Being an assistant is hard. Chances are you get yelled at all the time, and the most interesting thing you get to do all day is pick up coffee for your boss. Even on TV, where nearly every profession from doctor to storage unit auctioneer gets totally glamorized, assistants are almost always the saddest, most pathetic, and put-upon characters around. Here are some of the hardest-working, most pitiable TV assistants out there.
Harold, "Suits"
In a show where every single character is well-educated, suave, and impeccably dressed, poor Harold stands out like a sore thumb. He's not technically an assistant, but he's such a push-over than even more "assistant-like" characters like Rachel, the paralegal ranked higher on the office totem pole than him. Despite the fact that he's a Harvard educated associate lawyer at the firm, Harold is treated like he is a personal secretary for Louis. In fact, Louis once forced Harold to watch over his ill cat, despite the fact that Harold is deathly allergic to felines. If Harold had a backbone, he might be more respected.
Cheryl/Carol/Cristal/Carina, "Archer"
In the first season of "Archer," Cheryl kept changing her name simply because her co-workers kept calling her by the wrong name (this proves that no one in the office respected her). Though she's secretly an heiress, Cheryl works a day job at ISIS as Malory's assistant/secretary. Pretty much everyone at the office contributes to a hostile work environment for Cheryl; at least three co-workers have had violent interactions with her.
Sharona Fleming and Natalie Teeger, "Monk"
There's probably no job more frustrating than working as the assistant to a private detective with a crippling case of OCD. Over the course of the series, Adrian Monk had two different assistants, who mostly just provided Monk with antibacterial hand wipes and helped to calm his neuroses. Investigating a murder is hard enough without also having to babysit a man with the worst case of germophobia in TV history. He had 312 fears in all, ranging from silly things like milk and bugs to more reasonable fears like claustrophobia or a fear of heights.
Andrew Van de Kamp, "Desperate Housewives"
Being a personal assistant to anyone is hard, but being a personal assistant for your own mom? That's a nightmare, especially when your mom is Bree Van de Kamp, the most notorious perfectionist on Wisteria Lane. When Bree becomes a Martha Stewart-like figure, Andrew becomes her PA. Poor guy.
