Top 5 Gov’t Shows That Should Exist

Not a Govloop Member? 30 Secs & Free to Join for Great Info & Perks

So there’s CSI and NCIS and 24 and Parks and Recreation and other government-related TV shows.


But there should be more…Here’s my 5 ideas:

  1. Deadly Diseases – Think House but with a CDC twist. Responding to disease outbreaks all over the world
  2. Search and Rescue – FEMA and Emergency Response folks swooping into disaster areas and helping everyone out. Bonus – hooking up in tents.
  3. The Politicals – Young political appointees are followed in a group house (Real World-style) as they get top political jobs and try to figure out what the heck they
    are doing
  4. Man vs Wild – Department of Interior and National Park Service employees are followed as they are responsible for thousands of rural acres in the national parks by
    themselves. Think lots of crazy attacks and cute tourists.
  5. The Auditor – Follow teams of GAO reporters as they travel across the country trying to find and report waste, fraud, and abuse. Also titled “Progress Made,
    Needs Improvement”.

You? What are your ideas?

Check out some of my other “Top 5’s”


Top 5: Gov’t Shows That Should Exist

Top 5: Tips For Summer Interns


Top 5: Best Places to Have a Government Job

Top 5: Worst Places to Have a Government Job

Top 5: Reasons You Didn’t Get the Promotion

Top 10: What Works in Social Media

Top 5: Ways to Handle a Boring Meeting

Top 5 Signs You Need a New Job

Top 5: Ways to Look Important at the Office

Leave a Comment

15 Comments

Leave a Reply

Micheal Mullen

LobbyTown – Group of young urban lawyers start as friends and find that as their political choices and careers mature, their bonds are tested.

The Upstart – Modern Mr. Smith goes to Washington where political novice shakes up the Beltway by winning the presidency. With a clear understanding of his or her strong opinions and little knowledge of the inner workings of government and/or polls, there’s at least four years of good shows.

Mr. Whistle – Gov’t insider/whistleblower seeking fraud, waste and corruption in DC and Federal government. Audience sees the threats, negotiations and interactions that go on in both parties.

John A. Weber, PMP

BureauUndercover @GenIRMedSOIG – This is a combination of FBI (Bureau of Undercover), Attorney General (@Gen), IRS / Medicare / Medicaid (IR – Med S OIG [Office of the Inspector General]).

A collaborative effort of undercover agents detecting fraud in healthcare crossing over to the legal side with a splash of interaction with the IRS.

This could be a great comedy – the departments frequently get their messages miscommunicated and then you have some bumbling idiots like in Psych (Carlton) mashed up with a Gilligan-like character restating the obvious in an annoying way. Of course, you have to include some brilliant story lines and comedic timing like Frasier thrown in with some great NCIS type action, Numb3rs constant twist of plot and a signature ending like Miami’s Horatio.

Denise Petet

Spam Busters – a cybercrimes unit tracking down all those various baddies, from child porn traffickers to conmen to people hawking junk on the web – think all those c1alis spam you get all the time

Anyone that uses cyberspace to commit a crime

Dannielle Blumenthal

OK seriously, I have a bunch of ideas, all spinoffs either because I am totally unoriginal or because I am brilliantly efficient at not reinventing the wheel, you decide –

1 – “The Office” – but in DC

2 – “Survivor” – either of all the meetings or we could pit the experienced govies against the new recruits

3 – “The Apprentice” – of an agency leader, let’s recruit some kids and see who survives the competition

4 – “Job Swap” – take someone from private sector vs. someone from public sector and see how they do in each other’s jobs

Actually I do have one original idea – a documentary tracing origins and current state of social media in U.S. government and comparing it to use of social media abroad. That would just be interesting. Michael Moore (hilarious, biting humor, no pretense of objectivity)? National Geographic (in-the-trenches, nitty gritty reality approach)? Maybe a former war blogger?

Colleen Ayers

Can’t believe I missed this 2 and a half years ago, but I have to throw in my comment because my colleagues and I have been joking about this for years.

Foreign Affairs – a soap opera set in a U.S. embassy abroad