--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Office' is less a comedy than so many…" description: "\"The Office' is less a comedy than so many other 'comedies' that have been on the air. It's really about the balance between what is real and what is co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/b-j-novak-2-22902_air_the-office-is-less-a-comedy-than-so-many_1830346.jpg" --- # The Office' is less a comedy than so many other 'comedies'… ![“The Office' is less a comedy than so many other 'comedies' that have been on the air. It's really about the balance between what is real and what is comic.” quote by B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/b-j-novak-2-22902_air_the-office-is-less-a-comedy-than-so-many_1830346.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/b-j-novak-2-22902_air_the-office-is-less-a-comedy-than-so-many_1830346.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edf/b-j-novak-2-22902_air_the-office-is-less-a-comedy-than-so-many_1830346.jpg) > “The Office' is less a comedy than so many other 'comedies' that have been on the air. It's really about the balance between what is real and what is comic.” [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The show blends everyday workplace reality with humor, highlighting how ordinary situations become comedic when viewed through a satirical lens. **In simple terms:** Reality meets comedy in everyday work life. Key Takeaway Notice the absurd in daily routines. Themes humor reality workplace observation Mood lighthearted reflective Type observational satirical When to use this quote - office meetings - team building - remote work - customer service - creative brainstorming Key Concepts satire social commentary character study Questions to Reflect On - How does humor change your perception of work? - What aspects of reality become funny when exaggerated? A Different Perspective Comedy can mask deeper truths about human behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Comedies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedies/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) ## Related quotes > [Pretty people don't keep comedies on the air. Funny people keep comedies on the air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-jones/pretty-people-don-t-keep-comedies-on-the-air-funny-people-keep/) [Allison Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-jones/) > [I don't think because a story has humor in it means it's brief. For some reason, people think anything that's 30 minutes is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-apatow/i-don-t-think-because-a-story-has-humor-in-it-means-it-s-brief-for/) [Judd Apatow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-apatow/) > ['Breaking In' is a very different office comedy and a caper comedy. Aside from 'Chuck,' there is no half-hour comedy that does stuff like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-f-goldberg/breaking-in-is-a-very-different-office-comedy-and-a-caper-comedy/) [Adam F. Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-f-goldberg/) > [There's not many good comedies to watch - you know, comedies that make you glad you watched them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/there-s-not-many-good-comedies-to-watch-you-know-comedies-that-make/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [It's the contemporary woman that movies don't know what to do with, other than bathe her in a bridal glow in romantic comedies where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/it-s-the-contemporary-woman-that-movies-don-t-know-what-to-do-with/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [If you look at romantic comedies as pieces of commerce, the audience is looking for wish fulfillment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/if-you-look-at-romantic-comedies-as-pieces-of-commerce-the-audience/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [I've been watching 'The Cosby Show' and 'Roseanne' a lot right now, and those work so well because they're not, like, jokey comedies; they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-jacobson/i-ve-been-watching-the-cosby-show-and-roseanne-a-lot-right-now-and/) [Abbi Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-jacobson/) > [ Comedy is lively, comedy is joy, and that's what keeps us \[people\] going, we've got to look forward to little, little happiness's. Little, little… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/comedy-is-lively-comedy-is-joy-and-that-s-what-keeps-us-people-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [In comedy, if you're going to commission something commission two series, don't commission one because so many comedies are finding their feet and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-whitehouse/in-comedy-if-you-re-going-to-commission-something-commission-two/) [Paul Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-whitehouse/) > [I'd played a lot of best friends, and/or bad guys, which seems to be my lot in life. In romantic comedies there's always a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-corddry/i-d-played-a-lot-of-best-friends-and-or-bad-guys-which-seems-to-be-my/) [Rob Corddry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-corddry/) > [One of my favorite comedies is 'Shaun of the Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kumail-nanjiani/one-of-my-favorite-comedies-is-shaun-of-the-dead/) [Kumail Nanjiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kumail-nanjiani/) > [I love comedy; I'm super passionate about it, and thank God it's super in right now to have female empowered comedies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dreama-walker/i-love-comedy-i-m-super-passionate-about-it-and-thank-god-it-s-super/) [Dreama Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dreama-walker/) > [When I first did theatre, I was always doing comedies; it was always my first love. But it wasn't what I was picked for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/when-i-first-did-theatre-i-was-always-doing-comedies-it-was-always-my/) [Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/) > [I like 'The Usual Suspects'. Great film. I also like 'Scarface', films like that. Lots of gangster films. I really like watching all kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barkhad-abdi/i-like-the-usual-suspects-great-film-i-also-like-scarface-films-like/) [Barkhad Abdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barkhad-abdi/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) ## More by B. J. Novak > [I have blue