You can only rewatch The Office so many times. For some people that count is much higher than others, but eventually you'll start looking for something to watch next. This is why we've formed our own braintrust of sitcom aficionados, and collected the top 13 shows similar to The Office to help you move onto something else.
While workplace sitcoms are not exactly a rare commodity, fantastic ones that make you root for their characters and experience serious feelings are. And that's why we had to keep our list to just 13 — so that only the strongest get our equivalent of the Dundees.
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And to make sure you don't get bored, we made sure to have most of these not actually set in traditional offices. This list of shows to watch after The Office takes you from the pitch of a soccer field to the world of video game development, and from public sector goofballs to the folks making your local retail experience actually work. Oh, and Gotham City, too.
Read on for our list of 13 shows to watch after The Office.
1. Mythic Quest
The Apple TV Plus series Mythic Quest manages to find a lot of humor in the eccentricities of the broken human beings making a fictional online game. It all starts with egomaniacal Ian Grimm (Rob McElhenney), who is as much of a chore to work for as he is obsessed with his own physique. Oh, and if you're reading Ian as "ee-an," he'd correct you. It's pronounced "eye-an." Ian's weird relationships are the core of season one of Mythic Quest, and the most prominent is with Poppy Li (Charlotte Nicdao), the lead engineer of the game, who is struggling to be taken seriously by Ian. Poppy's completely socially inept, one category of life that Ian is somehow not screwed up in. Ian also terrorizes the game's exec producer David, who has the confidence of a mealworm.
Game testers Rachel (Ashly Burch) and Dana (Imani Hakim) are so bored with their job that it seems like they're going to take a break for romance — even though they keep getting interrupted. The Mythic Quest cast is rounded out by F. Murray Abraham as CW Longbottom, the game's pretentious scribe. And don't overlook Danny Pudi, who plays as Brad Bakshi — the suit in charge of monetization, making him the ultimate bad guy (trying to get you to buy stuff in-game). — Henry T. Casey
2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
A comedy about cops might not be everyone’s cup of tea in the current climate, but Brooklyn Nine-Nine has consistently been both hilarious and sensitive to real-world issues. Its handling of race has been, at times, quite remarkable, highlighting real issues while never dropping a comedy moment. It’s clearly a remarkably skilled writing team. The final series of the show, yet to air either on broadcast or streaming networks, got a significant rework in light of recent incidents and the show is unlikely to shy away from the discussion.
But all of that aside, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is an absolutely brilliant comedy. A truly magnificent cast is led by Andy Samberg (who also produces). plus a mix of famous and less famous faces. Andre Braugher hasn’t forged a career in comedy shows, but his performance is one of the best elements here: his straight-laced character Raymond Holt brings so much to the fictional precinct and his on-screen time is a genuine joy. It’s worth watching this show to see how Holt, as well as Stephanie Beatriz’s character, Rosa Diaz, develop over the eight seasons. — Ian Morris
Watch on Peacock (US) or Netflix (Outside the US)
3. The Office (UK)
Although the U.S. version of The Office is technically a remake of the U.K. original, the two are so different that they might as well be from different planets rather than different continents. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s take on life in the Wernham Hogg Paper Merchants is far darker and a lot ruder than its U.S. counterpart, while Gervais’ David Brent is altogether less likable than Michael Scott.
It’s also much shorter: Just 14 episodes were made, including two Christmas specials. That said, it packs a lot into those 7 hours and 40 minutes, and many of the themes and characters from the Scranton version have their origins here. Brent is the archetypal bad boss, the relationship between Martin Freeman’s Jim and Lucy Davis’ Dawn mirrors that of Jim and Pam and Mackenzie Crook is brilliant as the Dwight prototype Gareth.
You’ll even recognize some individual scenes, many of which made their way into the U.S. Office’s first season. We’re not going to get drawn into the debate over which is better, but the fact that opinion is split should be reason enough to give the U.K. Office a go. — Marc McLaren
Watch on Prime Video or HBO Max
4. Harley Quinn
Not all coworkers wear formalwear and work around a watercooler. The animated Harley Quinn series sees Mr. J's former sidekick striking out on her own after yet another break up. And in this series, Quinn (voiced by Kaley Cuoco) is building her own team — and she's learning how tough it is to hire (just like when the Michael Scott Paper Company started). One of her worst hires is Dr. Psycho (Tony Hale), who would get in serious trouble with HR (if she had such a team). The gang has more than a few strong team players, including Clayface (Alan Tudyk) and King Shark (Ron Funches), who try to help Quinn with her aspirations to be a big player in Gotham's crime scene.
