Why The Office and 30 Rock are the best comedies on TV

On Thursday night, TV fans are treated to the best one hour of television imaginable (sorry, Dexter). At 9 p.m ET, NBC airs the workplace comedy The Office and then follows it with the SNL-takeoff 30 Rock. Led by Steve Carell and Tina Fey respectively, these two shows are smart and funny, two combos you don't often see on network TV. Maybe the storylines have kept me hooked (especially Office's Pam & Jim drama). Or perhaps the quick one-liners from Alec Baldwin on 30 Rock surpass any gags I've seen on any other show. But I chock it up to one main factor: great writing. If any show is going to reel in my attention, it needs to have fantastic writing and excellent character development, much like we saw back in the day with Cheers, All in the Family, Fawlty Towers, etc. As the new season for both NBC shows begins on Thursday, I'll be there watching (or DVRing) Carell's final season on The Office and Fey's romantic challenges on 30 Rock. I know every show will make me laugh, somewhere, somehow. And I know Thursday night will continue to be the most entertaining night of the week on television. See below for video of Carell talking about season seven of The Office