Social Network Theory and Comedy: Insights from NBC’s The Office

Abstract

Television sitcoms frequently invoke social network concepts to highlight specific jokes or scenes. In this visualization, the author draws on data from NBC’s The Office to explore how show creator Greg Daniels and his writing staff leveraged a well-known social network concept in the overall development of their show. By identifying the presence of structural holes (i.e., the absence of ties between two or more network members), The Office produced multiple novel storylines in which different sets of characters who did not routinely interact were jointly forced into comedic situations. As evidenced through a network visualization—and interviews with the show’s writers—Greg Daniels was clearly thinking like a social network theorist in his careful development of one of the most successful sitcoms in television history.