The Death of the Workplace Sitcom (Capitalism Killed It)

When did work stop being funny -- or even fun? While the workplace drama has performed consistently well, the workplace comedy has a much more fickle history -- one that closely mirrors our evolving relationship to capitalism. Fundamentally, our willingness to spend twenty-two minutes joking around in someone else’s office has a lot to do with how we feel about our own jobs.
So how has the workplace comedy tracked the shift in the American economy, and what does it reveal about our feeling of being trapped like a cog in the capitalist machine?
Support The Take:
Shop our Limited Edition Merch: www.the-take.com/shop
Support our channel and look great doing it with Take t-shirts, hoodies, and more!
If you like this video, subscribe to our channel and support us by:
Joining our Patreon: / thetake vote on the topic we cover next, gain early access to videos and much more!
Follow The Take:
Facebook: / thisisthetake
Instagram: / thisisthetake
Snap: / 6898188394
Twitter: / thisisthetake
Website: the-take.com/
We are The Take (formerly ScreenPrism).

[@podtastic3429]

“If jobs were fun they wouldn’t pay us to do it” Bruh that hit me

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

Truth

[@gummy5862]

Sort of? That’s like saying if school was fun, they wouldn’t force us by law to attend and yet people definitely have fun in school.

[@cassanateli]

You’re easily impressed lol

[@gummy5862]

@flower meadows no dur

[@missnoneofyourbusiness]

@Erwin Lii I looked it up because it seemed interesting* and the first thing that jumped to sight was the aesthetics. It made me realize how stereotypically 2000s corporate The Office is, and how Parks and Recreation is kind of a transition to the 2010s where these corporations are becoming less human but are also trying very hard to seem more human, AND how there's a whole new corporate aesthetic that follows that logic and where your office looks like an ikea fridge if you're poor or like a gymboree if you're rich. *Thank you! May I suggest: "Pan American Machinery" (2016). It's about a bunch of workers that find out their boss died and there's no money for their unemployment checks so they progressively go nuts. It's promoted as dark comedy but to me it's closer to a horror film because it's way too real. At least it's real if you're in Latin America but I definitely see that happening anywhere.

[@CaraMarie13]

Workplace family... People, your coworkers are not your family. Bonding and getting along with coworkers is great but it can also tie you down to a place that don't like.

[@bic00]

Exactly. Plus, for years now companies have coopted the "family" concept, which now means you have to accept and go through shit because "we're a family".

[@kjmusic99]

not to mention that actual blood related relatives or adopted families can already be toxic, so i'm calling bullshit on the word "family" unless everyone genuinely and unconditionally loves each other. at least that's where my inner pessimist draws the line either way.

[@hornedhare]

it's just something that capitalism co-opted from the everyday worker It used to be a tool that we would use to organize and get better working conditions and now its just a hook to make sure everyone stays in line. At the end of the day you're not going to make "trouble" for your family.

[@biljam972]

Right? Bunch of strangers chosen by HR are my family? I don't think so.

[@catgirl6803]

And when you leave a job you never hear from them again, proving they didn’t really care about you beyond the office walls. A lot of workplaces will also have coworkers competing or rules will be too strict so that if someone makes a mistake they’ll quickly throw anyone under the bus.

[@alexandrakane7606]

"Watching the American dream die is just not that much fun." I did not expect this level of painful truth in my morning Take but I'll take it.

[@agnessofiacastrocarvalho774]

As brazilian laugh

[@fridaber6069]

"The American dream is more true in Scandinavia than in America" - Researcherers of economy, wealth and social mobility

[@jimmoriarty4530]

@@fridaber6069 they have more capitalist economy and more free market. There are also govt welfare programs funded by tax

[@shaunsteele8244]

except it died like 40 years ago, so nobody in this generation has watched it die

[@Logitah]

I wish we had a workplace comedy that takes place in an elementary school. There's tons and tons of material in that!

[@monmon-vk8rz]

Quinta Brunson actually has one coming out! Trailers looked really good

[@Logitah]

@@monmon-vk8rz Thanks for telling me! I really needed this!

[@Logitah]

@@monmon-vk8rz Also, I'm from northern Europe and this show seems way too relatable (schools are way too underfunded here too).

[@MsBloo]

@@monmon-vk8rz What is the name of the show you referenced?

[@LaVictoireRosee]

Mr. D is a great Canadian school teacher comedy. For highschool kids, I'd say Bad Education from the UK is fantastic.

[@yolandacarroll558]

At my old job on "Bring your kids to work day", once the kids saw what their parents actually did at work, they gave their parents the most pitying looks I'd ever seen. 😂 Yeah, it is kinda hard to make workplace sitcoms about some of our jobs now...

[@fernburb2550]

What was your old job?

[@madisonadams432]

Throughout the years, the Office and therapy and entry level office jobs got me through college to become a burn out but hopeful teacher. The office reminded me of co-workers and above all how miserable and anxious I felt every minute I was at an office job.

[@kasaitenma5546]

I really don't want to be that d*ck but it's Burnt out*. Burn outs don't have jobs

[@Alexisalive89]

@@kasaitenma5546 just out of curiosity, why do you correct people online? Not trying to instigate anything. I’m genuinely curious.

[@annaf4720]

Teachers tend to be very burned out too, and lots of teachers are miserable and anxious. A large proportion leave the profession within 5 years.

