Out of the Box: Workplace Comedies

A Note from the Editors:

Welcome to Out of the Box!

We’re all layered people. Having a special fondness for all things speculative doesn’t stop any of us here at Speculative Chic from enjoying hobbies, books, television, and movies that are rooted (at least mostly) in reality. Each month, one of our contributors will wax poetic about something non-speculative or geek adjacent that is near and dear to their heart. Got something non-speculative that YOU love? Drop us a line and let us know! You may find a kindred spirit among the Spec Chic writers! And now, please enjoy our first column, courtesy of Erin S. Bales!

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I love workplace comedies. I like a lot of television comedies, really, but there’s a special place in my heart workplace comedies. For many years, I assumed it was because I was raised watching the good stuff: Cheers, Fraiser, WKRP in Cincinnati, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, Night Court, Murphy Brown, Designing Women, Are You Being Served?

I could keep going, but I won’t. Suffice to say, if you haven’t seen some (or any) of these series and you come across them, I highly recommend them. All of them. True, some shows (and jokes) have aged better than others, but I like to think of old movies and TV shows like time capsules. Exhibit A below: the original Cheers cast.

Dig that early ’80s realness!

As you’ve probably guessed, I watched a lot of TV as a kid. I still watch a lot of TV. What can I say? I like my visual media like I like my books—in a series. I mean, movies are fine. So are stand alone books. But when I really love a setting and a group of characters, the more, the better.

So, yeah, I thought my love of workplace comedies was wholly borne from my love of quality comedy television. Then I learned about a specific type of episode: the bottle episode. Also referred to as a “bottleneck episode,” a “single-location episode,” or, on any Star Trek series, a “ship-in-a-bottle episode,” this type of episode primarily takes place in a single location and the main characters (or a sub-group of main characters) are stuck there for some reason, and I love them. I don’t why I do, but I do, and it occurred to me one day, when I realized that a lot of my favorite TV shows center around the workplace, that there are few better descriptions of work than a place where a random group of people are stuck with each other for several hours a day.

Now, a true bottle episode was originally designed as a cost-cutting measure because the number of sets and cast members are usually limited. But they’ve also become an exercise in tight writing and heavy lifting for the performers, distilling the characters down to what has become their individual, familiar essences and then hiking up the stress level so that each personality is either fed or subverted by the surrounding circumstances.

Because work and workplaces naturally create this environment, all workplace comedy episodes are, in a sense, bottle episodes. Think about it. On workplace comedies, even when, the characters leave the office, they’re usually on a specific mission and have been paired together by the writers to create friction and/or foster understanding.

Enough dissection. To the list!

Now Showing

These are a few shows that you can currently watch on TV in real time. Just kidding! No one does that anymore. Of course, that doesn’t mean people aren’t watching. I’m looking at you, Fox.

In case you missed it, Fox recently cancelled Brooklyn Nine-Nine because it did poorly in the outdated Nielsen ratings, only to get smacked upside the head by a wave of diehard viewers clamoring for its return. NBC picked the show up within thirty-six hours, and have already upped their episode order from the original thirteen to eighteen. Yay!

Speaking of which…

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-Present)

Setting: Brooklyn, NYPD’s 99th Precinct

Premise: A group of cops work (and sometimes play) in Brooklyn. When the rigid Raymond Holt (played brilliantly by Andre Braugher) becomes their new captain, personalities clash and hijinks ensue.

Favorite Episode: “The Party” (Season 1, Episode 11)

You might notice that this episode in early in the show’s run. That’s because after a semi-shaky pilot, this series found its footing right away, and “The Party,” written by Gil Ozeri and Gabe Liedman, demonstrates that beautifully, hitting familiar comedic beats for characters that we’ve only known for eleven half-hour episodes.

Everyone is invited to Captain Holt’s birthday party by his husband, Kevin Cozner (Marc Evan Jackson), and they jump at the chance to see their enigmatic captain’s home. The problem is, none of the cops know how to act at a fancy, adult party, and their attempts to blend in–after a stern warning from their sergeant, Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews)–have varied levels of success.

Number of episodes/seasons (so far): 112/5

Come for the jokes and then stay for the effortless diversity of the cast (it doesn’t feel like anyone was ticking boxes when it came to the cast; they simply cast the best actors for the roles), the skillful way the writers tackle fraught subjects (like race, sexuality, police brutality, etc.), and the best examples of non-toxic masculinity on TV. This show is an example of what’s right and good in the world these days, and it’s sure to make you laugh out loud.

Where to watch: Hulu, showing on NBC at midseason

Superstore (2015-Present)

Setting: Cloud 9 (a big-box store that definitely isn’t Wal-Mart), St. Louis, Missouri

Premise: The series starts on Jonah Simms (Ben Feldman) and Mateo Liwang’s (Nico Santos) first day at Cloud 9, and while Jonah is getting to know his various coworkers, he clashes with the supervising manager Amy Dubanowski (America Ferrera).

