The Office Vs. Parks and Recreation: Two Ways to Make Your Annoying Character Endearing

You know those really annoying characters? They’re beyond ‘adorkable’ without being straight up evil, yet they always manage to say the wrong thing, always push everyone’s buttons, and always make the situation ten times more awkward. Those kinds of characters who, of course, mean well but can’t seem to get through a conversation without making you cringe.

However, despite their total lack of a filter, sometimes these sorts of characters can cause you to roll your eyes and smile at the same time. They often say the stupidest things, but at least they’re funny and ultimately relatable. They’re endearing, and maybe even loveable enough, to enjoy reading about. 

How can you write this balance? How can you make your protagonist or side-character annoying to the people around them, without making the reader want to toss the book across the floor? How can you ultimately make your characters endearing despite all their negative qualities?

Today’s answer comes from two extremely popular comedy shows: The Office and Parks and Recreation.

The Office 

The Office is a record-breaking mockumentary-style sitcom that follows the ups and downs of an average paper company. However, while the job itself may be boring, the people working there are certainly not. Every character in The Office is insanely quirky in some way, but, undoubtedly, the quirkiest one of all is the boss, Michael Scott. 

Although he is first presented to the audience as an annoying, narcissistic man who is only capable of putting others in extremely awkward situations, he slowly becomes one of the most loveable characters on the show. Despite all of the off-color jokes, inappropriate behavior, and horrible women that Michael dates, the viewer is able to understand and relate to all of this because it’s motivated by a clear desire and fear. In fact, his character is so well-written and has become so adored that almost every other TV sitcom since The Office has been trying (and for the most part failing) to replicate it. 

Parks and Recreation 

One such a replication turned up in a similar show, Parks and Recreation, in the form of Leslie Knope. The original idea was to essentially make her a female Michael Scott. However, even before the writers decided to take her character and the entire show in a different direction after season one, there’s something that differentiates Leslie from Michael. 

Leslie works for the Parks and Recreation division of the government, and strongly believes that she can make a difference in the world. Even though her Mom got her this job, she’s convinced that the government can fix everything if she just works hard enough. Unfortunately, her co-workers aren’t as convinced. Leslie’s intense optimism and severe lack of a filter grates on her co-workers’ nerves constantly, but nevertheless she’s determined to help their community and become the first female president one day no matter what. 

Two Ways to Make Your Annoying Character Work

Here we have two types of annoying bosses, who both happen to be excellent case studies on two different methods of approaching an aggravating yet endearing character. 

Michael

On one hand, we have Michael: a seemingly rude, inconsiderate man who just happens to be extremely lonely. As the show progresses, it is made clear that Michael didn’t grow up with very many friends or great parents, which explains why he comes off as so annoying. He cracks inappropriate jokes and says awkward things, not because he’s selfish, but because he desperately wants everyone to be his friend and he thinks that’s what will impress them. He wants to make his employees into a family. Meanwhile the employees in question couldn’t care less. They see the office as a place where you barely tolerate your co-workers at best, not a place to find life-long companions. 

Despite all of Michael’s negative qualities, he is still found to be loveable, relatable, and funny. And it’s all due to his intense fear of loneliness. He would do anything to make his co-workers like him or keep a girlfriend around. People can understand that deep desire for connection. They see where Michael is coming from and enjoy watching him on the screen. 

When writing an annoying character, they should have a clear, relatable reason for being annoying. They may aggravate others, but if you play it right, the reader will have a deeper understanding than that. They’ll be able to relate with your character and endure all their negative qualities because they’ll know the ‘why’ behind all the zany actions. 

Leslie

On the other hand, there’s Leslie. She annoys her co-workers as well, but her flaws and fears aren’t what define her. She’s convinced that the sliver of power invested in her is enough to change everything, and that her Parks and Recreation department is going to make the world a prettier, greener, cleaner place to live. Her optimistic worldview on the government and tireless work ethic wears the rest of her team down. 

Leslie is admired because of her optimism. Her employees may not initially respect her for it, but Leslie is a hard-worker and extremely trusting. This over-abundance of positivity annoys her fellow characters, while also making her surprisingly endearing. She may not be as relatable, but she’s still fun to watch on screen because she’s fighting for something.

Even among all the bad decisions or cringey conversations, make sure your reader can still relate with your annoying character. Give them a severe flaw or an overly-obvious positive trait that dictates their every move. Play around with potential scenarios in your head, and exaggerate a characteristic (for better or worse). Depending on your story, one method may work for you better than the other. Either way, go ahead and create those dramatic, annoying personalities, but make sure to apply at least one of these two techniques to make sure they’re endearing as well.

Let us know:

What annoying characters do you find endearing?