27 Fictional TV Workplaces Ranked From Absolute Worst To Best
Guess which show is back for Season 2???
Apple TV+ / Via giphy.com
Yep! That's right — it's The Morning Show!
And I am extremely excited to see my favorite dysfunctional network news organization back on my TV.
Apple TV+ / Via giphy.com
But, of course, The Morning Show (and Steve Carell) reminded me of some of my other favorite television workplaces, like ye olde Dunder Mifflin.
NBC / Via giphy.com
So, I decided to do a Glassdoor-style review of all my favorite TV employers to find out which office environment would be the best place to be hired into.
HBO / Via giphy.com
Spoiler alert: Waystar RoyCo did not score well.
The anonymous employee surveys are in, the independent consultants have done thorough investigations, and I am now prepared to release my findings. Here is my ranking of TV office workplaces from worst to best with accompanying star reviews.
NBC / Via giphy.com
Also, a few quick caveats:
1. This is only for TV, no movies are included.
2. I only chose shows where the majority of the cast work at a single organization and that's a main plot of the show. Places like Schitt's Creek's Rosebud Motel and Stranger Things' Scoops Ahoy therefore don't qualify.
3. There are SO MANY doctor/lawyer/police procedurals that are all fairly similar, so I had to really narrow down that list to key players. Sorry if your fave got cut.
27.Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant — Chernobyl (0 stars)
Definitively, I'd say the worst place to work period, let alone on TV. If you didn't die in the initial reactor explosion at the Ukrainian power plant, then you could have been sent to your death moments later by an inept boss. And if you missed that, there was always radiation poisoning to take you in the days, months, or even years that followed. The HBO miniseries that scooped up numerous Emmys masterfully told the story of perhaps the most terrifying case of office negligence in human history. I don't care how much you like Jared Harris, it's still not worth working here.
Watch it on HBO Max.
26.Seattle Grace Hospital — Grey's Anatomy (1 star)
Every medical, legal, and detective show is technically set in a workplace, so in order to keep this from being a list of law firms and police precincts, I'm limiting myself on those fronts. Perhaps the most famous medical drama, however, is the Shonda Rhimes–created ABC juggernaut about to enter its 18th season. But Seattle Grace is CURSED. If your ambulance is headed there, roll your gurney out the backdoor and drag your dying carcass somewhere else. An active shooter showed up at the hospital, a bomb has gone off there, a lion mauled patients, the building caught on fire, half the staff was in a plane crash, and, of course, the on-the-fritz elevators once caused them to perform an operation inside of one. The place has got an insane amount of turnover (and plenty of that is from staff members dying), so I'd say avoid.
Watch it on Netflix.
25.CIA Counterterrorism — Homeland (1.5 stars)
A good rubric for judging whether or not you should take a job is always, "Will I die at said job?" In Homeland, the answer is "Possibly, and if you don't, you'll be stressed out of your freaking mind." The Emmy-winning show follows Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) and her various teams as they seek to prevent terrorist attacks around the world. Getting taken hostage, getting shot at, getting cursed out, and, of course, watching your teammates explode are all not uncommon. And when you're not in mortal peril, you've got to learn a half dozen languages and spend your days listening to garbled internet chatter for terrorist codes. Everyone on the show seems like they are in desperate need of some mental health days. I would not take this job if offered to me.
Watch it on Hulu.
24.FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit — Criminal Minds (1.5 stars)
Would I want to work with Dr. Spencer Reid? Absolutely. Would I want to interact with an unsub who is carving the eyes out of his victims to use in his taxidermy animals? Absolutely not. While CBS's beloved and long-running procedural (which has a revival headed to Paramount+) is fascinating to watch and the team seems absolutely lovely, a few too many of them have been taken hostage. Like, no amount of flirting with Garcia in my earpiece is going to make me want to be stalked and locked in a cellar by a deranged serial killer.
Watch it on Paramount+.
23.Miami Metro Police Department — Dexter (1.5 stars)
As you can see, all the crime shows are faring poorly because of the whole death thing. Dexter's team in Miami seems slightly more pedestrian and less fraught than those on Criminal Minds or Homeland. Yes, you might have to deal with a severed corpse or being shot at, but there are also birthday parties and slow days where you're just talking to Masuka about his wild sex life. It should also be noted that this team is not required to travel outside of South Florida, which significantly raises quality of life (unlike the Criminal Minds team, who are flying all over the place while somberly quoting T. S. Eliot).
Watch it on Showtime.
