The Office
The most recommended of 4 sitcoms
Workplace mockumentary sitcom people recommend for its comedy and character arcs; critics note the US version loses steam in later seasons and the UK version is bleak.
13 people recommended The Office in Hacker News comments, 10 had mixed feelings and 11 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 31 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 30 of those comments still count.
34 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- mixed feelings
- 10
- warn against or regret it
- 11
The record
Recommended in 7 of 12 months
In 9 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 7 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 9 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 23% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 28 of the 39 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Honest, funny look at workplace
“What makes the show work in the UK (and Ireland), is a greater cultural willingness to see the worst aspects of reality reflected in entertainment.”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide over "heroes"” “the joke is more subtly, brilliantly, and originally from The Office”
Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “Assistant to the Regional Manager” “For the record, I do enjoy some Series: Friends, The Office, etc.”
Comment from 6 Dec 2025 in “Netflix to Acquire Warner Bros” Both UK and US versions praised
“the US office was just plain better executed in many ways”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide over "heroes"” “the British show was much better than the US one”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “The Gervais Principle, or the Office According to "The Office"” “The Office (US)" was a better show.”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Assistant to the Regional Manager” Strong character arcs over seasons
“Michael does make a really good arc from season one to when he leaves”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “The Gervais Principle, or the Office According to "The Office"” “it made his character arc more interesting”
Comment from 10 Mar 2026 in “The Gervais Principle, or the Office According to "The Office"” Translated well to American audiences
“it wouldn't have worked as well for American audiences”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide over "heroes"” “It turned out to translate very well into American.”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide over "heroes"”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
US version falters in later seasons
“The US version started that way but it just didn’t work at all.”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “Douglas Adams on the English–American cultural divide over "heroes"”
Other sitcoms people recommend
The three most recommended other sitcoms, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The OfficeThis page | 13 | 10 | 11 | 54% | 7 | — | — |
| Yes Minister | 8 | 1 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | — |
| Yes, Prime Minister | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Red Dwarf | 5 | 1 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
28 of the 39 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The Office (US) was worth it for me -- eventually they settle into a groove of silly hijinks”
“But it’s worth watching until the end to see what happens with Tim and Dawn”
“I find the UK Office unbearably bleak and uncomfortable at times”
“I have the same aversion to watching The Office”
“Windows and Office only gained traction via nefarious acts on Microsoft’s part”
“Even former cash cows like Windows and Office are struggling”
“There’s a great episode of The Office where Pam distracts Creed, the new acting manager”
“Microsoft's best long-lived products have always been both finished solutions to your problems and platforms to help you develop more solutions”
“your employer is paying for it, so you have no say in it anyway”
“You had everything great. Xbox, Windows, Office… and somehow in a short span of time you managed to enshittify everything.”
“it made his character arc more interesting”
“the British show was much better than the US one”
“has a much better and more nuanced implicit theory of management than this”
“Michael does make a really good arc from season one to when he leaves”
“The Office (US)" was a better show.”
“the joke is more subtly, brilliantly, and originally from The Office”
“Exchange (on-prem) and Office are all still fixable and will last Microsoft a long time”
“Just as Office has had to stop running VBA macros on startup”
“the US office was just plain better executed in many ways”
“What makes the show work in the UK (and Ireland), is a greater cultural willingness to see the worst aspects of reality reflected in entertainment.”
“it wouldn't have worked as well for American audiences”
“It turned out to translate very well into American.”
“The US version started that way but it just didn’t work at all.”
“so much stuff is unfinished, buggy, incompatible to existing things”
“Did you know there's no more Office, they literally call it Microsoft Copilot 365 now?”
“For the record, I do enjoy some Series: Friends, The Office, etc.”
“So Microsoft will continue to provide low quality consumer experiences that don't fit the consumer market that well.”
“And now they're working hard at blowing up Windows and Office products.”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.