In most high schools, if someone took a random poll of all the students and you asked them if they have heard the name Michael Scott, Ross or Monica Geller, or Ron Swanson, you might get the same positive answer. Why are all of these people so well known, even though they are in TV shows that are so basic? Would anybody expect a  coffee shop, a small government office, and a paper company to be the setting of most popular shows in the last twenty years?

  In Parks and Rec, the TV show about a low-level parks director with dreams of becoming an important female politician, Leslie Knope decides she wants to lead her government to a new and bright future in the lowest level of government in Pawnee, Indiana. Throughout the series, Leslie tries to seek her ambitions, become an important person, and fulfill her dreams. This is very important to people. Everyone has dreams, some big and some small, so people can definitely relate to average people having the same dreams as them. Another example of big dreams in a small office, Dwight Shrute from The Office always wanted to become the regional manager of Dunder Mifflin, but then he accidentally fires a gun in the building while showing off. After Dwight almost completely given up on his dream, David Wallace, the CEO of Dunder Mifflin, gives him the job in a surprising turn of events. In Friends, Joey, the best friend and class clown, constantly pursues his acting career, scoring a couple of small shows and advertisements throughout the show, but never making it big. Joey never gives up throughout the entire show and kept showing up for auditions. This could also be a lesson to the viewers of all of these shows to never give up on their dreams, no matter how hard it might be. Sophomore Kelsie Buehler agreed that TV shows based on simple places are better to watch because “these shows are simple and easy to watch. They don’t make you think, but they are entertaining anyways.” 

  Perhaps these three shows are popular because they resemble average people and great love stories. Jim Halpert, the salesman from The Office, struggles during the first few seasons to tell Pam Beasley that he likes her, but when he gets rejected, he moves away in embarrassment. In Parks and Rec, Tom Haverford, another government employee, left his green card marriage, but shortly realized he has feelings for his ex-wife. Viewers can relate to Tom, as many people have also had regrettable breakups. Ross and Rachel from Friends had one of the most debatable breakups in TV history. Rachel thought that Ross cheated, but Ross said that they were on a break. This is a way for viewers to maybe think about them overreacting over small things, such as breakups or arguments.

  No matter how much we all want to fly like Superman or perform like pro athletes, simple, relatable TV shows are the way to go. You can see exciting love stories, funny hijinks, and feel like a normal person when watching shows like Friends, The Office, and Parks and Rec.