[@abbyabroad]

I left full-time teaching after 12 years but never hated my job or life. It’s nice to know I made a difference and had a huge “office” and a lot of creative control-despite all of the common negatives brought up. What’s the point of making a ton of money doing something you hate when it’s the place that you spend most of your waking hours?

[@mbanerjee5889]

Given the pandemic, I doubt there can ever be another workplace comedy since most are stuck working from home. Superstore was the only show that addressed real problems for essential workers. It was a very underrated show that handled serious issues with humor. It deserved more seasons.

[@gonesnake2337]

Most people don't work in offices or work from home situations. My guess is, very much as the video says, no one wants to watch the depressing reality that is work for most of the labour force.

[@losttrackoftimeagain]

I loooved Superstore. It only finished in March, but I already rewatched the entire thing. I loved the way it addressed issues that retail employees face. From Chanel and Amy's experiences with maternity leave to union busting by sending ICE to the store. The show deserved a lot more.

[@TimeQuxxn]

I mean, are you back in the office? Most people I know willingly went back or they do a hybrid model now. Have you noticed this trend in your office? Or is your company not allowing you to come back?

[@Missrere1984]

@@TimeQuxxn Most of the people I know enjoy working from home, a few people even said they'd find new jobs if their bosses made them go back to the office

[@TimeQuxxn]

@Miss-R-Lilac-1984 I have a few friends like that as well. The reason I asked is because I'm not too sure if OP actually works in an office or if they are critiquing office culture based on what they hear from adults in their life. Personally, u know many of my coworkers and neighbors chose to go back or do hybrid model working

[@moodyangel5]

Kims Convenience is not focused on the 'indignities of low-wage service jobs", it's mainly about the Kim's experiences as a Korean-Canadian family and the daily life as a convenience store owners and their kids.

[@Frosting1000]

Lol I think the show can do both

[@krombopulos_michael]

A lot of the time these videos seem to pluck examples completely out of their actual context in service of a point they want to make, and just hope that people don't have enough familiarity with most of the source material to really notice the problem.

[@YAMISOOLD2009]

I agree. They included it but I don't think they really watched it. The Handy Car Rental portion of the show is a bit more of a work place comedy but it is still mostly in service to Jung and his relationship to his girlfriend Shannon and best friend Kim Chi.

[@dandygardner9404]

Sneak attack

[@miche8868]

+

[@aarushisethi7993]

Just curious isn't Brooklyn 99 a workplace comedy of sorts? I thought it would have been in top 30.

[@lauramessy]

Brooklyn 99 is one of my favorite shows but let's be real nothing of that is realistic

[@sarahferenc5440]

I was wondering how it didn’t get a mention

[@Grace-mb8tb]

@@lauramessy isn’t that the point tho? I personally don’t watch tv for it to be realistic often. And the office and veep aren’t that realistic either in many ways lol

[@muchachx8067]

I feel like it is a workplace comedy but for me, it falls more under the cop show genre than anything else but yeah, I'd also say it's a workplace comedy sitcom, especially because of the whole work family thing.

[@lauramessy]

@@Grace-mb8tb well they're cops and it's a police sitcom, i think that says enough.

[@Dee-zv4ex]

I think part of the trouble sitcoms are having with representing and relating to the audience is that sitcoms need a happy ending and a core cast that’s throughout the show. But more and more people are losing their jobs and friends or have to jump from to another. I think the closest I’ve seen a comedic show do it well is Master of None and Bojack Horseman. But idk if anyone would consider them to be “workplace sitcoms”

[@BenHopkins1000]

At this point, I’d say the workplace comedy has died and gone to hell. Literally, in Helluva Boss’ case

[@MsBloo]

That show is amazing tho. Cant wait for season 2!

[@joshuaharris3039]

@@MsBloo same here!

[@CrimsonNineTail]

So happy you mentioned that series. Even those guys seem to be a better knit family than some of these guys. That's saying something.

[@antithoughtpolice7497]

It's me2's fault actually... People can't make jokes anymore at work for fear of being r3ported... The SJW getting a man fired for an elevator joke he made is the best example. Work isn't supposed to be fun, believe it or not, but when you can't say what you want when it's actually meaningless, it's beyond crazy times.

[@Wells13555]

@@CrimsonNineTail I don't want to sound like an ass but it's a father-daughter working with a husband and wife. Half the cast are quite literally family.

[@CarlaGReads]

Superstore is the SUPERIOR workplace comedy, and their season on covid hit so close to home and really represented what working in retail or customer service is like

[@klassycountryk]

I would totally watch a show about working from home for corporate America.

[@DebsFan101]

Same!

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

Problem is, lack of characters. You have an employee, a cat, an ex-husband.

[@gummy5862]

At best it would be some sort of short film or something. Idk I can’t see it running for more than three episodes max.

[@user-insight]

social distance on netflix i think touches on it

[@loveinseattle]

Going to the office before the pandemic felt like going to jail for 8 hrs a day.

[@AxxLAfriku]

ATTENTION BROTHER!!! I have two very very sweet girlfriends who I show off (I smell like 100 not-alive orangutans oh nooo) in my perfectly great videos that most people consider to be the reason of life! Thank you for you attention, dear dude kid love

[@batgurrl]

If you have a job in which you enjoy what you are doing it doesn’t feel like jail AT ALL

[@sachinsingh-in4ck]

It's really about perspective for example have you seen the movie intern with Anne Hathaway and Robert de Niro, Ben even after retirement still wants to go to an office cause he likes that he likes doing stuff outside of his house. So that's perspective.