Quinn's also learning how to be a good boss, as she often seems more interested in getting into the Justice League than working with her team. Relationship drama ensues when Quinn's best friend Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) starts dating the lowly Kite-Man, who's a C-tier super villain at best. Harley Quinn's second season is also fantastic, as Penguin, The Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face and Bane take over Gotham City, and their run as the comically flawed Injustice League is fantastic. — Henry T. Casey
5. Ted Lasso
You didn't need to care about paper to be drawn to the sales team at Dunder-Mifflin, and you don't need to understand soccer to love Ted Lasso. The series stars Jason Sudeikis as the titular coach, who lives a true fish-out-of-water story as he switches jobs from working in collegiate football to travelling across the pond to lead an English Premier League team. And just like how The Office had colleagues that just don't get along with each other, AFC Richmond (the team he's managing) has the smug Jamie Tart, a pretty boy who knows how good he is and isn't afraid to slack off.
Ted Lasso wins (as a show), though, because of the teamwork and positivity that Coach Lasso promotes. In a moment where too many shows are exhaustingly negative, Lasso's inherent upbeat positivity is his strongest weapon in surviving. And life at AFC Richmond is tough, as their record is poor, and sports journalists continue to hound him for how little he knows. Plus, while his boss Rebecca isn't clueless like Michael Scott, she's equally troublesome with her own motivations. — Henry T. Casey
6. Arrested Development
Arrested Development is old enough now to find an entirely new audience that missed it when it aired on Fox back in 2003. Without doubt this is the pinnacle of American comedy, especially in the first three seasons. Netflix picked the show up after its cancelation and produced more episodes, but it never quite achieved the brilliance of the early episodes there. It is without doubt still well worth watching.
The construction of Arrested Development episodes is a work of absolute genius. As the story unfolds you’ll be delighted by how an episode arc unfolds. You’ll see things happen across the season too, which call back to earlier events. It’s clever but consistently funny. With an all-star cast that includes legends like the late, great Jessica Walter, David Cross, Portia De Rossi, Will Arnett and Jason Bateman. Not only that but comedy greats guest star with amazing regularity including Henry Winkler and Judy Greer. Arrested Development was always a critics favourite for it’s smart, well-written episodes, but it’s more accessible than you might think. — Ian Morris
7. Parks & Rec
Feeling almost like The Office’s sister show (Its co-creator is Office producer Greg Daniels), Parks and Recreation is another mockumentary-style sitcom but this one focuses on the local government of a fictional town in Indiana, Pawnee. Sporting plenty of comedic talent in front of the camera — including Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aubrey Plaza, Nick Offerman, and Chris Pratt — Parks and Rec is as endlessly quotable as The Office but it’s the loveable characters that have made it a binge-watching favorite for many.
Again, just like The Office, it does start out a little rough but push through the underwhelming first season and you’ll be rewarded with a show that can compete with the best Dunder Mifflin had to offer — Rory Mellon
8. The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd focuses on the unsung heroes of office life: the I.T. support staff who keep the whole thing running. Although in this case, they do a pretty poor job of it. Created by Graham Linehan, the man behind the similarly surreal Father Ted, The IT Crowd is essentially the story of what would happen if you put three incredibly different characters in a small basement room together, made them all socially awkward and prone to screw ups, then let them loose to wreak havoc.
That trio — shy geek Maurice (Richard Ayoade), lazy and boorish Roy (Chris O'Dowd) and out-of-her depth Jen (Katherine Parkinson) — are all supremely watchable and there’s a rotating cast of similarly over-the-top characters for them to play off, including Chris Morris as the insane boss Denholm and Noel Fielding as the uber-goth Richmond. Very little here bears any resemblance to actual office life, unless you work in a very, very strange place, but it’s constantly funny and frequently brilliant stuff all the same. — Marc McLaren
9. Community
Community is, without doubt, one of the best comedy shows ever to air on network TV. Creator Dan Harmon went on to develop the painfully self-aware animated comedy Rick and Morty with Justin Roiland, but Community is where we first saw his flair for meta-comedy. And if you’re not a Rick and Morty fan, don’t be put off: Community is a totally different beast.