22.Pierpoint & Co. — Industry (1.5 stars)
The recent graduates now employed at the London investment bank are not getting shot at or exposed to deadly amounts of radiation, but that's about the nicest thing you can say for this workplace. The new hires are immediately put into a rat race as they're informed that while many are brought on, the paths with upward mobility are limited. Translation: Pierpont is going to work you to the bone. Long hours. Little sleep. A competitive atmosphere that leaves you suspicious of everyone. The burnout is incredible, the turnover rate is high, and the boy's club environment is stifling. Sure, you might make decent money, but when do you have the time to spend it? Being an underling at a financial institution looks like HELL (but is also darkly entertaining to watch).
Watch it now on HBO Max.
21.The Office of the Vice President of the United States — Veep (2 stars)
Working in politics looks stressful, especially when you're working for a high-level official like the VP, and even more especially when that VP is not good at her job like Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is. You are either working or on call 24/7 (not an exaggeration) and your whole livelihood hinges on the American people liking your boss and them remaining scandal-free. So why, then, would you rather work for the veep than at Pierpont? The perks my dear. The perks. At least if you're working with the second most powerful person in the US, you've got some room to throw your weight around. Junior analysts are cogs. White House staffers are cogs, but at least they get private Paul McCartney concerts occasionally.
Watch it on HBO Max.
20.Waystar RoyCo. — Succession (2 stars)
As with working for Selina Meyer, working for Logan Roy seems to be not great, as evidenced by the fact his own son tried to depose him from the board in Season 1. However, there is also the MONEY to consider. The MONEY. If you could Cousin Greg your way into the high echelons of the Roys' media conglomerate, then the perks are divine. The amount of actual work being done on this show seems fairly minimal. Instead, you're on yachts and at castles and going to swanky business retreats. But you could also be forced to play boar on the floor, so it's a trade-off.
Watch it on HBO Max.
19.UBA — The Morning Show (2.5 stars)
Honestly, working on UBA's crown jewel of a morning news program seems like a lot of fun, except for the tiny issue that there was a sexual predator stalking around the set for decades praying on unsuspecting young women. The hours are insanely early and the pace is fast, but the people seem nice and the work seems very consistent. But then there is the Mitch Kessler (Steve Carrell) situation and the fact that the network tried to cover up his reign of terror. Things are better in the wake of his firing, despite the whole show being in flux now.
Watch it on Apple TV+.
18.The Office of the President of the United States — The West Wing (3 stars)
Yes, working at the White House would be STRESSFUL. And that level of limitless stress could have led me to rank it lower on the list, but again, working for the president comes with a lot of perks. Moreover, in this case, it is a president who is worth working for and who is doing good things for the country. Motives cannot be overlooked here. Sure, you may get rich working at Waystar RoyCo, but are you affecting positive change? At least working for Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen), you can be sure that your long hours are trying to make the world a better place.
Watch it on HBO Max.
17.Westminster and Golden Police Departments — Unbelievable (3 stars)
Okay, so a big plot line in this underrated but SO, SO phenomenal Netflix crime drama is how ineffective and bureaucratic the American police apparatus is. Separate cities and departments often don't share their information, and the largely male police force is ill-equipped and insensitive when dealing with personal, sensitive crimes like sexual assault. That is why it takes so long for the string of sexual assaults here to be taken seriously. That being said, Toni Collette's Grace and Merritt Weaver's Karen are total badasses and incredibly good at their jobs. I would 100% want to work for them and help solve crimes that the straight men are too dense to untangle. Overall environment: not great. Karen and Grace's team: 10 out of 10. (And again, this miniseries is incredible. Go watch.)
Watch it now on Netflix.
16.Dunder Mifflin Paper Company — The Office (3 stars)
In many ways, working at Dunder Mifflin would be great. It seems relatively low stakes, you aren't seeing corpses on the daily, and there's an easy punch out at the end of the day. That being said, this extremely straight forward work comes with the strangest, most chaotic co-workers you can find. Plus you've got Steve Carell's Michael Scott as your boss, and he's waaaaaaaay too into fostering workplace camaraderie through laughably bad tactics like an office fun run titled: Michael Scott's Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run Race for the Cure. And he doesn't understand personal boundaries. No matter how much you might love the NBC classic comedy, working at Dunder Mifflin would be a nightmare.
Watch it now on Peacock.
