NBC TV Network has surely produced two notoriously funny American sitcoms in the last decade. “The Office,” premiering in 2005, is a hilarious and quality comedy show featuring the lives of a diverse and comical group of employees at a paper company. “Parks and Recreation,” premiering in 2009, is a mildly funny and slightly mediocre “comedy” show centered around the Indiana Parks and Recreation Department’s entertaining, but not quite so funny, employees and community inhabitants.
Though both shows are undoubtedly funny in their own ways, “The Office” is simply better than “Parks and Recreation.” It mixes pure comedy, dark humor and a compelling storyline in a way that will make you laugh every single episode.
One way “The Office” strongly differs from “Parks & Recreation” is the dynamic complexity of each of the show’s characters. From the mysteriously entertaining lifestyles of characters such as Dwight and Creed, to the scandalous but comical acts like Oscar’s affair with Angela’s husband, “The Office” keeps the audience hysterically laughing and interested in the show, episode after episode.
While “Parks and Recreation” does have its funny characters, moments and few love stories, it lacks the ability to keep you interested in every single character, and it also lacks an enjoyable storyline.
Although these shows are meant to be mostly funny and succeed for the most part, the plot has to add into the humorous journey of the show considering their settings, a dying paper company and a boring subcommittee, do little to create room for laughable content. This certainly shows in their public opinion votes and ratings, which found viewers typically find “The Office” to be the better show.
On a weighted scale of 1-10, 313,118 people have voted ”The Office” as an 8.8/10, which makes it the #50 TV show of all-time. ”Parks and Recreation,” on the other hand, has a still high 8.6/10 on 182,821 votes. This leaves “Parks and Recreation” the 117th-best TV show in history, according to imdb.com voters.
“The Office” is more popular than “Parks and Recreation” because it is more relatable, which makes it more likable as well. Considering it is placed in the common office workplace, it feels familiar, and the fact the employees hate their job, along with them having a childish and mildly inappropriate boss, contributes to that factor even more. This is also likely why their viewings are so high because people love shows which are relatable and are not much different from their everyday life.
“I believe it’s the No. 1 most-popular acquired show on Netflix … there are millions of streams of those episodes,” NBC chairman Robert Greenblatt told Josef Adalian of New York magazine.
Although “Parks and Recreation” has the same common American workplace setting as “The Office,” it is simply not as relatable as “The Office” because the employees on “Parks and Recreation” tend to serve the sole purpose of adding more comedy to their shows, rather than being both relatable and comical as the employees of “The Office.” With that being said, “The Office” is also more popular because of its well-rounded, funnier and more likable characters.
For example, Michael Scott, the childish manager you pray you never have, is funnier than most of the characters in “Parks and Recreation,” considering how he does actually no work and only strives to do no more than get his employees to love and laugh at him.
Compared to the manager in “Parks and Recreation” Leslie Knope, who actually loves her job and wants to succeed, Michael Scott is definitely funnier and more likable as he is unfiltered, mildly inappropriate and has a new strategy to have fun each episode in “The Office.”
Last but not least, the love stories of “The Office”—more accurately scandals—are both more entertaining and more tear-jerking than “Parks and Recreation.” Pam and Jim’s nine season long romantic journey is one of the greatest components of “The Office“ because it adds a hint of seriousness to the show, which is welcomed, but manages to not be overwhelming, either.
In addition to Pam and Jim, Dwight and Angela’s “situationship” definitely offers the audience a more comedic relationship that is both hilarious and thrilling. These relationships satisfy us romantic comedy lovers while also helping increase the relatability of “The Office,” unlike the love stories of “Parks and Recreation” which are mildly entertaining but do little for the show.
Honestly, there would not be a “Parks and Recreation” without “The Office,” considering how it paved the way for mockumentary-type American workplace TV shows. However, I will admit “Parks and Recreation” is quite funny and definitely binge-worthy. Yet, “The Office” is simply funnier than “Parks and Recreation” as it has better characters, scenes, plot development and all-around good laughs.
Therefore, if you are looking for a good laugh or if you need further proof, I personally recommend episode 14 of season five. I can guarantee you cannot watch it without laughing.