Political Correctness and Comedy: How Gen Z engages with sitcoms that approach themes of race, gender and sexuality

This study examines the audience reception of Generation Z in the case of The Office (Daniel et al., 2005-2013), in relation to the idea of political correctness in scripted comedy texts. The Office (US) was a progressive American mockumentary sitcom with diverse, flawed characters and intense social commentary. Even though the TV series aired between 2005-2013, it has gained new popularity through the streaming platform of Netflix. The show’s handling of sensitive issues through blunt humor has started conversations on whether it can be considered politically incorrect according to the current view of things. However, Gen Z, who as a generation can be defined as a notorious supporter of political correctness and social justice issues, seems to be thoroughly engaged with this “controversial” sitcom through Netflix and social media. By interviewing 11 Gen Zers who have watched the Office in recent years, the researcher conducted thematic analysis to detect how this audience cohort has interacted with this mockumentary sitcom. From the eleven interviews that were conducted, four main themes were derived: 1) The main characteristics of Gen Zers and their opinion on political correctness, 2) Understanding Gen Z and the role of social media, 3) Gen Z as viewers of the Office, and 4) Gen Z as fans of streaming and comedy. The results of this study show that Gen Z finds political correctness to be an essential part of current comedies, but is more tolerant when it comes to older TV series, such as The Office. The visibility that social issues have gained through social media often lead to Gen Z feeling overwhelmed as recipients. They report a diminished attention span, which relates to them being finicky about the content they watch. They identify as open minded and sensitive, yet also divided or “too radical” at times. While they find political correctness as something to advocate for, some of them also think there is a fine line between cancel culture and censorship. Discussing the Office, they highlight the virality of the series in social media and note how its uncommon mockumentary direction aided towards a thought-provoking approach when it comes to sensitive topics, such as race, gender and sexuality. Elements of the Office that are also emphasized are the balance between realism of themes and exaggerated characters, and the need for critical thinking by the audience in order to understand the social commentary. Finally, the future of comedy looks more intriguing than ever, as Gen Zers highlight how current TV series are becoming more diverse and inclusive, although the mass production conditions of the streaming era make this decision seem unauthentic to them.