[@aidankeohane3370]

I’m not saying work doesn’t suck. But I’ve seen Office Space and I’ve seen Shawshank Redemption, and if you told me I had to trade places with either Peter Gibbons or Andy Dufresne, I think I’m gonna take Peter lol

[@batgurrl]

@@aidankeohane3370 work doesn’t suck if you don’t hate your job. Plain and simple.

[@jennyrodriguez811]

I would love a deeper dive into Superstore, it's such an underrated show, in the literal way, because people use that word too liberally sometimes.

[@mbanerjee5889]

Yes!

[@faithh2366]

same it's such a good show that's been under the radar throughout its entire run

[@yourelovin]

such an underrated show. like FOR REAL

[@faithh2366]

@@yourelovin self aware, hilarious and incredibly rewatchable too imo, it's just my kind of show

[@mastersnet18]

It’s also pretty much the only show that shows a retail workplace rather than a white-collar workplace. The media has always been very classist. They prefer to show upper-middle class and upper-class lives above everyone else.

[@jessicavictoriacarrillo7254]

Mary Tyler Moore is a Silent Gen (turned 30 in 1970, making her birth in 1940). This feels so timely, speaking of Murphy Brown, can you do the Single Mom and Working Mom?

[@trinaq]

Yes, please! I'd love them to dissect the "Struggling Single Mother" trope, and how she's evolved from earlier iterations. Joyce Byers might be a prime example in recent years, since she struggles with money and having been abandoned by an abusive husband, yet the wellbeing of her sons always comes first.

[@larissabraz4056]

I worked two days in a technological gadgets store and I simply couldnt bare how toxic the place was

[@rohithpadikkal7082]

Could you elaborate?

[@89dungey]

I got rid of my cable in 2016. I just watch Netflix or KZbin it’s way easier when you only have 30 min to watch something direct that you actually want to see

[@xKrioxiaHD]

Good to know, very interesting and totally relevant to the video.

[@redwardranger7034]

If my country had shows like this instead of the typical rich boy poor girl love story, I'd be happy to watch TV again.

[@KittySnicker]

Get a VPN and the world is your TV!

[@redwardranger7034]

@@KittySnicker Have one and I'm still rewatching Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I wish we had shows like this instead of those annoying formulaic stories.

[@summerforever3251]

Lemme guess, are you from the Philippines?

[@availanila]

If you're talking about _Beautiful But Unlucky_ and _El Cuerpo Del Deseo_ you, my friend, are very wrong. Wrong!

[@availanila]

@@summerforever3251 oh my god! Them too!

[@johannageisel5390]

Let me pitch my new Workplace Sitcom idea: It's called "The Picket Line" and centers around a mismatched group of unionists, workers, activists, communists and punks, who start a strike at a company and - over the course of the first season - try to expand it into a general strike. It focuses on community action to get food to the striking crowd and protect them from eviction during the time of no pay.

[@AB-ou8ve]

Poetry.

[@StreetHierarchy]

"What is a family, anyway? They're just people who make you feel less alone and really loved." Has this woman ever actually been part of a family??

[@amsanchez1675]

Genuine question here: Do you have another definition of family? I'm personally against projecting familial relationships on to coworkers (because, y'know, you can get fired and that's that), but I'm curious if there's another way that one might define family.

[@KushKiki]

@@amsanchez1675 I think OP means that many people's families in fact make them feel alone and unloved, so the happy/loving family isn't everyone's experience.

[@jennterry6977]

I miss Superstore. I think it could have gone on for a few more seasons if America had stayed. I think people just want to see a more realistic view of the workplace. I thought the way Superstore ended showed that they did see each other as a family.

[@clautastic9186]

@Erwin Lii Love Ugly, Betty, Superstore and Mom so much! I feel I could have keep watching Mom and Superstore without the lead characters, mostly because the secondary characters were great.

[@jennterry6977]

@Erwin Lii yeah I think superstore was finding its rhythm without America when they pulled the plug. I loved the ending though. One of the best finales ever.

[@loverrlee]

Superstore was the only realistic workplace comedy I’d ever seen because it’s the only kind of job I’ve ever had…

[@zitronentee]

As Indonesian, I feel that my country need workplace sitcom. We produce too much dramas, too stupid dramas like telenovelas and cheesy romance. Many workplace scenes in our dramas are awful and unrealistic.

[@KittySnicker]

Get a VPN and the world will be your TV!

[@cluelesshani7968]

Same here in Philippines😭

[@aeoligarlic4024]

We can't, our TV stations cater towards the dumbass ignorant demography, and they intend to make them stuck in their loophole of stupidity by providing brain-rotting shows

[@lucianacaserta9563]

@@aeoligarlic4024 same in latinoamerica

[@alifgono]

The East on NET was the best we had (and it had ended for years) 😅

[@sanayachandar1274]

Scrubs focused more on sex than the workplace? That's highly inaccurate

[@lukeluke333lukeluke]

Agree! Glad I wasn't the only one that caught that.

[@longarmsgiraffe0955]

To be fair, most of what The Take says recently is highly inaccurate

[@starsign0805]

B99 just existing in the corner like 👀

[@claradrummond9789]

Oh, this kind of video is sooo much more interesting than those about celebrities and tiktok trends! (BTW, I've been thinking how The Office began as a sharp and politicaly incorrect critique of capitalism and it ended like a silly and well behaved capitalist fairy tale)

[@AvgJane19]

+

[@dasher2442]

Just like Parks & Rc began as a sharp critique of local government's needless bureaucracy and incompetent employees and then it turned into a silly and well-behaved "the good government workers can save us" fairy tale. It's really hard to avoid that trap unfortunately.

