TV aficionados often have their favorite genres, eras, or settings among shows. They love the worlds that writers, directors, and producers create, and they love the characters that actors inhabit. Those worlds are often defined by distinctive settings like schools, homes, coffee shops, or office environments.
Even those who work from home can be envious of the creative TV offices they know and love. Whether it's a law firm, a newsroom, a paper company, or something less conventional, everyone has their ideal onscreen office.
Dunder Mifflin (The Office)
Each of Dunder Mifflin's employees probably reminds viewers of someone they know in real life. But, seeing them all in one room together is part of the magic of The Office.
The mundanity of each day is punctuated by the neurotic antics of Michael Scott. Dunder Mifflin is one of the most recognizable TV show offices in the world, and that's because Dwight, Jim, Pam, Phyllis, Kevin, Creed, Kelly, Stanley, Angela and all the rest make it so memorable.
Empirical Publishing (Younger)
Younger has one of the most fashionable fictional offices in New York City, mainly because everyone who works there dresses so well. Charles and Diana unwittingly see Liza as a hip millennial assistant on par with the sensibilities of editor Kelsey Peters.
Kelsey and Liza take regular meetings that have implications on Liza's secret, and the atmosphere is almost as juicy as that of whatever party the girls are headed to after work. Empirical is the polished, high-profile office that those in the publishing industry could see themselves in.
President Bartlet's Oval Office (The West Wing)
Yes, the Oval Office is real. However, many fans wish that President Jed Bartlet would sit behind the desk in real life. During his time on The West Wing, he makes many hard decisions, experiences his share of missteps, and leads his administration to some real victories.
Especially before Mrs. Landingham dies, the Oval Office feels like a warm, optimistic place. Even though the show is a political drama, that positive energy often extends to all of the characters who are working long hours in the West Wing.
Elizabeth's Office (Madam Secretary)
The State Department is a real place, too, but it doesn't actually have Elizabeth McCord in it. Secretary of State McCord is thrust into the job when her predecessor unexpectedly dies. As a former CIA analyst, Elizabeth is equipped for the many secrets and dangers of the position.
She and her family are put in danger on a regular basis, and the show mimics serious real world events. Viewers never tire of that stately office on Madam Secretary with all the wood, the chandeliers, the expensive furniture, and the drama. It is also rewarding to see Elizabeth make the White House her home once she becomes Madam President.
KACL Radio (Frasier)
KACL isn't the only setting of Frasier, but it figures into lots of storylines. Frasier works alongside Roz Doyle, attempting to give psychiatric advice to people over the radio. This scenario can quickly become hilarious, although Frasier lets his personal life jeopardize his authoritative medical opinion at times.
The office itself is simple, but it is enlivened by all the quirky personalities, like the various station managers and well-meaning employees like Bulldog, Gil Chesterton, Noel Shempsky.
Cheers Bar (Cheers)
What better office is there than a place "where everybody knows your name?" Cheers is the best bar in Boston, and even though Sam Malone's small office is a little messy, the bar itself is where he gets his best thinking done.
The cozy atmosphere and the community chatter mark this sitcom as one of the most memorable of its time, and it still brings viewers back for reruns on a daily basis.
Sandpiper Air (Wings)
Wings exists in the same universe as Frasier and Cheers, but like it sounds, the sitcom primarily takes place at an airport. Tom Nevers Field Airport is certainly the tiniest fictional airport in New England.
In the cozy Nantucket terminal, Brian and Joe Hackett run Sandpiper Air. While the Sandpiper plane is real, people wish it was actually operated by handsome studs like Joe and Brian.
Dr. Tom's Office (Being Erica)
A plethora of cool offices exist on Being Erica, a Canadian comedy-drama about a thirty-something who goes to therapy and learns to resolve her inner struggles through time travel. After Erica takes a trip to Dr. Tom's mahogany-filled therapy office, the time continuum becomes her workspace.
Erica is transported to past regrets in efforts to understand her decisions and learn about herself. As things look up for the aspiring writer and publisher, Erica gets her own "real life" office within a coffee shop, and she becomes a time-travel doctor in her other life, complete with her own office in that realm by the final season.
WJM News (Mary Tyler Moore)
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an honorable classic of the 1970s in which the title star plays Mary Richards. She is a woman living life on her own, a concept that was rare fifty years ago. Mary has close friends like Rhoda and Phyllis to hang out with at her apartment, but she also spends a great deal of time in the workplace.
Mary earns a job at WJM News in Minneapolis under Lou Grant. The simple office is extremely important to Mary's journey, and fans wish they could go there and see her in action.
Cage And Fish (Ally McBeal)
Ally McBeal spends her days working as a lawyer at the Cage and Fish firm. Her pal Richard Fish sets her up there after Ally is harassed at her former workplace. Ally has a wonderful office to herself, but the entire firm buzzes with the tension of its cases and the juicy tidbits of its lawyers' love lives.
Ally is caught in the middle between her first love, Billy, and her friendship with Billy's wife, Georgia. Fans wish they could join the gang for drinks after work to the tune of Vonda Shepard's music.