eyes, and before I knew anything about fashion - I'm talking about the second grade - I learned I would get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/i-have-blue-eyes-and-before-i-knew-anything-about-fashion-i-m-talking/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [I think a lot of writers spend years just getting up the courage to write because it seems like such a fantasy of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/i-think-a-lot-of-writers-spend-years-just-getting-up-the-courage-to/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [My goal is not to make popular things. My goal is to make the things I love as popular as I can make them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/my-goal-is-not-to-make-popular-things-my-goal-is-to-make-the-things-i/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [Battered Women: sounds delicious. Doesn’t make it right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/battered-women-sounds-delicious-doesn-t-make-it-right/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [I think I am very proud of being associated with quality things. So if I were massively famous for doing massively beloved things, yeah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/i-think-i-am-very-proud-of-being-associated-with-quality-things-so-if/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [The most exciting thing I aspire to do is to write something new that I know is going to work, or perform something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/the-most-exciting-thing-i-aspire-to-do-is-to-write-something-new-that/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [Good comics gravitate to each other; you know who's your type of person by watching them onstage, hopefully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/good-comics-gravitate-to-each-other-you-know-who-s-your-type-of/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [I have one really nice watch. It's a white-face, stainless-steel Rolex Daytona. I wear it a lot. I got that in the middle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/i-have-one-really-nice-watch-it-s-a-white-face-stainless-steel-rolex/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [Travel is impossible, but daydreaming about travel is easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/travel-is-impossible-but-daydreaming-about-travel-is-easy/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [It feels as though a very disproportionate number of main characters are writers, because that's what the writer knows. Fair enough. But nothing bothers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/it-feels-as-though-a-very-disproportionate-number-of-main-characters/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [If a work alienates a reader, should that be counted against it? I respect people that love 'Ulysses,' for example, but I'm on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/if-a-work-alienates-a-reader-should-that-be-counted-against-it-i/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [There's always going to be one more thing. Because that's what infinite feels like. And the difference between love and everything else is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/there-s-always-going-to-be-one-more-thing-because-that-s-what/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [I remember my mum coming into my bedroom when I was lying awake one night, and she asked what I was thinking of... And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/i-remember-my-mum-coming-into-my-bedroom-when-i-was-lying-awake-one/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [There's not many good comedies to watch - you know, comedies that make you glad you watched them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/there-s-not-many-good-comedies-to-watch-you-know-comedies-that-make/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) > [Different people have different styles, but there is an opportunity as a director to be a writer in every moment, with every visual cue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-j-novak-2/different-people-have-different-styles-but-there-is-an-opportunity-as/) [B. J. Novak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) [Explore all 26 B. J. Novak quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-j-novak-2/) ## More Air quotes > [I will be a tireless advocate for our District's defense priorities including Sheppard Air Force Base, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, universities conducting important research, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronny-jackson/i-will-be-a-tireless-advocate-for-our-district-s-defense-priorities/) [Ronny Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronny-jackson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If U.S. air, naval, missile, and ground forces were not in and around Korea, and if we were not treaty-bound to fight alongside South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-u-s-air-naval-missile-and-ground-forces-were-not-in-and-around/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [I'm a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can't see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ Just between you and me, shouldn’t the World Bank be encouraging MORE migration of the dirty industries to the LDCs \[Less Developed Countries\]?... I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-summers/just-between-you-and-me-shouldn-t-the-world-bank-be-encouraging-more/) [Lawrence Summers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-summers/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [There was a little nook on Air Force Two that contained the vice presidential seal, and I would sort of wedge myself in there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-biden/there-was-a-little-nook-on-air-force-two-that-contained-the-vice/) [Jill Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-biden/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“It is unnatural to fear something natural.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/it-is-unnatural-to-fear-something-natural/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) Browse all 6,278 Air quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Office' is less a comedy than so many other 'comedies' that have been on the air. It's really about the balance between what is real and what is comic.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "B. J. 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