(Photo by NBC)
The 60 Best TV Workplace Comedies
Sure, the current definition of “workplace” for many people is “wherever I sit down with my laptop.” But that doesn’t mean the workplace comedy is any less universal. It’s a classic for a reason — since most of us have to work to earn a living, whether through paid or unpaid labor (moms, we see you!), pretty much every viewer can relate. Whether it’s making small talk about last night’s big game or becoming exasperated when your boss sticks you with an impossible project, the struggle is very real.
We’ve rounded up some of TV’s best comedies (or dramedies) that revolve around the goings-on in a workplace. They might not be funny 100% of the time — see: Ally McBeal or even Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, both of which blend drama, comedy, and surreal elements for very unique viewing experiences — but they make comedic observations about even the most mundane aspects of the working world.
You’ll notice that the series listed span many decades, meaning Steve Carell appears twice, for both The Office and his new Netflix comedy Space Force. Other repeats include Ted Danson (for the new Tina Fey-created NBC sitcom Mr. Mayor and — naturally — Cheers), Adam Scott (for cult classic Party Down as well as Parks and Recreation), some It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia costars (Glenn Howerton for Sunny and Peacock comedy A.P. Bio, while Rob McElhenny co-created and co-stars in Sunny and Apple TV+ comedy Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet), Bill Lawrence (who co-created Spin City, Scrubs, and Undateable), and even Fey herself, who appears on-screen in 30 Rock, but also executive produced Mr. Mayor and Great News (in which she also appears from season 2).
If you’re craving some awkward water-cooler small-talk (plus more nuanced depictions of modern working life), read on for more of TV’s funniest workplace comedies.
#60
Synopsis: Street-wise Max (Kat Dennings) doesn't expect much from the new waitress at her night job, a rich girl who has
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#59
Synopsis: Based more-than-loosely on backstage shenanigans at "Saturday Night Live," "30 Rock" centers on young Liz Lemon, currently head writer for
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#58
Synopsis: When Harvard philosophy professor Jack Griffin fails to get his dream job and reluctantly moves back to Ohio to work
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#57
Critics Consensus: The final season of Boardwalk Empire is as visually dazzling and well-acted as ever, but it's the emphasis on Nucky Thompson's history that's particularly rewarding this time out.
#56
Synopsis: The suave, confident and devastatingly handsome Sterling Archer may be the world's greatest spy, but he still has issues with
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#55
Synopsis: This comedy series, which follows the exploits of employees at London's Grace Brothers department store, is full of sexual innuendo,
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#54
Synopsis: The series focuses on life in Greenwich Village's 12th Precinct station house. Initially, it looks at Capt. Barney Miller and
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#53
Synopsis: Life is sweet for a young man who runs the research and development department at Veridian Technologies -- until he
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#52
Synopsis: A radio personality uses his peers to try to get his way.
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#51
Synopsis: At a Paris talent firm, agents scramble to keep their star clients happy and their business afloat.
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#50
Synopsis: Laid-back Sam Malone, a former relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, owns and runs Cheers, a cozy bar in
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#49
Synopsis: Based on the award-winning Web series, "Childrens Hospital" focuses on a group of doctors, nurses and other staffers at, of
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#47
Synopsis: When fast-talking lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) finds his degree has been revoked, he is forced to go back to
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#46
Synopsis: It's another day at heartless, multinational corporate hellhole Hampton DeVille, where junior executives-in-training Matt and Jake are at the beck
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#45
Synopsis: Series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason uses the fictional Atlanta design firm of Sugarbaker and Associates as a witty bully pulpit for
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#44
Synopsis: Chicago marketing executive Emily Cooper is hired to provide an American perspective at a marketing firm in Paris.