15.Pied Piper — Silicon Valley (3 stars)
Working at a startup, like the one at the center of HBO's Emmy-winning comedy, seems rough. The hours are long, whether you will be paid is uncertain, and at any moment the entire company could just fold. That being said, there is also a level of excited adrenaline here that Dunder Mifflin is not bringing to the table. It's a high risk, high reward sort of job. And you get to work with some cool talented people. Kumail Nanjiani's Dinesh seems lovely and pleasant and I am OBSESSED with Jared's (Zach Woods) sense of humor. Honestly I'd work at Pied Piper (despite knowing nothing about coding or data compression) just to interact with Jared on a daily basis.
Watch it on HBO Max.
14.Party Down Catering — Party Down (3 stars)
Party Down focuses on a group of aspiring actors/comedians/writers who moonlight as LA caterers while they try to make it big. If this seems mildly depressing to you, that's because it is. The job itself is offering little in the way of perks (aside from getting to hobnob with the rich and famous of course), but also it is LOW STAKES. There is something to be said for a job that you really don't need that badly where you can mostly slough off with your coworkers. Not particularly rewarding, but not particularly awful either, and you get to hang out with Lizzy Caplan and Jennifer Coolidge while you're doing it.
Watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
13.NYPD 99th Precinct — Brooklyn Nine-Nine (3.5 stars)
If you're going to work at a television show police station, I'm going to suggest this one. First, the crimes committed are much more run of the mill and mundane than those that the Dexter or Criminal Minds teams are sifting through. This is a comedy and not a drama after all. Second, everyone is just so FREAKING NICE. This is a group of people you'd want to go into the office with every day. Whether it be Andy Samberg's charming Jake Peralta or Andre Braugher's no-nonsense Captain Holt or Stephanie Beatriz's a-bit-too-intense Rosa Diaz. Also we got workplace diversity! Finally an office that isn't just straight white males. But lest we forget, you could still get shot in this job.
Watch it on Peacock.
12.NBC — 30 Rock (3.5 stars)
So 30 Rock is basically a parody of Tina Fey's time as the head writer of Saturday Night Live, and it looks mildly hellish but very fun (just as accounts of working on SNL paint it to be). Fey's Liz Lemon has got to deal with her misogynistic, conservative boss Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) and flighty celebs Jenna Maroney and Tracy Jordon (Jane Krakowski and Tracy Morgan), but she's also in the thick of the action. The team is full of fun good people for the most part, and the work (unlike that of Party Down or Dunder Mifflin) is interesting and fast-paced. Also, it can not be overstated how magical it must be to work where you can see the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree out your window.
Watch it on Peacock.
11.Mode Magazine — Ugly Betty (3.5 stars)
With this classic ABC dramedy set in the fashion world, we're again looking at the axis of interesting job/easy job. Is it better to work someplace where you're fascinated by your job despite it being stressful or to do something easy if a bit mundane. In the case of Mode, I'm ranking it higher because the work itself seems endlessly captivating and while the office staff includes several vipers (Vanessa Williams's Wihelmina Slater at the front of the pack) America Ferrera's Betty does find many solid friends there as well. Her relationship with her boss Daniel (Eric Mabius) seems healthy for the most part, and despite entering the fashion space as an outsider, Betty is able to find her footing and prove herself.
Watch it on Hulu.
10.Paddy's Pub — It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (3.5 stars)
Okay, okay, okay. Hear me out. Yes, the gang gets up to nothing but miserable, problematic shenanigans, BUT if your whole job could be hanging around at a bar with your four best friends, raising hell, and laughing at inside jokes, wouldn't you be all about that? Throw a few dance parties, set up some pranks, eat a rum ham. No, it's not the most rewarding job on this list, but it is probably the most fun.
Watch it on Hulu.
9.Empirical Press — Younger (4 stars)
As someone who worked for a half decade in publishing, I can personally say that while there are certainly bright spots in the industry, it is also a bit of a rat race where assistants are worked hard for little money. I can also say that it is rarely glamorous. That, however, is NOT the case in the Hilary Duff version of the publishing world, which seems much cooler and less harried. Author events, book auctions, imprint mergers. They all have that Gossip Girl sheen now. Empirical Press is the publishing house of our dreams and it looks like a glitzy, bookish time to work there.
Watch it on Hulu.
8.FYI — Murphy Brown (4 stars)
If you're looking for a job in news, might I suggest you join the team at FYI, Murphy Brown's fictional network rather than that of The Morning Show's UBA? Not only is a rampant sexual assault cover up not underway, but also the whole team is spending more time having fun and then jockeying for political power. The DC-based crew also regularly go out for drinks together at Phil's, a bar and grill across the street, and I will not be working in an environment that doesn't believe in happy hour. Some lingering sexism is floating around in this late- '80s/'90s time capsule, so points must be deducted.
