So technically, there’s nothing that really captures everything that The Office was. There’s a reason why the UK version was adapted into the U.S. version and that there’s now an Australian version out there. That being said, there are some great comedies that gets to the heart of it.
The Office was more than just a workplace comedy. It brought us relationship dynamics that shouldn’t have worked, and we got to see character growth we didn’t initially think was possible. It was funny and heartfelt at the same time.
When you need something else like it, you’ll want to turn to these five shows. No, the other versions of The Office are not on the list (but they are worth watching)!
Superstore
We have to start with another workplace comedy from NBC. It’s all about Superstore, which ran for six awesome seasons on NBC. The series follows a group of oddball employees at a Cloud 9 megastore. We see their day-to-day work life and how they all end up becoming one big family. You see, we all know that it’s the colleagues that make or break a workplace.
Amy just wants to hold down a job and raise her daughter, but her clueless manager Glen doesn’t make it easy. Dina is one of the best with her tough but heartfelt ways, and we can’t help but adore Jonah who comes in with big ideas that simply don’t work for the crowd. Like The Office, the series brought us relationships we didn’t think would work, a family at the workplace, and some excellent workplace drama. There was also an ongoing thing with feet.
Superstore is available to stream on Hulu and Peacock.
Parks and Recreation
If you want something that brings some similar vibes to The Office, then you’ll need to turn to the beloved Parks and Recreation. We get that mixture of workplace comedy and heartfelt personal storylines mixed into one.
The series follows Leslie Knope, an Indiana Parks and Recreation Department midlevel bureaucrat. She wants to boost her town’s beauty (as well as her own career) by turning an abandoned construction site into a community park. Shouldn’t that be easy? You didn’t think that, did you?
We get to see the need to cut through the red tape and how to deal with selfish neighbors. The funniest thing about this is having a government worker completely against the government, adding some confusion to the mix.
Parks and Recreation is available to stream on Peacock.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Another workplace drama you need to check out as a fan of The Office is Brooklyn Nine-Nine. This is a cop workplace drama, and we get an excellent mixture of comedy and heart. Jake Perolta is one of the detectives working at the 99th Precinct, and he has a great workplace rivalry with Amy Santiago. Of course, you can tell there’s chemistry there, which suits the will-they-won’t-they storyline.
However, it’s all the other characters who really make this show. We have Captain Holt, who seems like a straight-laced captain but is anything but. There’s Rosa, who is tough as nails on the outside but has a soft center—just don’t tell anyone! The sergeant, Terry, is there for his team, but don’t mess with his yogurt. And then there’s Hitchcock and Scully, who are far smarter than they initially seem to be.
The series initially ran on FOX for five seasons and then moved over to NBC for the final three. It touched on a lot of important topics, including bias and systemic racism.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is on both Netflix and Peacock.
The Big Bang Theory
One thing that made The Office so special was the way people initially tolerated Michael Scott. He then became a beloved part of the team, and it wasn’t the same once Steve Carell left the series. Well, The Big Bang Theory brought that similar dynamic through Sheldon Cooper. He was that character people tolerated but became an important part of the family.
The Big Bang Theory follows two scientists in an apartment building. When Penny moves in next door, their world is expanded in ways that they didn’t expect. Their small group of friends grows, with relationships you didn’t expect to happen and character growth that sometimes goes amiss in comedies. One of my favorite parts was realizing just how important Sheldon was to the family when he “ran away” for a while. The universe continued with Young Sheldon and now Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage. However, it’s The Big Bang Theory that you need to watch.
The Big Bang Theory is on Paramount+.
Tacoma FD
Finally, how about a firehouse workplace comedy? Tacoma FD is probably not on your initial list of shows like The Office, but it needs to be. It’s packed with some of the same idiotically adorable types of characters as The Office, but it’s just set in a firehouse.
There aren’t many fires in one of America’s rainiest cities, so what do the firefighters at Tacoma FD do? Well, there’s always some sort of creative competition to get involved in, and there are always first-responder rivalries. And just because there aren’t many fires, it doesn’t mean that the crew isn’t called out to help with some of the most bizarre calls. Think 911 but for complete fun. This is one of those shows that you didn’t realize you needed until you started watching it. Trust me.
Tacoma FD is available to stream on Netflix.