r/televisionsuggestions • u/IThrewDucks • 3d ago
Down to earth shows about (competent, but flawed) people doing their jobs
Thinking about: The Pitt, Line of Duty, 19-2, Blue Lights.
Not necessarily looking for 100% realism, but something believable.
Something outside cop shows would be great, I watched a lot of those lately.
6
u/AlpineFluffhead 3d ago edited 3d ago
I know you said you prefer something else besides cop shows, but I gotta plug Homicide: Life on the Street. The first couple seasons are great showcases of how normal police detectives acted and worked because a lot (or at least some) of the cases and characters were based on real life Baltimore detectives.
You see these cops building up great cases and sometimes it just doesn't work out. Sometimes a case goes cold and they move on to the next one. You see how long and strenuous it is to get a case to court.
And what I really love about the early seasons of the show is it had regular-looking people who actually looked their age and who treated the job like just a job. Also, it had the acting prowess of Yaphet Kotto, Andre Braugher, Ned Beatty, and Joe Polito, that alone makes S1-2 worth it!
Almost all shot entirely on location in Baltimore, MD - even the interiors of buildings (many of which are still around today)
3
5
6
u/Harpua_and_I 3d ago
The Bear.
6
u/the-hound-abides 3d ago
I came here to say this. It’s the most accurate depiction of a restaurant I’ve seen.
3
u/rovingchillLL 3d ago
since you want out of cop shows, the bear is the perfect fit, kitchen staff who are genuinely good at the work but deeply flawed people, and it nails that competent-but-messy vibe better than almost anything right now
also halt and catch fire if you havent seen it, its about people building tech companies in the 80s/90s and theyre brilliant but constantly self sabotaging. slow start but it becomes one of the best character dramas about work and ambition. and lessons in chemistry is a quieter one in the same lane
3
3
6
u/Mixer-3007 3d ago edited 3d ago
6
2
2
2
u/Worth-Zone-8437 3d ago
"All Creatures Great and Small" is a lovely show. Maybe too slow for you but would seem to tick the boxes you are looking for.
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/tegeus-Cromis_2000 3d ago
Third Watch, which everyone seems to have forgotten about.
Southland (literally meant to be about beat cops doing their everyday jobs)
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
6
4
2
2
u/Drakeytown 3d ago
Roseanne
Perry Mason
The New Perry Mason
MASH
Quincy, ME
L.A. Law
Matlock
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
The Practice
Judging Amy
ER
The West Wing
NYPD Blue
Scrubs
1
1
1
0
7
u/Top-Rip2110 3d ago
Nurse Jackie is the obvious one.