Watch it on Paramount+.
7.Cheers Bar — Cheers (4 stars)
Okay, remember all the reasons I said it would be great to work at Paddy's Pub? Well, basically all of the same reasons apply here. You're working with your friends. You're socializing with the regulars. It's pretty low stress. Only at Cheers, you don't have to worry about your friends destroying your car or turning into zombies when they drink punch spiked with bath salts or getting addicted to cocaine or drinking a "Fight Milk" that will make you vomit. So really, all of the pros and less of the cons here for Cheers.
Watch it on Peacock.
6.Bob's Burgers — Bob's Burgers (4.5 stars)
It cannot be overstated what a perk unlimited free hamburgers are. Like that alone would have put this workplace into the top 10. But also, working with the Belcher family at Bob's Burgers just feels like it would be cozy and comfortable. The work is not particularly demanding, and you get to spend your day listening to Bob's curmudgeonly sarcasm and Linda's casual musical numbers. Like, imagine if you got this job after college while you were figuring out your life. Bob and Tina become your de facto parents. You spend your time eating fries and the burger of the day. Life could be much, much worse.
Watch it on Hulu.
5.WJM — The Mary Tyler Moore Show (4.5 stars)
I think the ingredients of a good job are three-fold: 1) You've got to not hate your life, which is something that most of the workplaces lower on this list cannot say about their overworked, underpaid, could-be-killed-at-any-moment, employees. Mary Richard's (Mary Tyler Moore) news station WJM passes this barrier easily; 2) You've got to work with people you like. You spend more time each week with your co-workers than anyone else so they better be good. The bevy of Minnesotan producers and anchors who Mary spends her days with are entertaining and polite. Check!; 3) You need a sense of purpose. Are you making the world a better place? Do you have a direction? And with her pushing to get important stories on the air and carve out a place for a woman in a male-dominated industry, Mary has certainly found that. Really the environment is pretty top notch.
Watch it on Hulu.
4.The Pie Hole — Pushing Daisies (5 stars)
It's a pie shop AND a private detective agency. I mean enough said right there. Eat scrumptious pie baked by Lee Pace and served by Kristin Chenoweth and then head out to solve a quirky little murder mystery. Pace's Ned can raise people from the dead for 60 seconds by touching them and so he's particularly good at solving crimes local law enforcement can't. You'd be working with cool people, eating raspberry cream pie, and helping to bring justice to the world. Really what could be better?
Watch it on HBO Max.
3.Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department — Parks and Recreation (5 stars)
Having spent some time in Indiana, that's really the only thing holding this from the top spot on this list. Everyone who works in the Parks and Rec department of Pawnee is an utter delight. Truly I could not think of a group of people I'd rather work with more and Leslie Knope's undying optimism and push to make the world a better place would easily rub off on you as her coworker. Plus you're working with Rashida Jones, Aubrey Plaza, and Nick Offerman. Perhaps this is naive of me and working with these characters would actually be mildly nightmarish, but even so where do I apply? I'll be an intern.
Watch it on Peacock.
2.AFC Richmond — Ted Lasso (5 stars)
If there is one person I'd rather work for more than Leslie Knope, however, it is Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis). The endlessly kind, funny, hopeful American football coach turned British soccer coach is so good with people that he somehow manages to be good at coaching a sport he knows nothing about. He delicately balances the players' egos. He empowers the low level employees. He cheers up his boss. Who wouldn't want to work with this man? And if he isn't enough of a draw, there is also Keeley Jones (Juno Temple), the team's PR agent, who is also infectious. I'm ready to go out with the team to enjoy some karaoke.
Watch it now on Apple TV+.
1.Savoir — Emily in Paris (5 stars)
Yes. I know that you are groaning, but hear me out as to why Savoir is the best place to work: 1) It is located in Paris; 2) The job apparently requires no skill whatsoever — just show up and take some bad Instagram pics and you're done; 3) You get to go to fancy French dinners and parties; 4) You get to try out cool new products; 5) You get to wear nice clothes; 6) You have plenty of free time to flirt with sexy French chefs; 7) You can buy a croissant on the way to work; 8) It is located in Paris. Basically it's a glamorous Parisian job that looks very easy and yet somehow very cool (especially after you've won the respect of your snobby team with a few very basic social media stunts.) It is not realistic, because this entire show is a fairy tale, but it's a baguette-filled French fairy tale that I want to live in. Au revoir!
Watch it on Netflix.
Watch The Morning Show exclusively on Apple TV+. Stream this and other TV shows and movies for only $4.99 a month, or try out a free 7-day trial.