Firstly, the cast is exceptional. There’s no point trying to pick any of them out for praise here (Editor's Note: Donald Glover and Danny Pudi are exceptionally talented in the show), as it would just be a list of every one of the main stars and virtually every guest star who appeared. Every episode is a well-crafted story with brilliant insights into humanity as well as strong comedy. You’ll get to see the ongoing paintball saga unfold and watch virtually every movie genre. It's perhaps unsurprising that the Russo Brothers played a big role in directing the show, before going off to tie up Marvel’s Avengers franchise with Infinity War and Endgame.
Harmon was fired by Sony before the start of season four, it’s the weakest part of the show but still very worthy of viewing. Season five is a massive improvement and season six is a different beast, but well worth watching. The show is famous for its mantra “six seasons and a movie”, and we can only hope that a feature film emerges at some point in the future, hopefully with the majority of its cast. — Ian Morris
10. The Good Place
If you’ve managed to avoid having the big twist of The Good Place's first season spoiled for you, then you’re in for a real treat. The series showcases creator Michael Schur’s ability to make loveable characters in a strong ensemble that create plenty of laughs, while never failing to move the story forward.
Unlike Shur’s other comedy shows, like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Office, The Good Place has a season and series arc that keeps things fresh and ultimately delivers it to a pretty endearing finale. Parks and Recreation also attempts this, but with slightly less success.
The Good Place is often laugh-out-loud funny and its unique situation allows it to go wild with episodic themes and the jokes they inspire. Kristin Bell is flawless in everything she does, and Ted Danson is a genius too. But the entire cast is gold — Schur’s skill is picking great actors for his shows — with it being absolutely critical to call out the incredible work of D'Arcy Carden, especially in later seasons.
The Good Place is more than a comedy, it’s an entire universe packed with both clever and obvious laughs. The last season is an emotional rollercoaster that winds up this series well, and reminds you how the characters grew over just four years. Also, make sure you follow each episode with the official podcast (don’t listen ahead though), hosted by Marc Evan Jackson, it’s far better than it has any right to be and will provide a lot of insight into the production of the show. — Ian Morris
11. Superstore
A workplace sitcom that will have any viewers with retail job experience cringing from reliability, Superstore manages to deftly balance broad comedy with commentary on important social issues. Superstore took some time to find its groove (as many network comedies do) but over its six seasons it flourished into a show with real heart — and a charming ensemble cast to boot.
Superstore's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in its last season especially was a real highlight of its run, and will surely stand as a powerful tribute to a troubled period of human history. If only actually working at a big-box store was as fun as Superstore makes it look. — Rory Mellon
12. Scrubs
Scrubs is what happens when you find laughter and serious emotions on your way to growing up. While Jim, Dwight, Pam and the rest of the Dunder Mifflin crew are all adults, each starts off the series a lot more immature than when they started (not that they become grizzled vets by the end). And Scrubs gives you a similar situation where J.D. (Zach Braff), Turk (Donald Faison) and Elliot (Sarah Chalke) are a part of the latest class of medical students to arrive at Sacred Heart Hospital, where they find that things go wrong (and often).
Relationships blossom, mentorships form and you quickly realize that Scrubs is a very good workplace comedy. And the fact that Scrubs gets as many laughs as it does from a hospital, arguably the least funny setting, is a testament to show-runner Bill Lawrence, who also runs Ted Lasso. John C. McGinley's work as Dr. Perry Cox is probably the best the series offers when it comes to threading humor and nuance. — Henry T. Casey
13. Party Down
What if your office always changed? What if your clients were people trying to have the best party of their lives? What if you just didn't really care? That's the situation at hand with Starz' Party Down, a series about what it's like to work in the depressing world of catering. The show stars Adam Scott as Henry Pollard, a guy who got his one big break with a TV ad, and never got a second chance. The rest of his colleagues also have higher ambitions, such as aspiring actors Casey Klein (Lizzy Caplan) and Kyle Bradway (Ryan Hansen), as well as the wannabe restaurateur Ron Donald (Ken Marino) and the script-writing Roman DeBeers (Martin Starr).
This crew of colleagues don't care at all about the work, and barely function as a unit, except to provide two seasons of great TV. Why only two? While Party Down was a great series on Starz, it all fell apart when bigger shows, such as Glee and Parks and Recreation, kept poaching its cast. Party Down's casting agents proved nimble, though, bringing in Megan Mullally when Jane Lynch left. The good news is that Starz is bringing Party Down back for a third season. — Henry T. Casey