[@lmlittle90]

I’ve been thinking the same. It’s easy to take risks with pilots/early seasons, but as shows become more successful it becomes harder to criticize the system that is putting food on your table. Plots become less about story/character development and more about keeping ratings high/pleasing the higher ups. They don’t want to do anything too risky anymore. I suppose that is why so few shows are good after 3-5 seasons. They lose sight of what they originally wanted to say.

[@allabarkan671]

Agreed! I really enjoyed this video. Maybe it’s because I’m a millennial but I don’t care to psychoanalyze tik tok trends.

[@thomsboys77]

The Office started out as an Americanized remake of the British sitcom The Office. Nothing more

[@emilyglass6625]

This video reminded me of my reaction to Amy’s promotion on Superstore. Obviously she’s a wonderful character and you love seeing her feel confident enough to ambitiously pursue her own career advancement. But then the show wanted to be honest about how Corporate would use her to control and exploit her own friends and fellow workers. And I felt like they got stuck, wanting to give Amy a happy ending and celebrate her leadership ability… but like, knowing the promotion into the management of a big box store is probably, in fact a recipe for an even more toxic work life. I applaud them for trying, but the sadness and futility of it all really got to me.

[@MrJesse4792]

That is why shows about death and crime such as the Good Place and The Boys are so popular one is trying to understand what was the meaning of our existence and the other is a fantasy show in which the superpower individuals are given human traits which could be good or bad and so society wants to be in this grey area of the anti-hero.

[@ryukisgod2834]

I’m surprised Brooklyn Nine-Nine didn’t rate a mention

[@gabriellacardosopaiva417]

Cause it would ruin the video argument 🤣. It is a workplace sitcom and a huge success.

[@bexyPTX]

I have noticed that many of the workplace comedies of the past couple years have ended or are about to end like Superstore and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. It's so interesting how the general subject matter of TV shows has changed over time.

[@hellfish2309]

I heavily pushback on your assessment of Scrubs: “just sex”… while sex is featured a lot even by admission from the creators and cast, I don’t think anyone watching it in good faith would refer to the show as “just sex”… multiple medical professional organization have upheld the show as exemplary of some of most realistic workplace dynamics to professional medicine, digging into issues such as power dynamics, gender normatives and cultural conflicts of medicine between clinicians, administrators, and patients… now if you wanna argue that the silliness undercuts that assessment, that’s a fair argument, though you could paint that across all sitcoms… but writing off Scrubs as “just sex” comes off as myopic at best

[@Shuang_Shuang]

Totally agree, that part threw me off too

[@antithoughtpolice7497]

Plus, I blame me2 for some aspects. Men get fired for stupid jokes an S-J-W doesn't *like*. It's not actually offensive for clever jokes to be told at no real expense. The guy that fried for a joke about stopping at the lingerie store in an elevator with the gender studies teacher asking, "What floor?" Is the best example.

[@aeoligarlic4024]

Agree, there are other sitcoms that could be more fitting to be called "just sex", scrubs is definitely far from that definition, yes hookups are a thing in that show but that's that

[@chairwood44]

Yeah whoever comes up with the script for these videos is not very intelligent...

[@allabarkan671]

I absolutely loved Scrubs!

[@ofkaus]

Does Brooklyn 99 count as workplace sitcom ?

[@archer1949]

Definitely.

[@jennterry6977]

I think so.

[@KiraFriede]

I think so too. I don't think workplace sitcoms will die. As well as family or friendgroup sitcoms.

[@kennymarket2428]

It is. The Take doesn’t use actual facts. Just kind of say things and people for some reason believe them. Came back to see if this page was back to being good again. Nope.

[@LaCrownedGamer]

I just realized, as a person going into the education system, there aren't any shows about teachers. So much material. From balancing work and home life, having a secret life/ hiding parts of themselves to have fun and keep a job (I think of stories where teachers got fired for wearing a bikini to the beach because it is not a good role model -__- or having a picture with a solo cup at a party, etc) The parents, some good, some well.....not good, colleagues you may to your core disagree with, at least one of them is always trying to get you fired, government and big corporations try and persuade schools for things because of the potential of next generational consumers, how so much of America do not respect their teachers, how most teachers leave after 5 years of work because of the pressure and stress rom so many, to light hearted topics like field trips going haywire, prom, finals, graduation, etc. We have so many shows about teens and kids going to school but non from the opposite point of view of being a teacher.

[@jesseleeward2359]

Are the Big Bang Theory cast teachers?

[@LaCrownedGamer]

@@jesseleeward2359 I only watched the earlier seasons but from what I remember yes? Like they were PhD students or university teachers. But the show from what I remember rarely actually showed them at work it was more about their personal lives. When I say a show about teachers I mean something similar to the office etc. Because becoming a teacher in this day that is your life and often times your core identity ( which is why so many leave the profession because of the lackof freedom multiplied by constant pressure to be perfect) so I would like to see a show set in like middle school or high school but rather than it focusing in the students lives it's an adult show about teachers navigating this environment. ( I didn't put in elementary because for some reason a lot of parents get confused if it is a child's show if it is set anywhere near children and that can lead to outrage so I want to give it a fighting chance) I hope that makes sense haha

[@elektra121]

I don't know if it is available in English, but you should totally check out "Fuck you, Göthe!" - a German comedy about a relatable rogue freshly out of jail - by some strange coincidences and misunderstandings finding himself the new substitute teacher at his old school. The most relatable, true and heartwarming depiction of what it means to be a teacher I ever watched. And funny as hell.

