If you have recently become obsessed with ABC’s newest workplace comedy,Abbott Elementary, just know you are not alone. In January, it was reported thatAbbott Elementaryquadrupled its ratings in MP35 — the first ABC comedy to do so. The show follows the everyday chaos that is involved in being an elementary school teacher in West Philadelphia. The cast of characters includes a strong-headed veteran teacher, a tone-deaf principal, an over-eager second-year teacher, and so many more. While there are many network comedies today that reign in large audiences, not nearly as many can say that their success is deserved.Abbott Elementaryis not only popular but an extremely well-written show that handles the important and pressing issues educators face with grace and humor. For more shows that will make you laugh and think, here’s a list for you!
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A Black Lady Sketch Show
Though this show may not seem like it has a lot in common withAbbott Elementaryon its surface as it is not a sitcom but a sketch show, the two have one person in common:Quinta Brunson. Before ABC picked upAbbott Elementary, Brunson, the show’s star and creator, was working onA Black Lady Sketch Show. When it was released, the show was a breath of fresh air. Most sketch comedy shows likeSaturday Night Live!andPortlandiahave a history of centering their comedy around what white male audiences find funny. All the sketches in this show are written, produced, and starring black women. With a cast of writers that includes the likes ofAshley Nicole BlackandAmber Ruffinand guest stars likeAngela BassettandLaverne Cox, there’s no way you won’t be doubled over laughing by the end of every skit.
Modern Family
BeforeAbbott Elementarybroke every record for a sitcom on ABC, the network’s highest-performing show wasModern Family. The show revolves around three different types of families (nuclear, blended, andsame-sex) who are connected through their patriarch, Jay Prichett. The show delves into issues of adoption, immigration, homophobia, and the everyday problems that all families face. Along with that, the show is also incredibly funny.Sofía Vergaraas Gloria is deliciously unhinged at times andTy Burrell’s performance as Phil, the “cool dad” who ends up looking more like a bumbling fool, are reasons enough to watch this show in its entirety. Seeing as howAbbott Elementaryis only in its first season, it’s a good idea to hunker down with the 11 seasonsModern Familyto see what ithas to offer.
The Office
Whether showrunners and creators like to admit it or not,The Officeis and always will be the template on which all workplace sitcoms are built. Based on theRicky Gervaisshow of the same name,The Officefollows the everyday lives of people who work at a mid-level paper company called Dunder Mifflin. Though many are just there to quietly do their work and go home, their childish, insensitive, and lovable boss, Michael Scott (Steve Carell) makes that impossible. This show, more than any other, found beauty and hilarity in the mundane. As an audience, we got to watch our favorite characters fall in love, rise up in their job, and often make fools of themselves. It’s one of the few shows that can make you cry from sadness and from laughter.
Related:11 of TV’s Best Workplace Romances, From ‘The Office’ to ‘Schitt’s Creek’
Parks & Recreation
This show was also created by the writers ofThe Officebut contains apolitical tingethat is more in line with that ofAbbott Elementary.Parks & Recreationfollows Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) an idealistic government worker who has to fight her aggressive and idiotic townspeople, her somewhat uncaring coworkers, and the corrupt elite, all with a smile on her face. UnlikeAbbott Elementary, the show had a rocky first season and represents one of the great comeback stories of television. After getting middling reviews, many of the characters changed a lot and the comedy became much more political. Of all the shows mentioned in this list,Parks & Recreationcontains the most interesting character developments for its main and supporting characters as well as important and accessible social commentary.
Superstore
WhenAmerica Ferreradecides to star in and produce a show, you may be sure it will be universally funny and with a large focus on working-class struggles.Superstoreis just that show. It takes place in a big-box chain store similar to Walmart or Target and follows the lives of the wide cast of people that work there.Superstoreblends the ideas of workplace comedies likeThe OfficeandParks & Recreation, by showcasing the banality and humor that comes from working in a middling job but attaches important political issues to what some might believe to be an “unpolitical” place. Throughout the series, these characters fight for unionization, proper maternity leave, and attempt to overcome undocumented status. With great performances from Ferrera as well asBen FeldmanandLauren Ash, this is a great alternative toAbbott Elementary.
LikeAbbott Elementary, this is a great network show that focuses on the lives of public school teachers, albeit with a more cynical and less heartwarming lens. When Jack Griffin, a disgraced Harvard philosophy professor loses his job, he returns to his hometown in Ohio to work as an AP Biology replacement teacher. His interests lie less in teaching and more in using these eager-to-please honor roll students to enact his revenge on his previous professional rival Miles Leonard and to help him write what he believes will be a best-selling book.Glenn Howertonis great at playingmorally questionable narcissistslike Dennis Reynolds inIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but inAP Bio, he really shines. With the hilariousPatton Oswaltat his side, you will laugh until your sides hurt!
Picture this: you’re a successful lawyer living the high life until you are suddenly disbarred and suspended from your law firm when it is discovered that you lied about possessing a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and are now forced to enroll in community college. That is Jeff Winger’s dilemma in the inventive sitcom,Community. The show follows Jeff’s trials and tribulations and his relationship with a group of diverse and hilarious friends who form a Spanish study group. The creator,Dan Harmon, who went on to createRick & Morty, wrote an incredibly meta show that makes fun of the sitcom format itself and has fun by playing with a diverse array of genres. you’re able to enjoy a western-style episode, aMy Dinner with Andreepisode, or a sci-fi episode. If you want a sitcom about the other side of the education system, this is the only one that matters.
