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Secretaries keep the company running, know everything about everyone, and are often severely underappreciated. Nowadays, there are a number of different positions that fall into this trope – secretaries, personal assistants, receptionists, executive assistants, and beyond – but they all share some important qualities, and have to suffer through many of the same problems. Though these jobs are integral to keeping their companies running, they very seldom get much recognition for all of the work they do. So let’s take a deeper look at the various representations of the secretary on screen - from Mad Men's Joan to The Office's Pam to Veep's Sue to Suit's Donna to 9 to 5's Doralee and beyond - what she really represents, and why she deserves respect.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro
00:44 The Sexy Secretary Trope
01:59 The Plucky Office Girl Trope
03:03 The Ditzy Secretary Trope
04:06 The Male Secretary Trope
04:51 The Long-term Loyal Secretary
05:47 The "Secretary Fantasy" vs Real Life
08:05 All women being seen as secretaries, regardless of role
09:21 Modern secretary stories changing the narrative
10:26 Mad Men's Joan & Peggy
11:04 The Office's Pam
11:45 Succession's Jess
12:28 Parks and Recreation's April
13:23 Veep's Sue
14:09 AI Secretaries?