[@Kilikan670]

I'd like to refer you to Boston Public. A phenomenal show...That you can't watch legally anywhere.

[@MichelleHell]

@@Kilikan670 I remember that show when it aired. I enjoyed it as a kid because it was more unfiltered than most other shows on air

[@victorio_retrogrado]

watching this while on the clock is me flipping the bird to capitalism

[@bluecollarlit]

Bless you. Working people, unite.

[@kktt725]

My boss makes a dollar, I make a dime. That’s why I watch this on company time!

[@MRCKify]

I'm coming to eat your lunch

[@florance333]

If you're not working at work, don't complain about not getting paid enough

[@victorio_retrogrado]

@@florance333 did you get lost or something?

[@ethanhechtner3619]

"Trial and Error" was a great anthology workplace mockumentary sitcom about murder trials that got cancelled. It was very underrated. Another cancelled and underrated workplace comedy is "Great News" which takes place at a tv news station.

[@ranvirsinghkanwar2940]

GenX invented work-life balance in the 1990s as they saw their Silent generation parents replaced by robots in factories. Friends may be there for you but employers won't.

[@YAMISOOLD2009]

Very true. People need to keep perspective on that.

[@acenull0]

"If jobs were fun they wouldn't pay us to do it" 😂😂😂TRUE AF

[@remyzins2703]

not true

[@mastersnet18]

@@remyzins2703 would you do your job for free?

[@remyzins2703]

@@mastersnet18 my ebooks are free. But your question doesn't address the subject. My point is most jobs don't have to not be fun. It's the exploitative owner class that squeezes us like lemons in exchange for money. Many could make jobs much funnier to do and still make money. Fun doesn't preclude profitability. Ask a male porn actor. Let's not embrace the slave's Stockholm syndrome

[@mastersnet18]

@@remyzins2703 ok… I don’t think prostitution is the answer for most people haha but it would be nice if more jobs were fun.

[@Kristyle11]

THANK YOU for including Girlfriends in your analysis!! Very appreciated! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@gabrielar9611]

Yes that was a pleasant surprise 🥲

[@bevanmorgan3946]

Scrubs was more about sex lives than work? I’m not convinced you’ve ever watched Scrubs tbh.

[@beautifullytee9444]

Definitely agree....I still enjoy watching scrubs on reruns now

[@Maellegasy]

Scrubs talked so much about the problems working in an hospital but okay...

[@robertshmurder6281]

Nah she only watched the last 3 seasons. It was good at first.

[@sigh824]

Maybe. The hospital was integral, but the romantic and sexual relationships are what drove most of the plots

[@DavidLopanjr]

I missed alot of these new shows..... I was at work. And yes my job sucks....

[@omniframe8612]

I was one of those weird 10 year old kids who loved Murphy Brown.

[@Madbandit77]

Me too.

[@jennterry6977]

Same. I watched with my mom. I think a lot of kids just like to watch workplace sitcoms to kind of get a fantasy idea of what adult life will be like.

[@Cauldron6]

Loved it too!

[@andrewcutler1380]

Yooooooo me too

[@tvariuness]

the only black workplace sitcoms i can think of were "the steve harvey show" and "the jamie foxx show." man we were left out of the fun lmaoo. ah, let's laugh at the racism.

[@shadowfoxx4]

Parts of Black-ish might count, also maybe martin but not really, living single sometimes There aren't many good examples

[@JeantheSecond]

“Watching the American dream die is just not that much fun.” Yikes. True.

[@blazehaze233]

ahhh i miss superstore so much

[@solitarysurreal3652]

I loved Brooklyn 99 when I first started watching it - the first 5 seasons are its peak. However the more I've looked at it recently, the more I've thought about how suffocating it would be to have your workmates as the centre of your professional, social and personal lives. Variety is the spice of life and all that... I mean a best friend or two that you make at work is awesome and perfectly natural. Maybe even an office romance (hey, Pam is the kind of woman I dream of being with!). But having friends/partners/family with whom you don't have to worry about business commitments or workplace matters...that is one of the core ways of staying sane and having healthy relationships. But an entire office/department/staffroom who do everything together and become the centre of each other's universe? Why would anybody sane want that?! Disagreements or contentions would suddenly make everything more difficult. Change and people moving on would become so much harder. Inevitably, many people would just wind up feeling stifled and frustrated for reasons that can't be pinpointed. One of the things I've started doing in recent years is not following most of my colleagues on social media. I still have them as "Friends", but I unsubscribe from their posts. It's a way of keeping the workplace at arm's length when I leave it at end of day.

[@PenelopeSnowe]

Best “workplace sitcom” is Archer. That’s the only one I can stomach.

[@RandomSkyeRoses]

Why?

[@hugitkissitloveit8640]

Brent highly disagrees 😅

[@PenelopeSnowe]

@@RandomSkyeRoses because it is actually funny lol

[@felisd]

Even pre-pandemic, none of my coworkers - at least not the ones I talked to regularly, would ever go to an office function (like the Christmas party, or a family day event) because, as they said, "I spend all day with you people, 5 days a week every week. I'd rather hang out with my friends in my off time". Definitely a far cry from the "work as family" mentality that they tried to showcase on old sitcoms.

[@annejohnson5875]

Maybe someday there will be a workplace comedy made for the covid era with characters interacting with each other over ZOOM meetings.

