, also.
Workplace comedies are usually formulaic. In general, that means there is a common set-up or pattern to the show. First, and maybe most important to the success of the show, is that almost all workplace sitcoms are character-driven. We keep returning each week because we love or despise a character … maybe both at the same time. Why do we love/hate these characters? It is likely because they are relatable. We recognize ourselves in the many words and actions of these people. According to the website https://industrialscripts.com/workplace-comedy/, there are certain archetypes of characters that appear in workplace comedies. They include, but are not limited to:
• The Voice of Reason: That level-headed person that always seems to suggest the right thing to do but usually is ignored.
• The Adult Child: The co-worker who doesn’t always take his job, or life, seriously. And the ones that usually suffer from the immaturity are their co-workers.
• The Innocent: That person who just seems to not understand that life and work include unpleasant people and situations. They are generally naive and idealistic.
• The Gruff: Usually grouchy and almost always negative. But, they usually end up showing at some point in the show that they have a heart-of-gold hidden away.
• The Know-it-all: We all know one. That person who, for whatever reason, believes they have the answer to everything … and most importantly, is intent on sharing that knowledge whenever they can.
This is not an exhaustive list by any means. But you are likely to find a couple of these in every single successful workplace situation comedy.
Later, I began thinking of all the great sitcoms that I enjoyed as a child and young adult. They impacted me in a variety of ways and, like most media, influenced the way I think about the world.
An early show that shaped how I view women in society, and that impacted me as a husband and girl-dad, was the television newsroom comedy “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” It was way ahead of its time in an era of overt workplace discrimination against females. The single and independent main character of Mary Richards took on the male-dominated world of television news head on. The show broke down stereotypes and was a touchstone to the ongoing women’s rights movement of the 1970s. And it was funny.
The 1980s introduced me to “Cheers.” A local bar offers many opportunities at character development because, well, there are usually a lot of “characters” in a local pub. This specific group included the main character, bartender Sam Malone, who, ironically, was a recovering alcoholic and did not drink. Surrounding him were a variety of well-meaning oddballs such as the know-it-all mailman Cliff Claven, the jolly “Norrrrmm,” Sam’s love interest Diane Chambers, and characters played by future stars Woody Harrelson and Kelsey Grammer, who had his own Cheers spinoff, “Frasier.” My general takeaway from “Cheers” is that it represents the reality that not everybody has a traditional family and, when you don’t, it is always possible to find a chosen family … even at a bar.
I was also a big fan of many other workplace comedies in my younger years. They include police comedy “Barney Milller,” newsmagazine show “Murphy Brown,” the self-described “News Radio,” Michael J. Fox as a political operative in “Spin City,” and the nocturnal goofiness of “Night Court” (the original).
Many of these shows can still be watched on the different cable and streaming options available.
As you may have guessed, I still love good sitcoms and many recent ones (generally meaning airing in the 21st century) are of the workplace variety. In no particular order, I recommend:
“The Office” - The OG. The ultimate co-mingling of zany characters and inappropriate behavior.
“Parks and Rec” - Misfits trying to survive working for the local government.
“Superstore” - The unpredictable world of Walmart-type retail employees.
“Abbott Elementary” - Something close to my heart … teachers and administrators trying to serve kids while being continuously bombarded with difficulties and barriers.
And my personal favorite …
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” - The silly, but often thought-provoking, world of misfit cops trying to live their lives as normal as possible while dealing with their dangerous jobs and workplace mayhem. Their annual “Halloween Heist” episodes are gold.
So, when life at your own job gets you down, take a half-hour or so and enjoy a few laughs at the expense of others. n
