
NBC is the host of a lot of great things like football, the news, and New Year’s specials. Another thing that NBC did well at was hosting tv shows. Two of the most well-known shows are “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation” which are both created and directed by the same group of people. The essence of the shows is to show the more lighter side of work places one shows the more political side and one shows the everyday blue collar sales office. The genius behind the two is that no one works jobs that allow them to act like the shows do but it makes you feel like you’re there with them because of the camera work, closeness to the characters, and the different side plots in each episode.

In The Office, the camera work plays a huge roll. A camera crew is there to record what a normal office is like and to see how the lives of the workers play in the office. None of the characters think it’s weird that a camera crew are there and as an audience we think nothing of it. The camera work that the crew plays is genius, anytime something funny or eventful happens the camera shoots over to whatever it is and when Michael Scott (the boss) is talking the camera watches him in a way that makes it seem like he has no idea what he’s talking about. Another thing the camera crew does is watches Jim Halpert (one of the more main characters) because anytime something happens his facial expressions show us what a normal person thinks because he is the more normal or more relatable character in the show. Parks and Rec also has a similar situation in which they also have a camera crew who is filming for a documentary. Just like The Office’s camera crew this one looks at different characters in a certain way to make them look like they don’t know what they’re talking about. Leslie Knope (the main character/boss) is a lot like Michael Scott in that they are both spunky and wild in having not much of a filter. In both shows we also see the deeper sides to all the characters and we see they’re emotional sides as well. Both shows have workplace romances and drama that are a lot alike. The difference in the drama the shows have verses real life is that the drama happens in the workplace and not in a friend group outside of the workplace.

Another reason these shows are so influential and similar is because the directors know how to draw the audience into the characters’ lives and makes us feel like we’re a part of the show. In Parks and Rec, we get to go on a journey with Leslie as she tries to revamp the parks department of her town Pawnee, Indiana and we get to go with her as she runs for Governor of Indiana. In The Office, we get to watch Michael Scott fail multiple love lives and we get to see how his immature jokes play out in the workplace. We also get to follow as Jim and Pam fall in love after Pam has been previously engaged with another coworker. Another important character is Dwight Schrute, we get to see how he goes from the suck-up, to Sheriff’s deputy volunteer, to beat farmer, and then lover as he falls in love with Angela from the office. Because of all of this we, as an audience, get to feel like we are on a journey with the group of people we’re following. Either by helping run a campaign and restore parks or by helping the office to not get down sized and help them fall in love with each other. 

Another topic that both shows share is that both have side plots outside of the setting of the show. Dwight from the office is also a beat farmer and we get to visit that many times throughout the show and see what he must go through to keep it up. In Parks and Rec Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari) is a worker for the Park and Rec department. On the side, he is also an entrepreneur and we get to see how he tries to create his own companies. Another thing we see on this show is the young couple of Andy and April as they take on the world with care free feelings and work for the Parks services. They help the audience relieve stress because Leslie is always frantic. In The Office, we also get to see how Oscar comes out as a gay man because Dwight investigated as to why he called in sick one day. The lighthearted humor and ironic turns of both shows outside of the shows usual setting help the audience stay attached because as the settings change so does the humor of the shows.

Both shows are created by genius directors and writers from NBC and some writers even play roles in their shows. BJ Novak plays a character in the office and so does Mendy Calling, while Aziz Ansari plays a role in Parks and Rec alongside Amy Poheler. These people also write for SNL and are some of the funniest people in television. They can make such genius shows because they relate to their audiences. Most comedians have to make themselves from the bottom so they know what it’s like to sit at home with a bowl of popcorn and watch television until its bedtime. The shows also have simple plots because they add humor and irony to normal office and career settings. The Office is literally an office workplace with tons of humor and a hilarious cast, one thing this show did that was unprecedented in the comedy genre was interview and cast random people for the show. A lot of people who were on the show were not famous comedians and comic geniuses, most worked in actual office settings and corporate settings. In Parks and Rec, a lot of the people on the show were in the same boat they saw it as an opportunity to be a part of a funny show and have fun with the people involved. Because of these shows NBC created some people’s careers as comedians and actors in which some have moved on to be main actors and actresses in some fantastic films. Both shows helped to set a new path in television sitcoms and set a new standard of comedy and relatability toward an audience. Although both shows are fictional, as the audience we feel as if they are so real we are involved in the shows as well.