[@islagreenburg1145]

that actually funny ngl, i would still watch that

[@buffytheinternetbullyslayer]

Great idea 💡 I could see it as a Netflix series.

[@trinaq]

Precisely, even if we still regularly return to the office, I'd still like to see a work sitcom based entirely on Zoom, so that future generations may find some form of entertainment over this, despite it not being funny at the time.

[@annaboes8359]

There's already a German version of that, called 'Inside. Online we're all the same'. It's hilarious, but I'm not sure there are even subtitles... But it's just a matter of time for an english or american version to be available.

[@urbannsquirrel]

There is so much that happened during the pandemic that could be seen as darkly hilarious

[@KittySnicker]

Good analysis! No one considers me an optimist but I love Parks and Rec for some reason. I found The Office too cringy and negative and awkward. I also love How I Met Your Mother!

[@obsessivefangirl5055]

I completely agree with your view about the office vs Parks and Rec. Couldn't sit through the office without almost giving up on it due to the cringe multiple times, but Parks is one of my favorite shows.

[@KittySnicker]

@@obsessivefangirl5055 Glad it’s not just me!!

[@WillScarlet16]

It is literally becoming impossible for workers to feel like a family, or have a positive work experience. At my last job, during the interview my boss warned me "We do not encourage relationships between employees outside work." When I tried to show initiative doing things like cleaning up before closing I was told "If I want you to be helpful I'll TELL you to be helpful." And when one of the employees whose dad was on trial found out he was found not guilty and started crying, she was demoted for "unseemly work behavior."

[@Sophia-ix2ri]

What a fun workplace atmosphere! I hope you got out quickly

[@GenerationX1984]

She was demoted because your boss is a psychopath who needs to get jumped and beat up after work by his disgruntled employees. I'm serious. It's the only way he'll learn. Yes. I advocate violence as a solution to toxic people.

[@GenerationX1984]

When he's missing a few teeth and ends up in a wheelchair he'll learn the hard way that the world doesn't tolerate his personality. It'll be a reminder to him every day he wakes up in the morning.

[@ruggiec.ruggleby6511]

While this was a great rundown, I think the broader conclusions it reaches about our changing relationship to work and capitalism are a bit of a stretch; workers in the 1950s and 60s weren't necessarily happy or fulfilled at work (Ralph Cramden often complained about work) and in the 1970s they didn't necessarily work consistently or get well rewarded for their labor (James Evans on Good Times struggled to find good work). I think the story these sitcoms tell over the decades was the newly forged participation of women in the workplace, the opportunity and the excitement that represented, and the realization over time that work can be just as banal or unstable, workplace politics just as brutal, for women as it is for men, and the collective disappointment both genders face on the other side of opportunity. For me, the dramatic arc seen in "Shrill" on Hulu follows that larger trajectory.

[@batgurrl]

I beg to differ, George Costsnza working for The New York Yankees was far from a pointless gig.😂

[@YAMISOOLD2009]

I really enjoyed this. My formative work years were the late 80s and the 90s so I wonder if I absorbed some of my attitude to work from all those shows. I have never been particularly careerist. Work is something necessary but not something to be talked much about outside of the time spent doing it. Could be. Anyway your analysis seems to jive well with what I have lived through.

[@klassycountryk]

They should make a show about working at casino

[@littlefox42]

Isn't las Vegas one?

[@YAMISOOLD2009]

That would be a good idea.

[@peterd4827]

I'm so glad your team finally mentioned 'Frasier'! I was 12 watching reruns for the first time and I thought Niles was hilarious. Since then I've watched it at least 5 times through.

[@YAMISOOLD2009]

It is quite arguably the funniest sitcom of all.

[@peterd4827]

@@YAMISOOLD2009 so glad I am not the only one who feels that way!

[@sayakchoudhury9711]

You could do a character analysis for mother figure as evil with Mrs. Coulter as an example.

[@haneul4164]

Hmmm I'm surprised that shows like the ones in hospitals, police offices and murder cases and similar ones are not included in this. They're about mystery (to learn who's the murder, to know what's the diagnosis) but it's about people working aaaaaall day every day. They sleep at their job it seems 😂

[@chadestioco]

If there's at least one thing I got from this take it's how and why "Friends" is such a big deal.

[@claytonthechemist]

Great insight with this video. Would love to see a follow up one on how the pandemic might have been the kind of disruption you mention.

[@floren_ce]

It's really that the more I look at what my friends and I do for jobs, the less I find anything to laugh about.. It's just injustice and terrible hours and HR violations everywhere I look. Also, seeing Dwight being paid an actual living wage to do next to nothing was not supposed to make me feel jealous, but now it does

[@annaboes8359]

living wages. Period. I've worked jobs were I was pretty busy and couldn't afford my rent AND food without help.

[@annaboes8359]

@@beanns6632 It's worse, compared to roman style, not american, off course. Like, my boss can't tell me to have sex and procreate - though he sure as hell tries to tell me not to. But that won't stop some people from being horrendous - you wanna keep the job or not, so put up with it anyway. Not much of a problem for me, but I've had friends going through that shite. Other than that, what's the difference? I have responsibility for my own shelter, food, clothes, but my boss can tell me to move cities or quit, come in early, transport's my issue, not his, work late, chores, kids, matters I have to sort because I need to keep my shelter or have to literally get something to eat, all my problems, not theirs. Honestly, a slave owner who has to provide my shelter and food would have some benefits, as long as they are indifferent to me and my family life, over some of the stuff my bosses and working conditions in some organisations put me through. Of course I don't mean to say that I don't mind being property. But I am saying that if I'm treated as such at the very least they could house me as such, too. So the roman version of slavery, well, has some benefits going I wouldn't mind too much.

