For television screenwriters, the office has always provided fertile content, especially for comedy. I mean, what’s more absurd than back-to-back meetings that could’ve been one-line emails, customers who test our sanity and buzzwords so overused they make you want to crawl under your desk?

Work can be exhausting, frustrating and downright crazy.

That’s why it is so fun for writers to write about it. For decades, our workplaces have provided the perfect stage for stories that are as cathartic as they are funny. CNN and Rotten Tomatoes recently teamed up to highlight 25 of the best workplace shows from the past 25 years. From the soul-crushing corporate satire of “The Pitt” to the heartwarming classroom antics of “Abbott Elementary,” these series prove that when it comes to drama and comedy, the office is always open.

Think about it. Work is where personalities clash, hierarchies grind, friendships spark and ambitions sometimes combust. That’s drama and comedy gold. The CNN/Rotten Tomatoes list runs the gamut from laugh-out-loud sitcoms to prestige dramas that cut to the bone of power, ambition and human frailty.

On one end, you have “Abbott Elementary,” where quirky teachers tackle an underfunded school system with humor and heart. Anyone who has ever had to “do more with less” will recognize themselves in its storylines. Right alongside it sits “The Office”, which for me is still the gold standard for workplace cringe comedy. Watching Michael Scott bumble his way through corporate life is the reminder we all need: No matter how bad your boss is, it could be worse.

Workplace shows aren’t all comedy. “Succession” and “Severance” represent the darker side of work. “Succession” takes the cutthroat corporate world to Shakespearean heights, showing how power struggles can destroy both companies and families. “Severance,” meanwhile, asks what happens when we separate our work selves from our personal selves entirely. It is a sci-fi premise that hits a little too close to home for anyone who has felt like a different person Monday through Friday, but it has become one of my favorite television programs ever made.

The list also includes “Mad Men,” the smoky, stylish ode to advertising that reminds us of an era when work defined identity even more than it does today. Shows like “Industry” and “The Morning Show” pull back the curtain on high-pressure, high-stakes careers where the line between success and collapse is razor thin. And then there’s “The Bear,” which proves that a kitchen can be as brutal and beautiful a workplace as any office tower.

But it’s not all existential dread. “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” turned a police precinct into one of TV’s most lovable found families. “Parks and Recreation” celebrated civic duty with optimism and waffles. “Superstore” tackled retail life with humor while never losing sight of the humanity of its workers. “Ted Lasso” reminded us that sometimes, the best workplace leader isn’t the one with the sharpest strategy but the biggest heart.

What makes workplace shows so effective is their universality. Whether you’re a surgeon in “Grey’s Anatomy,” a young hustler in “Younger,” or a tech bro in “Silicon Valley” (another personal favorite, especially the final episode of the first season), the dynamics are instantly familiar. Topics range from bosses you can’t stand to coworkers who become friends and crises that feel life-or-death in the moment but hilarious in hindsight.

It’s a good list and you can check it out here.

These series succeed because they validate the frustrations, absurdities and small joys of the workplace. They let us laugh at the things that, in real life, might make us cry. They show us that while work might drain us, it also connects us to stories, to each other, and to the strange, shared theater of the workplace itself.

So the next time you’re staring down a soul-crushing inbox, remember that somewhere in Los Angeles, a writer’s room is spinning your misery into art. And maybe, just maybe, that’s enough to make work feel a little less like work.