Seems like everybody talks about TV at the office, even people who (unlike me and my co-workers) don’t get paid to do so. A new survey specifies who’s talking about which programs. No surprise, American Idol is the most talked-about show, popular among both men and women, and especially among workers 65 or older (ah, now we know who voted scary tattooed rocker Carly off the show). Besides AI, women like to talk about Dancing With the Stars (pictured), while men like to pretend they can make sense of talk about Lost.
Which shows are popular topics around your office watercooler? And do you think talking about TV helps or hurts your workplace productivity?
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We definitely talk about Lost at work! We actually have a standing meeting on Fridays for a “Lost Lunch.” EW’s Doc Jensen reviews/columns are a big part of the discussion.
We actually tend to talk more about reality shows than actual scripted shows. I’d have to say that are top three would be: So you think you can dance, Hell’s Kitchen / Kitchen Nightmares, Dancing with the Stars.
I don’t find that it hurts our productivity but then again my bosses my say differently!
I love American Idol David A. is gonna win
Definitely Lost. Since I’m in college and work with mostly college-aged people, my typical workday on Friday begins with someone saying “Oh my god, did you see LOST last night?” And then from that point on, a good half hour’s worth of productivity goes down the drain.
I work in an office that’s very open, which lends itself to having conversations throughout the day. With the ladies in my office (our our IT guy) there are always discussions about “Idol.” Everyone has a favorite to win and we don’t always agree (Carly, I miss you!) but we love to talk about it. In fact, a few years ago, my coworkers knew how much I loved Taylor Hicks so when I’d come into work there would be cut-outs of him waiting for me on my desk. He’s still hanging on my board, right next to my other guy, Anderson Cooper.
Other shows we talk about? “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Office,” “Family Guy,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and for a while we were all talking about “Moment of Truth,” and how it was like a trainwreck: we wanted to look away, but just couldn’t.
Admitting that doesn’t really make it sound like any of us are doing work, but I swear we are. We’re multi-tasking!
Mostly American Idol, but some of us are obsessed with The Tudors.
The last time I was keeping up with a weekly TV show to talk about the next day was TWIN PEAKS, eighteen years ago!
I do watch LOST, but on DVD, which means I’m an entire season behind, so I can’t really talk with anyone about it.
We talk about The Office, 30 Rock, Three Sheets and Lost
I work at a law firm, so Boston Legal is very popular. But most of the older crowd talks about Dancing with the Stars while the rest of us talk about The Office. However, the latest obsession with my floor is “John and Kate + Eight” on TLC. So funny!
No one around me watches any crappy reality shows thankfully, so it’s mostly the Office, 30 Rock, Lost and Family Guy.
As we all sit in cubicles here, The Office is big. Everyone chats about that on Fridays. Grey’s once made the watercooler, but no longer. Other than The Office, we mostly chat about Lost and Brothers & Sisters.
Dexter, Cash Cab, Dirty Jobs, and would you believe we still talk about Seinfeld — always worth a laugh.
I currently work with a bunch of wet blankets who can only shriek about that adooooorable David A. on American Idol. (And gossip about The Hills, even though they’re well into their 30s.) I miss the office I worked in last summer, where we had hours of scintillating discussion about the series finale of The Sopranos. (Personally, though, my favorite show is The Office. Both versions — UK and US — are nothing short of brilliant.)
Lost is the biggest one, but after I browbeat a few of the guys here into watching Battlestar Galactica, they are now addicted. I’m sure there’s a few people in my office wondering what the hell we’re talking about Monday morning – Cylons? Baltar’s love cult? Hybrids? What?
Well, I am a woman and the other women I work with and I love to talk about Lost (and do not watch American Idol)! Other shows frequently discussed are Project Runway, the Office, and Gossip Girl.
The number one show that we talk about at work is LOST. It seems that this is common. I REFUSE to watch Idol so we don’t talk about it at work. The other big show we talked about when it was on was the Sopranos.
we talk about a lot of tv at work. mostly it’s Lost, the office, grey’s, ugly betty and ANTM! the older folks on staff do talk about dancing with the stars and AI a lot!!!!
One of my co-workers (and good friend)and I watch all of the same shows so it’s always fun to come in and re-hash what happened the previous night – aka it’s wastes time! And with my male co-workers – Deadliest Catch is the most popular show to talk about!
I work in a smaller office with mostly women, but we talk about DWTS, LOST and Grey’s. No one seems to watch/discuss AI, which is fine with me! We used to talk about the Office, but not since the strike.
I don’t watch American Idol, but everyone at my workplace is nuts about it. Once the top 12 finalists are chosen everyone picks their top three. The one who is actually right about the top three wins something. They all watch The Office too, and so do I, so Friday mornings are always about The Office.
My boss watches American Idol, but not really anyone else, so thankfully this year there is no more discussion about it. I work in an office with about 10 people, and we rarely talk about television, although a couple people do discuss Grey’s Anatomy every now and then, and my buddy that I work with and I talk about Battlestar Galactica every week because we are totally addicted! Best show ever.
I work with a lot of YP’s. The discussion usually focuses around the Dunder Mifflin clan, HIMYM, and every now and then we all slum it and discuss Rock of Love or Tila Tequila.
The only show we talk about is lost – and we are all women. We’re trying to convert the rest of our office.
“Project Runway” is a big topic of discussion. Each Thursday morning during “PR” season, about a half-dozen of my co-workers, male and female, swap emails on the show.
gossip girl, proj runway, top chef, the wire (RIP – but still gets lots of conversation), the tudors, 30 rock, the office
The people in my office talk about “Big Brother” and “The Hills.” I don’t watch either of those shows, so I don’t join in. I wish someone here watched “Lost” or “BSG” or my fave reality shows, “SYTYCD” and “Project Runway” so I could gossip!
It’s funny you ask this. I started working from home about 3 years ago and really missed talking at the office about shows like Idol, Dancing and Survivor. Now I’m addicted to EW recaps, and realized they’ve become my home office water cooler! Viva recaps!
The Office, 30 Rock, and Arrested Development are the most talked about and quoted here in “the cube-a-hood.” You can expect to hear “that’s what she said” at least four times a day, and a daily hulu-clip in your inbox. But we also have Lost fridays, and America’s Next Top Model Thursdays (!!! Today !!!). Any chance we have to make fun of Tyra Banks, we jump on it!
This list will be embarrassingly long. We talk about Lost, The Office, The Hills, Friday Night Lights, American Idol and How I Met Your Mother.
Not only do we talk about them, but we also try to recruit new people to watch the shows!
Lost, The Office, American Idol