[@MRCKify]

@@annaboes8359 What job do you do?

[@annaboes8359]

@@MRCKify I worked in call centers, as a travel agent, waitress, complaint manager and secretary, assistent accountant and once for a brief four month I was the punching bag of honor, aka team administrator, the assistent of the team leader, for another travel agency thing... All sorts of odd jobs. All of them full-time and hypothetically paying a living wage by european standards, even though I don't know who's supposed to live on them with rents as they are.

[@aeoligarlic4024]

Forget dwight, at this point i'm even jealous of squidward.. he works as a cashier but he can afford a house, a big one too

[@rschida575]

the mary tyler moore show is so near and dear to my heart seeing mary in the thumbnail was all i needed to watch lmao

[@surplusvalue5497]

One of your best videos yet ☺️

[@hollykidson]

Watching this while fighting off the Sunday scaries did not give me any additional hope for the week ahead, but... it was interesting.

[@yourelovin]

my favourite television genre ever are workplace sitcoms. nothing gives me more joy & comfort than them

[@FizzoWeird]

It's weird how the video ignores Brooklyn 99, that is exactly the found-family loving working place about people who find indentity and pride at a job, and a huge success.

[@cesaryanez3309]

Yeah, because the way cops are portrayed in the show surely mirrors the cops in America.

[@moonie1825]

@Juan Pablo Gonzalez they can't mention it because they are leftist. They hate the police so anything that protrays the police a decent light should be ignored.

[@raddish4256]

Its interesting Roseanne starts out as workplace comedy at a plastic factory and by the end of the first season she quits after the new manager starts to demand unreasonable higher quotas within a workday..no overtime and though the company would make more money the employee would just be overwhelmed. After that season she and Dan struggled to make ends meet and that was it for the whole show..it was a real success...I loved your take...maybe in the same theme you could do a take on Roseanne.

[@scifigrl92]

Do a commentary or take on how we went from shows like this to shows like se severance and what severance has to say about late stage capitalism and work life balance

[@thatveryvvitch_]

I miss superstore ☹️😭

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

Thank you so much for this one. I recently cited a few clips from your representation videos for a presentation on the topic. Don't worry, I praised you guys and your work on those. I'll use this one, too, when the time comes.

[@vanillamarshmallow]

I LOVE superstore - highly recommend, especially if you've ever worked retail. Kim's convenience is another great show too but I'd argue that it's more of a family drama/comedy, the fact that they happen to own a store isn't the main focus imo.

[@jonathangriffin8060]

You seem to have forgotten the 80s television series "Moonlighting" featuring Cybill Shepherd and a pre-Die Hard Bruce Willis. Most of the episodes were seen with the two of them in the office, they hyad arguments and they had a "will-they-or-won't-they" relationship and it was a series that was really good and had five successful seasons and has been considered one of the many successful television series of all time. "Moonlighting" had everything this video has explained...even though it was created in the 80s, during the Reagan era.

[@nicklundy9965]

Yea, I love Moonlighting it's a really good but flawed show. But yea I know this show could be deemed problematic. Yet people barely mention it.

[@jonathangriffin8060]

@@nicklundy9965 It also depends on who you ask. Because what you consider a flawed show, someone else can say that they loved it. Also, it depends on the generation.

[@nicklundy9965]

@@jonathangriffin8060 well I'm 28 and I discovered the show in my early 20s. And by flawed I meant how they handled the David and Maddie relationship post- season 3 and of course that whole Moonlighting curse. It's still one of my top five favorite shows right up there with Twin Peaks. Hell even o think Moonlighting did Wandavison better than Wandavison.

[@gabrielleduplessis7388]

Speaking of Dave, I rarely see this movie be talked about. One of my favorite Kevin Kline roles. Please consider doing a take on it? It is a great story and it shows no matter what status you have, you can achieve anything and do the right thing… if you have a look alike. Regardless, Dave did not have to to do the job. It was illegal for him to implement these policies but he used his situation to his advantage. He wanted to help people and he did that.

[@marylogue31]

please do a video on mystery movies.

[@pacolemus2938]

Great video, just loved it.

[@jd517]

One thing left out was medical & law enforcement shows (Ex. Grey's Anatomy OR NCIS/Law & Order). All of them are centered around work. Maybe the job takes over the show but if you watch it in order they have solid storylines about their life outside of work too. Maybe it could be a different video.

[@maximilianoluera6679]

i worked at a jimmy johns in a very not good part of town for like 2 and a half years and i have at the very least 4 seasons worth of content for a TV-MA rated work comedy as well as probably a movie

[@SmartVideosJarkaWatched]

"Think & Grow Rich" (classic book by Napoleon Hill) positions 'the workplace' as a partnership between employer & employee ... worth a read (and/or a re-read) ...

[@cybersquire]

The Narrator of this episode is Kayah Franklin. I think she does a tremendous job. She needs to more of these episodes. In fact I wouldn’t mind if she started her own channel!

[@WolvenKay]

I love this channel so much!

[@Achintsingh95]

Scrubs is the most underrated show ever.

