I accidentally saw some episodes of the office. Michael Scott and Dwight are more reactionary than I originally remembered. Just small details, but also the character’s personalities.
I just get a lot of vibes like, the writers thought “History has ended” but seeing this stuff later in life I know for a fact history comes back for season 2.
I’ve noticed things and gotten the vibe from other old TV shows, too.
On trans issues, I think It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is the most progressive sitcom from that time period, which is saying something because the main characters are not kind to the one trans character. But at the very least the show acknowledges that how the leads are treating her is fucked up and they don’t require her to tokenize her existence to do so. That immediately puts them above 90% of their contemporaries, especially sitcoms.
I might be misremembering but Mac punched her in the face at the end of one episode (I don’t even remember why) and two guys who saw came by to beat him up for hitting a girl. He tries to to tell them that she’s actually a guy so it’s not that bad, so they kick his ass for committing a hate crime instead.
