Best tv shows like The Office
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious Wernham Hogg Paper Company. Gervais also stars in the series, playing the central character, David Brent. Although fictional and scripted, the programme takes the form of a documentary, with the presence of the camera often acknowledged. Two six-episode series were made, along with a pair of 45-minute Christmas specials. When it was first shown on BBC Two, it was nearly cancelled due to low ratings, but has since become one of the most successful of all British comedy exports. As well as being shown internationally on BBC Worldwide, channels such as BBC Prime, BBC America and BBC Canada, the series has been sold to broadcasters in over 80 countries, including ABC1 in Australia, The Comedy Network in Canada, TVNZ in New Zealand and the pan-Asian satellite channel STAR World, based in Hong Kong. The show began airing in The United States on Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim on 18 September 2009 until 2012.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 121000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, mockumentary, sitcom, feel good, realistic, funny, dark comedy, hilarious, offbeat, atmospheric
Best tv shows and movies like The Office (2001):
Similar in 81%
Phoenix Nights (2001)
Plot Summary:
Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights is a British sitcom about The Phoenix Club, a working men's club in the northern English town of Farnworth, Greater Manchester. The show was written by Neil Fitzmaurice, Peter Kay and Dave Spikey, produced by Goodnight Vienna Productions and Ovation Entertainments, and was broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK. All the music was written by Toni Baker and Peter Kay. Additional material was provided by Paddy McGuinness. Two series have been produced, which were first transmitted in 2001 and 2002. The show is a spin-off from the spoof documentary series That Peter Kay Thing, and in turn gave rise to the spin-off Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere. It won the People's Choice Award at the British Comedy Awards 2002, and was nominated for several others. Kay is also its star, in multiple roles, and directed the second series. In September 2006, Kay revealed on BBC Radio 1 that a third series of Phoenix Nights has been written, but it is unknown when the series will be filmed. On 8 May 2007, another announcement by Kay was made promising another series will be made. However Dave Spikey, in interviews with The Sentinel and the Croydon Guardian in late-2009, claimed that neither he nor fellow co-writer Neil Fitzmaurice were aware of any plans to bring back the series.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, semi serious, realistic
Similar in 78%
Fawlty Towers (1975)
Plot Summary:
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television that was first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1979. Twelve episodes were made. The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom also starred in the show. The series is set in Fawlty Towers, a fictional hotel in the seaside town of Torquay, on the "English Riviera". The plots centre around tense, rude and put-upon owner Basil Fawlty, his bossy wife Sybil, a comparatively normal chambermaid Polly, and hapless Spanish waiter Manuel and their attempts to run the hotel amidst farcical situations and an array of demanding and eccentric guests. In a list drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, voted by industry professionals, Fawlty Towers was named the best British television series of all time.
IMDB Rating: 8.8
IMDB Votes: 99000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, hilarious, feel good, witty, not serious, funny, atmospheric, sweet, entertaining
Similar in 82%
Trollied (2011)
Plot Summary:
Set in Valco, a fictional budget supermarket in the north west of England, Trollied finds the funny in one of our most familiar surroundings and focuses on the types of characters we all recognise: bored checkout staff, ineffectual managers and a range of customers, from the irate to the downright bizarre.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 26 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, not serious, realistic
Similar in 80%
Come Fly with Me (2010)
Plot Summary:
Comedy series set in a busy airport and on the departing and arriving flights, featuring characters played by Matt Lucas and David Walliams.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 29 min
Plot tags: mockumentary, parody, humorous, captivating, sitcom, light, feel good, entertaining, funny, controversial
Similar in 78%
The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret (2009)
Plot Summary:
Comedy about an inept American placed in charge of sales at his company's London branch. He has no experience with British culture, knows nothing about sales, and has only one employee, Dave. Each episode begins with a scene of Margaret appearing in dire circumstances.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, not serious, realistic, feel good, entertaining, light, sincere, captivating, funny