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#43
Synopsis: Basil Fawlty is an inept and slightly out-of-his-head English hotel manager, who is tortured by "that annoying section of the
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#42
Synopsis: Dr. Frasier Crane, a successful Boston therapist, moves to Seattle to get a new start on life; he has a
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#41
Synopsis: Maxwell Smart, a.k.a. Agent 86, works for CONTROL, a Washington, D.C.-based counterintelligence agency. Totally inept as a secret agent, Smart
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#40
Synopsis: Every workplace is a family. But for Katie, a producer at cable news network MMN, it goes one step further
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#39
Synopsis: Depraved underachieving might look easy, but for the egocentric Mac, Charlie, Dennis, Frank and Dee, it's an art form. "It's
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#38
Synopsis: This ensemble comedy is about the inner workings of a high-style magazine owned by Jack Gallo, who has hired his
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#37
Synopsis: When retired Los Angeles businessman Neil Bremer decides to run for mayor of his beloved city, he surprises everyone and
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#36
Synopsis: Murphy Brown is the star reporter of "FYI," a newsmagazine series. Murphy is sarcastic, ambitious, often self-involved and bossy --
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#35
Synopsis: The team behind the biggest multiplayer video game of all time is tasked with building worlds, molding heroes and creating
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#34
Synopsis: Dick Loudon and wife Joanna relocate from New York City to a small town in Vermont, where they run the
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#33
Synopsis: "NewsRadio" showcases the hilarious antics of staffers at WNYX, the fictional No.2 news radio station serving New York. The characters
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#32
Synopsis: Honorable Judge Harry T. Stone is a young, hip, jeans-wearing liberal eccentric presiding over the night shift of a Manhattan
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#31
Synopsis: Leslie Knope, a midlevel bureaucrat in an Indiana Parks and Recreation Department, hopes to beautify her town (and boost her
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#30
Synopsis: While chasing dreams of stardom, six Hollywood wannabe actors and writers make ends meet by working for a posh Los
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#29
Synopsis: Bumbling detectives solve puzzling cases filled with sight gags.
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#28
Synopsis: A new group of medical students arrives to learn the ropes at Sacred Heart Hospital, where J.D., Turk, Kelso, and
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#27
Synopsis: Partially inspired by co-creator Mike Judge's experiences as a Silicon Valley engineer in the 1980s, this comedy series follows the
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#25
Synopsis: A group of people are tasked with establishing the U.S. Space Force.
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#24
Synopsis: New York Mayor Randall Winston needs help running the city. So, for much of the series, he counts on Deputy
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#23
Synopsis: Casey McCall and Dan Rydell are two sports anchors and best friends both on and off the screen. At "Sports
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#22
Synopsis: An oddball family of employees at supersized megastore Cloud 9 tackles the day-to-day grind of rabid bargain hunters, riot-causing sales
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#21
Synopsis: There's not a lot of fires to fight in one of the rainiest cities in America, leaving the crew at
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#20
Synopsis: This Emmy-winning sitcom follows the lives of a group of cabbies in New York. The employees of the Sunshine Cab
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#19
Synopsis: Elementary school teachers serve a critical role in society, as they help shape the minds of America's kids. That presents
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#18
Synopsis: TruTV's first foray into full-length scripted comedy is this series created by and starring Adam Cayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl and Ben
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#17
Synopsis: Putting together a magazine is not an easy task, requiring a lot of teamwork to finish the job and get
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#16
Synopsis: Considered to be one of television's classics, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" centers on the personal and professional lives Rob
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#15
Synopsis: The fictional version of comedian Drew Carey is a hapless employee for Cleveland's Winfred-Louder department store, which becomes an Internet
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#14
Synopsis: A three-person IT group keeps its company running with minimal effort or social contact.
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#13
Synopsis: Hey now! This series offers a behind-the-scenes look at late-night talk show host Larry Sanders (Garry Shandling) and the production
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#12
Synopsis: Mary Richards is a thirty-something single woman who settles in Minneapolis after breaking up with a boyfriend. She lands a
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#11
Synopsis: This U.S. adaptation -- set at a paper company based in Scranton, Pa. -- has a similar documentary style to
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#10
Synopsis: Paranormal investigators set out to film ghost sightings, but as their supernatural experiences grow more frequent, they begin to uncover
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#9
Synopsis: The series focuses on the life of wannabe writer Betty Suarez, a plain girl from Queens, N.Y., who is smart,
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#8
Synopsis: Ladies' man Danny has a new roommate, Justin. When he moves in, Danny ends up unintentionally adopting Justin's ragtag group
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#7
Synopsis: "Politics is about people," former Sen. Selina Meyer is fond of saying. Unfortunately, the people Meyer, a charismatic leader and
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#6
Synopsis: Veronica "Ronnie" Chase owns Veronica's Closet, a lingerie and book company designed to keep romance alive. After leaving her womanizing
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#5
Synopsis: Two brothers, Joe and Brian Hackett, run a one-plane commuter service from a small Nantucket airport. Along with Joe's on-again/off-again
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#4
Synopsis: When a Cincinnati radio station switches from sedate music to top-40 rock 'n' roll, its staff of oddball characters has
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#3
Synopsis: Late nights and lazy days are a thing of the past for three college friends who enter the workforce together.
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#2
Synopsis: Trying to start a new career gets more difficult as you age, which suddenly single-mom Liza realizes when she tries
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#1
Synopsis: After an unusual event, whip-smart computer coder Zoey Clarke magically begins to hear people's innermost wants and desires through popular
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