Relive the office shenanigans you miss
These sitcoms may offer some insight into our former day-to-day lives
Remember long ago before the Ides of March were upon us to that early morning when you were wishing to skip your commute and work from the comfort of your home? Then, in some sort of warped freaky-Friday switcheroo, it came to be. Now, we are longing for workplace shenanigans, coffee breaks and, most of all, our cohorts.
It’s not a fluke that our most favourite TV sitcoms are workplace romps. While we Zoom through our workdays, to get a fix of what things used to be like, we stream. The crowning jewels of the workplace sitcoms like “The Office,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “30 Rock” and “Parks and Recreation” are all streaming on either Netflix or Prime.
“Parks” came back recently and staged a Zoom reunion to lift spirits and remind us that even TV coworkers are self-distancing. The creator of the American Office, Greg Daniels, is also back at it with the much anticipated “Space Force.” Steve Carrell will be on Netflix soon as the universe’s greatest boss as he is put in charge of the staff of the military’s newest agency.
What makes these sitcoms successful is their ability to find the truth about us. They reflect something insightful about our former day-to-day lives.
After your virtual workday is done, you can escape to the workdays now frozen in time with some of these ready-to-berediscovered shows.
For educators
“Teachers” is a web-to-series gem of a show from the devilish comic ensemble The Katydids (Caitlin Barlow, Katy Colloton, Cate Freedman, Kate Lambert, Katie O’Brien, and Kathryn Renee Thomas). The series follows the misadventures of six elementary school teachers, each with their own brand of education to bestow on their captive students. Be warned, nothing is sacred, in a funny kind of way. Where to watch: Hoopla.
For public servants
Before Armando Iannucci brought us “Veep” (streaming on Crave Plus) in all its vulgar glory, he was busy in Britain with a behind-the-scenes satire, “The Thick of It,” about the made-up “Ministry of Social Affairs.” Lacking true leadership, they live in fear of the utterly profane director of communications, Malcolm Tucker, played famously by Peter Capaldi (“Dr. Who”). Definitely, for more mature ears, viewing could bring on as much anxiety as laughter. Where to watch: BritBox
For journalists
If you ever wondered what the world’s largest public news organization was like on the inside, W1A has the goods. As unflattering as it may be for the
BBC, we can all have a good laugh together. Narrated by David Tennant (“Dr. Who,” “Broadchurch,” “Jessica Jones”), W1A chronicles Ian Fletcher’s (“Downton Abbey’s” Hugh Bonneville) introduction to the BBC’s Way Ahead task force as the Head of Values. If you have ever been down the road of a company rebrand, this will hit close to home.
Where to watch: Netflix
When work is your side gig
For friends Blake, Adam and Anders, working 9 to 5 at TelAmeriCorp, is less about telemarketing and more about getting in and out of trouble. Though they do show up to work, “Workaholics” is really about drugs, friendship and the meaning of life. Written by best friends and funny guys, Blake Anderson, Adam Devine and Anders Holm, their characters do manage to stay employed for all seven seasons for better or worse.
Where to watch: Crave
For the service industry
“Party Down” left fans crushed when it was cancelled after two seasons. The ensemble comedy of a catering team who refuse to be called caterers, save for Henry, played by Adam Scott (“Parks & Recreation,” “Big Little Lies), who has given up on acting. Each episode is a different function and another opportunity for someone to misbehave. The show features memorable guest spots, including “Veronica Mars” alumni, likely thanks to one of the show’s creators, Rob Thomas. Ken Marino, Lizzy Caplan, Ryan Hansen, Martin Starr,
Jane Lynch, Jennifer Coolidge and Megan Mullaly also star.
Where to watch it: Crave and Starz.
An ode to the other public broadcaster
Not Aaron Sorkin’s very serious venture, but Ken Finkleman’s late-1990s/early-aughts Canadian version of “The Newsroom” was more of a singlecamera spoof and far less of a slick saga than the series that appeared a decade later on HBO. In the original “Newsroom,” Finkleman plays the news director of a local station who is trying to make the best news he can. Whether it means avoiding calls from his mother or trying to zhuzh up the local angle on an international news story, it’s all one and the same. Deadpan humour at its height and maybe a not so exaggerated look into how news gets to air.
Where to watch it: CBC’s
Gem
An ode to the night shift
These next two selections are M.I.A. on streaming services, but they are available for purchase. No one made working the graveyard shift look so cool as late-night deejay Venus Flytrap (Tim Reid) on “WKRP in Cincinnati.” And no workplace seemed more off-the-wall than in “Night Court,” with the jeanwearing Judge Harold T. Anderson presiding (Harry Anderson), and the rest of the jesters that never saw the light of day — Dan (John Larroquette), Christine (Markie Post), Roz (Marsha Warfield), Mac (Charles Robinson), and the Bull (Richard Bull) — not letting justice sleep in Manhattan.