[@beautifullytee9444]

💯💯💯💯💯

[@iprobablyforgotsomething]

Uh, not really... Scrubs was/is generally very well regarded and popular for a 9-season (depending on if one chooses to acknowledge the final season[s] or not) show that ended a while ago. So, it's hardly "underrated". Just not talked about as much any more now that it's off the air -- but being talked about "not as much" but still *at all* is pretty impressive considering our collective short-memory for most media.

[@pendragon2012]

Great analysis! TV Shows reflect our values and culture.

[@richardbourton4523]

I agree with someone below that Brooklyn 99 is a pretty prominent counterpoint to this. Also, I think it might be slightly more accurate to think of Scrubs as a dramedy, where the characters provide the comedy and the setting the drama. Cause the hospital workplace setting is absolutely the focus of most episodes, but it’s providing pathos and incident and drama that the characters are then wacky and funny around.

[@DracowolfieDen]

Yeah, I think currently the only workplace comedies that could continue and be popular have to either be about a career/profession that requires being incredibly passionate, and is a chosen job. Innovative tech companies, sports and arts, mom&pop small businesses, etc. Something where people do actually want to be there and worked hard to achieve their role out of passion. Or, it needs to be a commentary on our core social systems--like government--because that is still something we are grappling with understanding how it fails as a system and how it can be improved. It also requires passion, but ofc that is not the case for many people working in government. You mentioned Space Force, but also, in some ways, Orange is the New Black could potentially fit in this. While the majority of main characters are prisoners, it still goes into the lives of the employees, and is centrally focused on how the business of prison works and affects lives. While this is obviously not about a job people want, it is about how our core systems work. This is also part of why Abbot Elementary is so successful (I admit I haven't seen it but have heard about it) because it combines those two necessary elements--a show about people who chose their career in passion, and it focuses on core systems of our society by showcasing our education system. This was also part of what made Brooklyn 99 work--it's a job that technically does require passion, and also showcases a core system of our society. Even Spongebob could be included for its harsh take on the workplace, both in showcasing the obvious potential greed of owners, and possible intense passion of some employees. People want shows that mean something connecting to their lived experience. Our experience now is that all jobs suck, unless you picked something you love (and even then it's hard), and we need to see critical perspectives on our core structural systems.

[@DimKen]

-50's : family -60's 70s 80's workplace -90's friends -00's 10's workplace it's a circle

[@andrewmurray9391]

The CRT monitor stock clip; to think, those same 50 people could be sitting in the park doing the same job on their cellphones now. But since then, each has had 3.81 kids who all drive 4.15 extra cars, killing each other while driving on their cellphones.

[@dakotacranmer9928]

This channel is the bread and butter of my soul

[@evelynwilson1566]

In the UK, there weren't many jobs in the nineties , and the large employers had mainly disappeared. So there weren't the positives of employment except pay - there wasn't the sense of community, structure or career opportunities that there was in the post-war years, so people did prioritise other things. If there were similar experiences in the USA maybe that's also a reason why comedies did not focus so much on workplaces? These days in the UK the only workplaces that really feature on t.v these days are hospital dramas unless it's hugely unrealistic specialist police departments. I think the problem with comedies is that they need to focus on the same core cast and that is very difficult to realistically do in a small workplace, where everyone's working different shifts, it just would remove all believability and make it harder to relate. The only exception I can think of is Scot Squad which follows fictional Scottish police like a fly on the wall documentary.

[@danidkg4071]

mythic quest is probably my favourite workplace sitcom/comedy at the moment

[@MRCKify]

I've heard its great - but is it like Silicon Valley for video games or what?

[@EagleVision1999]

I mean I don't work in an office for a reason. Why would I want to spend time there in my fiction?

[@TheKrazysexykool]

As a person who is in a cubicle for 8 hours per day, run....run far and run fast. It's hell.

[@EagleVision1999]

@@TheKrazysexykool Will do! :D

[@abbyabroad]

Same 😂

[@ishaansalaskar1621]

This channel provides really accurate takes.

[@kaavi1391]

Is this sarcasm?

[@androkguz]

Honestly, I love those shows. They are funny and make me feel so happy about my own work

[@jokotri2186]

Veep was the last workplace show I watched, and it ended in very satisfyingly

[@sarah3796]

The show “good news” should be in here too. Also it's very good

[@trustmaker1014]

Brooklyn99 is a cop show, folks. That's why it wasn't included in the video.

[@ijustdocomments6777]

Trying to figure out how I missed Ted Lasso and OH- Apple TV. Of course.

[@limerence8365]

I always had the idea the set a sitcom on a bus. Every episode would happen in real time 22 mins. Or maybe it would happen over several days and some scenes would happen off the bus buy mainly on it. The main characters are regulars on that bus.

[@MadameTamma]

Right now my favorite workplace Comedy is 'Hellava boss'

[@rchllwlsn]

We need a show about the dmv

[@MauriceRivers415]

Millenial here: always hated socializing after work with colleagues, and still do in 2023. Left that life behind in 2018, when I transitioned from working for someone else, to running a nonprofit. Thanks to Zoom and other remote meeting technology, this generation has more of a work/life balance, and knows that value/worth is not tied to how many hours you sit behind a desk. This generation has figured out how to make money & time work for them, and how to work remotely. The collapse of the traditional office culture is the best thing that came out of COVID, and I'm here for it. No one will ever be on their deathbed, wishing they had slaved more hours in the matrix. Life is to be lived.

[@KarimElhoussami]

I think the WFH switch is also gonna play a role in the death or change in workplace comedies. Maybe more non-office-based jobs will become the focus of new sitcoms.