Favorite Episode: “Guns, Pills, and Birds” (Season 2, Episode 4)

Despite Jonah’s objections, he’s assigned to work in the gun department. This is the same day that the store’s uber-Christian manager, Glenn Sturgis played by Mark McKinney (yes, the one from Kids in the Hall), finds out that they stock and sell the morning-after pill. Oh, and there’s a crow loose in the store. When Jonah finds out he can refuse to sell guns to any customer and Glenn buys all the pills in order to stop people from taking them, only to max out his credit card, requiring him to sell the pills he can’t actually afford, and three other employees join together to set the crow free, madness ensues.

Number of episodes/seasons: 55/3

This is another show that has a very diverse cast without feeling like they’re trying too hard, but that’s only one of a dozen reasons that it’s worth watching. The comedy is tight (and a lot of it is familiar for anyone who has ever worked retail). The cast is funny and well-balanced, and there are these amazing interstitial bits placed between scenes, in which we see “regular people” doing some of the weird, random things that people do in big-box stores.

Where to watch: Hulu, returns to NBC on 10/4, showing at 7/8c (airing just before The Good Place, which you should also be watching, if you aren’t already)

Recently Aired

Yes, these are two shows that you’ve probably heard mentioned often. The reason that I chose them is because they all have one thing in common (besides being hilarious), and that’s a shaky first season. If you’re coming to any of these fresh, make sure you watch all of them at least a few episodes into their second seasons. I’ve had friends give up on these shows too soon, and I keep telling them they don’t know what they’re missing.

Parks and Recreation (2009-2015)

Setting: Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana

Premise: While this show also features Talking Head interviews, it’s more of a straightforward, single-camera comedy. (Single-camera comedies are those that are shot more cinematically, as opposed to a mutliple-camera comedy, like Friends or The Big Bang Theory.) It follows the lives of the workers in Parks and Rec, focusing heavily on Deputy Manager Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler).

Favorite episode: “The Fight” (Season 3, Episode 13)

Written by Amy Poehler herself, in “The Fight” everyone from the office heads on down to the Snakehole Lounge (a sleazy nightclub, if you couldn’t guess from its name) to support their coworker Tom (Aziz Ansari) on his new venture: Snakejuice, “a high-end Kahlua-style liquer.” Long story short, all of the main characters, except for Donna (Retta) and Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe), get hammered. So, not only most of the characters get wild and crazy in a way they rarely do, we also get to see the characters the next day, as they try to work through their hangovers.

Number of episodes/seasons: 125/7

As I mentioned before, this show was slow to find its groove, but once it got going, it never stopped. You’ll be hooked through to the amazing final season, featuring one of the most brilliant call-backs in comedy history and a finale that couldn’t do a better job of sending off its many beloved characters in style.

Where to watch: Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime

30 Rock (2006-2013)

Setting: 30 Rockefeller Plaza, a fake version of NBC, Studio 6H in New York, New York

Premise: Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) is a writer and producer for The Girly Show, which stars her BFF Jenna Maroney (Jane Krakowski). When a new executive—Jack Donaghey played by Alec Baldwin—is put in charge of their show, he makes a few changes, like becoming Liz Lemon’s self-appointed mentor, as well as the name of her show and its star: The Girly Show becomes TGS with Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan).

Favorite Episode: “Believe in the Stars” (Season 3, Episode 2)

This episode was written by Robert Carlock (a writer and producer on 30 Rock), and there are so many storylines it’s hard to get too deep into an explanation without A) explaining several on-going storylines, or B) getting all spoilery.

Let’s see. Liz has to go Chicago for jury duty because she once lived there and has retained her voter status in Illinois. So, Liz leaves the office, and while the cat is away, the mice descend into chaos. Jenna and Tracy have been arguing for a few episodes and things start getting even more personal when they evolve into a disagreement about gender and race politics. Meanwhile, Jack and NBC page Kenneth Parcell (Jack McBrayer) develop a morality feud, and Liz meets Oprah on the flight back to New York and can’t stop herself from totally fangirling out.

“Believe in the Stars” is 30 Rock doing what it does best, in a busy and bombastic episode with jokes flying everywhere and great performances aplenty.

Number of episodes/seasons: 138/7

There are times when this show pushes satire to the point of silliness—there are many points, actually—but from early on, the actors ground their characters on the plane of reality in which the show takes place, and so, for me, those bits are more often hits than misses. YMMV.

Where to watch: Hulu

Gone Too Soon

Although they were cancelled far too soon, these two shows are still worth watching.

Better Off Ted (2009-2010)

If you liked Scrubs, you’ll like the off-kilter humor of Better Off Ted, where the main character, Ted Crisp (Jay Harrison), works for a massive corporation, trying to balance the desires of his bosses with what’s actually best for the people they claim to serve. Oh, and there is at least one fake commercial for the fake company per episode. Good times.

Where to watch: Hulu

Great News (2017-2018)

Producers Tina Fey and Robert Carlock, the duo that brought us 30 Rock, head back to the TV studio for Great News, only now the cast is trying to produce cable news in a rapidly changing, rapidly dwindling market. The cast (even Nicole Richie) plays their roles to the hilt, creating another wacky satire that sometimes puts the joke before reality.

Where to watch: Netflix

When it comes to the TV comedies I know and love, this is a highly pared down list, but even I can’t watch everything? If you have any recs, please share them in the comments! I’m always on the prowl for new (or new-to-me) shows to binge.