Similar in 90%
Derek (2012)
Plot Summary:
Derek is a loyal nursing home caretaker who sees only the good in his quirky co-workers as they struggle against prejudice and shrinking budgets to care for their elderly residents.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: sitcom, mockumentary, sincere, humorous, captivating, entertaining, satirical, social, hilarious, sensitive
Similar in 83%
Stromberg (2004)
Plot Summary:
Stromberg is a German television series which is produced by Brainpool and broadcast on the commercial television channel ProSieben. The series was proclaimed as a copy of the BBC series The Office, although initially the producers claimed it was based on a character from a past ProSieben comedy, in spite of many elements resembling the The Office. An "inspired by" credit was given to the creators of The Office, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, after the BBC threatened ProSieben with legal action. The first season, which appeared in 2004, was made up of eight episodes. A second season of ten episodes, although not initially planned, was launched on 11 September 2005. A third season of eight episodes was launched on 5 March 2007. A fourth season was launched on 3 November 2009, with the entire season being available on DVD on 6 November. All four seasons can be watched online for free, courtesy of Brainpool.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy
Country: Germany
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: humorous, mockumentary, realistic, semi serious, not serious, intellectual, sitcom, hilarious
Similar in 88%
Intelligence (2020)
Plot Summary:
When an arrogant, maverick National Security Agent comes over from the US to join a newly-formed team tackling cybercrime at Britain's security headquarters, he enlists an inept and tactless computer analyst Joseph in a power grab that threatens to disrupt the team’s ability to combat cyber terrorism.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration:
Plot tags: funny, witty, humorous, not serious, sitcom, spoof
Similar in 85%
Parks and Recreation (2009)
Plot Summary:
Hilarious ensemble comedy that follows Leslie Knope, a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana, and her tireless efforts to make her quintessentially American town just a little bit more fun.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 281000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: mockumentary, sitcom, humorous, funny, talky, not serious, realistic, clever, hilarious, political
Similar in 86%
Party Down (2009)
Plot Summary:
Party Down is an American comedy television series that follows a Los Angeles, California, catering team for the titular company. The sextet of aspiring Hollywood actors and writers, as well as drifting lost souls, work small-time catering gigs while hoping for their break or some positive change in their lives.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, witty, not serious, cynical, funny, mockumentary, parody, sweet, epic
Similar in 82%
Pete versus Life (2010)
Plot Summary:
Pete versus Life is a Channel 4 sitcom created by George Jeffrie and Bert Tyler-Moore. It stars Rafe Spall and the first episode was aired on 6 August 2010. It was recommissioned for a second series after averaging 1.6 million viewers and a young demographic during its first run, and series two started airing on 21 October 2011.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 891
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, surreal, not serious, light, feel good, captivating, dark comedy, offbeat, realistic
Similar in 83%
The IT Crowd (2006)
Plot Summary:
UK Comedy series about two I.T. nerds and their clueless female manager, who work in the basement of a very successful company. When they are called on for help, they are never treated with any respect at all.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 162000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, witty, not serious, realistic, funny, controversial, dark comedy, hilarious, clever
Similar in 78%
Monday Monday (2009)
Plot Summary:
Monday Monday is an ITV, UTV comedy drama. It stars Fay Ripley, Jenny Agutter, Neil Stuke, Holly Aird, Morven Christie, Tom Ellis, and Miranda Hart. It is set in the head office of a supermarket that has fallen on hard times and had to re-locate its staff from London to Leeds. The show was initially announced as part of ITV's Winter 2007 press pack, but was "iced" until 2009 due to falling advertising in the wake of the economic downturn.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 475
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: humorous, cynical, semi serious, captivating, atmospheric, realistic
Similar in 80%
Louie (2010)
Plot Summary:
Louis C.K. stars as a fictionalized version of himself; a comedian and newly divorced father raising his two daughters in New York City.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: humorous, sitcom, sincere, dark comedy, clever, realistic, semi serious, funny, hilarious, witty
