“The Office” has been a television phenomenon that follows the lives of employees of the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. This show aired for almost eight years and still holds much more comedic value than its sister show “Parks and Recreation.”

The first season of “The Office,” containing only six episodes, tried to emulate its British counterpart. At first seemed unsuccessful, but by the second season the show engaged a large audience.

“Parks and Recreation”, also struggled with their first season becoming popular; however, it wasn’t until the third season that the show had gained a significant following.

Along with popularity, “The Office” received a greater amount of awards all around compared to “Parks and Recreation”. “The Office” has won over fifteen awards throughout its airtime, “Parks and Recreation” received less than ten. These awards included Golden Globes, Emmy’s, TCA, and People’s Choice Awards. One of “The Office’s” major setback is while it was original in plot, it didn’t stand out from many other television shows at the time. This does lead people to think the show is subpar but in actuality, the small bits that did stand out enhanced the show as a whole.

For instance, season five’s fifteenth episode included the workers in the office participating in a CPR training course. This followed with the cast doing everything incorrectly [seemingly on purpose], taking a comedic look at something serious.

Dwight Schrute, played by Rainn Wilson, even took it as far as ripping the face off the CPR dummy. There was some backlash for it seeming distasteful, but the unexpected gestures and turn of events of that particular episode made it one of the most memorable in the series.

“Parks and Recreation,” while comedic, had its fair share of controversy even from the beginning.

These include the Bobby Knight poster removal, Ron Swanson being loosely tied to a government official, and many more. This added a distinct sense of distaste towards the show from many different groups.

“The Office” proves very successful throughout its nine seasons. The show won many awards, even surpassing its British counterpart. This succeeds “Parks and Recreation”, not only by original popularity, but plot development and “The Office’s” lack of controversy as well.