An in Depth Comparison of The Office vs Parks and Rec

The Office and Parks and Recreation are two of the most popular- binge-worthy comedic TV Shows ever put on television.  The American version of the Office first season dropped in 2005 the show starring Steve Carrell as the eccentric branch manager Michale Scott, Jenna Fischer as a quiet secretary Pam Beasley, Rainn Wilson as the iconic Dwight Schrute, and John Krasinski who plays the likable, prankster Jim Halpert.  Along with an ensemble of colorful characters, the Office portrays many of the exaggerated stereotypes of a common American workplace through likable characters and long-running gags. Parks and Recreation, created by Office writers Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, first came out April 9th, 2009, follows Amy Poehler portraying the overwhelmingly enthusiastic Leslie Knope, Aziz Ansari as the sarcastic, entrepreneurial Tom Haverford,  Chris Pratt as the oblivious Andy Dwyer, Abri Plaza as the apathetic April Ludgate, and Nick Offerman as the manliest man Ron Swanson. The show follows the cast of characters working for the local government of the fictional town Pawnee Indiana working through various problems and projects together. These two shows have stood the test of time through Netflix where people continue to binge-watch the characters of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company and Pawnee, Indiana.  After having watched the entirety of both these shows twice I have noticed some interesting similarities and parallels demonstrating how the writers evolved over time.  

Learning from mistakes

Season one of both The Office and Parks and Recreation is so different from the rest of their respected shows that I would argue one should skip them entirely.

The Office: 

The Office was a very successful British show and when NBC wanted to bring their version to the states the writers had the task of bringing their alternate version.  While I have not seen the British Office in its entirety, I have seen multiple episodes. The main differences between the two shows come from their tones and comedic style.  While the British Office is much more laced in realism and satire, following a group of characters working meaningless jobs following a set of stereotypes, the American Office is much more silly and hopeful.  Season One of the American Office, however, used many of the British shows successful jokes and plots, which made season 1 seem a copycat satirical comedy. The evolution of the American Office can be seen in every character as they all evolve from sad stereotypes into likable exaggerations.  Michael Scott for instance in Season 1 is portrayed as an eccentric boss who will do anything for the sake of humor whether it be, impressions, insults, or forcing Dwight to eat his stapler out of Jello. Michael to anyone without an impression of what he becomes is extremely unlikable. He comes away as a sociopathic jerk who uses his power as a manager as a means to entertain himself.  It does not work. As the lead character, Michael Scott developed into a likable boss who craves the attention above all else. Through developing his backstory and persona the writers turn Michael Scott into the manager who loves his employees, but like a child craves the feeling of attention. Without sacrificing the comedy he becomes likable. Michael Scott emphasizes what the American did with all of its characters, developing them into likable flawed humans with identifiable traits that made them become comedic.  

Parks and Recreation:

Season 1 of Parks and Recreation is unbearable.  Leslie Knope is crazy. Anne Perkins is bland. Ron Swanson is one note.  Tom Haverford is a sad ripoff of Jim from the Office. Andy Dwyer is a jerk. Mark Brandowitz is just selfish. Everyone else is unmemorable.  What changed? Everything! Leslie became kind, caring, successful, and became the driving force of a show which featured an extremely memorable cast.  Ron Swanson developed from being a cynical libertarian to becoming embodied manliness. A carnivore, who cares about truth, freedom, nature, and of course never sharing your feelings. Characters Dana, Jerry, April received much more screen time and development.  All the characters found their own niche and season 1 is disregarded by almost all fans of the show.   

Setting

The Office: In the Office, I feel like there are two major aspects to the setting of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.  There is the office itself with its distinct separate sections. Pam’s desk, Michael’s office, sales desk, accounting, conference room, lunchroom, and the warehouse.  Each of the separate settings makes up Dunder Mifflin but that is about it. While it divides the character’s into their groups, it does not add to the show or contribute to the humor.  The other aspect of Dunder Mifflin, which was a bit more interesting, was the idea of the corporate end of the business. The writers used the 2008 recession to their advantage, making specific episodes targeted at real-world issues for employers as the Office used episodes where the workers are worried their branch possibly closing, where Michael went to a conference meeting with people revolting against corporate leadership, and where Dunder Mifflin gets bought out.  By having the world of The Office mirror the real world the show used its setting as a means of real-life satire which played to its audience during struggling times.

Parks and Recreation: Where Parks and Rec gets everything right is through its characters and the setting really works as a playground for some of the most memorable reoccurring I have ever seen. Whether it is the Perd Haply’s shows, Joan Calimezio’s Today Show, the radio studio with the Douche, almost all recurring side characters have their own distinct locations where the show lets them work in their environment.  There are also Tom’s businesses; Entertainment 720, Rent-A-Swag, and Tom’s Bistro which in order show the development of the entrepreneur’s character, as they went from overly extravagant to much more successful over time. Parks and Recreations office puts all the characters together, Leslie center stage, and Jerry in position to make some sort of mistake. Parks and Recreation, Pawnee Indiana, is a playground for the characters, both the main cast and recurring characters, it is simple and effective. 

Season Rankings (Worst to Best)

Parks and Recreation Season 1: Skip It! That’s all I have to say.

The Office Season 8:  With Steve Carrell leaving the show to better his movie career, the show which was already declining, clearly took a massive hit from losing its main character.  The season included too much cringe from new unlikeable characters, and could never pick up the pieces, it was time for The Office to end, and the end was coming. 

The Office Season 9: A season lacking direction, heart, and humor, this show really limped to the finish but it did make it to that finish.  The final episode of season 9 including the return of Michael Scott allowed the whole fanbase to reflect on the greatness of the program. The finale alone is the reason it stands ahead of season 8. 

The Office Season 1: As mentioned earlier, it was a slow start, but The Office season 1 introduced us to the documentary-style show, and set-up the type of humor the show would make famous.  

The Office Season Season 6: The Office season 6 was not bad, but it was far from what people had grown accustomed to.  While seasons 2-5 were both goofy and memorable, it was Jim and Pam’s relationship that gave the show its heart. Having Pam and Jim officially tie the knot early on in the season was the beginning of a downtrend for the show overall, as the show tried to regain momentum with Michael and Holly, but nothing could replace the salesman and secretary whose arc was officially over. 

Parks and Recreation Season 7: The creators decided to have Parks and Rec take place in 2017, two years in the future, and the world changed quite a bit.  With many issues regarding adding new, unrealistic technologies, and a bit of a slow start. Season 7, with only 12 episodes, left the show off with a nice last few episodes, and the finale left the characters with a fitting conclusion. 

The Office Season 7:  The Office season 7 is put ahead of Parks and Rec season 7 because although they both are decent seasons with major goodbyes, the execution of goodbye Michael Scott was perfect.  Singing a parody of Seasons of Love, the tension of Pam missing Michael, meeting him at the airport, taking off the microphone, you can’t help but be choked up.

Parks and Recreation Seasons 2-6 and the Office Seasons 2-5 

I can’t decide.  This is the best of these two shows and the best television I had seen since Avatar the Last Airbender.  Choosing between the primes of these series is as hard as ranking these series. They are all so good, so memorable, don’t worry about what’s best just watch these 10 perfect seasons of television.

Conclusion: While I prefer Parks and Recreation over The Office, the two shows have stood the test of time over the last decade.  The work of creators Michael Shur and Greg Daniels has them as two of the greatest show creators of all time.  

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