Similar in 76%
Ground Floor (2013)
Plot Summary:
Brody, a young hot-shot banker at Whitestone Trust, thought he was just having a one-night stand with Jennifer, a beautiful woman he met at a bar. But when he discovers that she works in maintenance for the building where he works, their worlds begin to collide in the most unexpected way. Facing Brody’s critical boss, Mr. Mansfield, as well as annoyed colleagues, the pair must find a way to deal with their growing feelings for each other in this modern take on Romeo & Juliet.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, sentimental, realistic, humorous, semi serious, funny, offbeat
Similar in 80%
Outnumbered (2007)
Plot Summary:
Partly-improvised sitcom looking at the trials and tribulations of bringing up three young children - a regal five-year-old girl with a talent for interrogation, a seven-year-old boy who could fib for Britain and an 11-year-old who is gearing up for his scary first day at secondary school.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, semi serious, realistic, sentimental, touching, light, sincere, feel good, melancholic
Similar in 80%
Twenty Twelve (2011)
Plot Summary:
Twenty Twelve is a BBC television comedy series written and directed by John Morton. Starring Hugh Bonneville, Jessica Hynes and Amelia Bullmore, the programme is a spoof on-location documentary following the organisation of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. It was first broadcast on UK television station BBC Four in March 2011 to coincide with the 500 day countdown to the opening ceremony. Twenty Twelve gained mainly positive reviews from critics, and a four-part second series was announced on 15 April 2011, which began airing on 30 March 2012 on BBC Two. A further three episodes of series 2 began airing from 10 July 2012. The series' last episode was broadcast on 24 July 2012, three days before the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, mockumentary, humorous, semi serious, realistic, talky, fake documentary
Similar in 81%
Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge (2010)
Plot Summary:
Famous DJ Alan Partridge gives us an insight into what happens behind the microphone at North Norfolk digital radio.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: clever, humorous, not serious, realistic, witty, talky, sitcom, offbeat, cynical
Similar in 88%
Life's Too Short (2011)
Plot Summary:
Life's Too Short is a British sitcom mockumentary created and written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant from an idea by Warwick Davis, and is as described by Gervais, about "the life of a showbiz dwarf".
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, mockumentary, funny, humorous, witty, cynical, not serious, light, feel good, captivating
Similar in 77%
Extras (2005)
Plot Summary:
Andy Millman gave up his day job five years ago in the hope of achieving the big time, but he’s yet to land a speaking part, let alone saunter down the red carpet to pick up an Oscar. He remains optimistic however, as rubbing shoulders with the A-list on-set only serves to reinforce his belief that the big time is just a job or two away.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 60000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, witty, cynical, not serious, funny, mockumentary, hilarious, light, feel good
Similar in 86%
I'm Alan Partridge (1997)
Plot Summary:
I'm Alan Partridge is a BBC situation comedy starring Steve Coogan, of which two series of six episodes each were produced — the first in 1997 and the second in 2002. The series followed the titular Alan Partridge, a failed television presenter whose previous exploits had featured in the chat-show parody Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge, and who is now presenting a programme on local radio in Norwich. Both series were written by Peter Baynham, Coogan and Armando Iannucci; supporting Coogan were Felicity Montagu as his faithful, mouse-like personal assistant, Lynn Benfield; Simon Greenall as Geordie Travel Tavern handyman/BP garage attendant Michael; and Phil Cornwell as disc jockey Dave Clifton. It has been well received by both critics and fans, and was nominated for three BAFTAs, two British Comedy Award, and a Royal Television Society award.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 29 min
Plot tags: sitcom, hilarious, clever, offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty, talky, cynical, not serious
Similar in 76%
Kingdom (2007)
Plot Summary:
Kingdom is a British television series produced by Parallel Film and Television Productions for the ITV network. It was created by Simon Wheeler and stars Stephen Fry as Peter Kingdom, a Norfolk solicitor who is coping with family, colleagues, and the strange locals who come to him for legal assistance. The series also starred Hermione Norris, Celia Imrie, Karl Davies, Phyllida Law and Tony Slattery. The first series of six one-hour episodes was aired in 2007 and averaged six million viewers per week. Despite a mid-series ratings dip, the executive chairman of ITV praised the programme and ordered a second series, which was filmed in 2007 and broadcast in January and February 2008. Filming on the third series ran from July to September 2008 for broadcast from 7 June 2009. Stephen Fry announced on his blog in October 2009 that ITV was cancelling the series, which was later confirmed by the channel, which said that given tighter budgets, more expensive productions were being cut.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: clever, humorous, realistic, semi serious, witty, talky, cynical
Similar in 84%
Free Agents (2009)
Plot Summary:
Free Agents is a romantic black comedy starring Stephen Mangan, Sharon Horgan and Anthony Head. Originally a pilot for Channel 4 in November 2007, the series began on 13 February 2009. It spawned a short lived US remake, which was cancelled after just 4 episodes aired, although 4 more were later released on Hulu.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 396
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious, witty, talky, sitcom, dark comedy, hilarious, fast
Similar in 79%
Outsourced (2010)
Plot Summary:
Outsourced is an American television sitcom set in an Indian workplace. It is based on the John Jeffcoat film of the same name and adapted by Robert Borden of George Lopez and Universal Media Studios for NBC. The series originally ran from September 23, 2010 to May 12, 2011. The show was officially picked up by NBC on May 7, 2010 and on October 18, 2010, the show received a full season order. Outsourced was filmed at Radford Studios in Studio City, Los Angeles, California. When the renewal of the show was not announced with renewal of other NBC shows, the cast and crew started a campaign for fans of the show to request its renewal. On May 13, 2011, NBC announced that Outsourced was cancelled. Outsourced is set in a call center in Bombay, India, where an American novelties company has recently outsourced its order processing. A lone American manages the call center and must explain American popular culture to his employees as he tries to understand Indian culture.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, realistic, humorous, not serious, light, entertaining, hilarious
Similar in 82%
Black Books (2000)
Plot Summary:
Black Books centres around the foul tempered and wildly eccentric bookshop owner Bernard Black. Bernard’s devotion to the twin pleasures of drunkenness and wilful antagonism deepens and enriches both his life and that of Manny, his assistant. Bearded, sweet and good, Manny is everything that Bernard isn’t and is punished by Bernard relentlessly just for the crime of existing. They depend on each other for meaning as Fran, their oldest friend, depends on them for distraction. Black Books is a haven of books, wine and conversation, the only threat to the group’s peace and prosperity is their own limitless stupidity.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: humorous, sitcom, talky, not serious, offbeat, witty, surreal, realistic, funny, hilarious
Similar in 87%
Andy Richter Controls the Universe (2002)
Plot Summary:
Fanciful series about an aspiring writer who imagines alternative life scenarios while working for a big company.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, witty, cynical, semi serious, funny, clever, offbeat, realistic, biting
Similar in 80%
Hardware (2003)
Plot Summary:
Hardware is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 2003 to 2004. Starring Martin Freeman, it was written and created by Simon Nye, the creator of Men Behaving Badly. The show's opening theme was A Taste of Honey by Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 449
Genere: Comedy
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, funny, light, feel good, humorous, captivating, entertaining
Similar in 76%
Workaholics (2011)
Plot Summary:
Workaholics is an American sitcom that premiered on Comedy Central on April 5, 2011. The series is in its third season, and is predominantly written by its stars Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, and co-creator Kyle Newacheck who play, respectively, three recent college dropouts, roommates, and co-workers at a telemarketing company—and their drug dealer, in Rancho Cucamonga, California.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 55000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, funny, light, satirical, offbeat, epic, hilarious, not serious
Similar in 84%
The Office (2005)
Plot Summary:
The everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.
IMDB Rating: 9.0
IMDB Votes: 682000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: sitcom, mockumentary, humorous, talky, not serious, realistic, hilarious, witty, funny, feel good
Similar in 88%
Scrubs (2001)
Plot Summary:
In the unreal world of Sacred Heart Hospital, John "J.D" Dorian learns the ways of medicine, friendship and life.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 267000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, medical drama, witty, sincere, surreal, funny, feel good, captivating, hilarious