"Gay Witch Hunt" is the third-season premiere of the American

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...

'' and the show's twenty-ninth episode overall. Written by

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

and

show runner A showrunner is the top-level executive producer of a television series. The position outranks other creative and management personnel, including episode directors, in contrast to feature films, in which the director has creative control over th ...

Greg Daniels Gregory Martin Daniels (born June 13, 1963) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Simpsons'', adapting '' The Office'' ...

and directed by Ken Kwapis, the episode first aired in the United States on September 21, 2006, on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

branch of the fictional

Dunder Mifflin Dunder Mifflin Paper Company, Inc. is a fictional paper and office supplies wholesale company featured in the American television series ''The Office''. It is analogous to Wernham Hogg in the British original of the series, and Papiers Jennings ...

Paper Company. In the episode, Michael Scott (

Steve Carell Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He starred as Michael Scott in the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2011, 2013), and also worked at several points as a producer, executive producer, writer, a ...

) discovers that Oscar Martinez (

Oscar Nunez Óscar Núñez (born November 18, 1958), sometimes credited as Oscar Nunez, is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as the Dunder Mifflin accountant Óscar Martínez on NBC's ''The Office''. The accolades he has recei ...

) is

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. Michael tries to show Oscar that he is accepting of his sexual orientation, but only ends up insulting him. After kissing

Pam Beesly Pamela Morgan Beesly Halpert ( born Beesly) is a fictional character on the U.S. television sitcom ''The Office'', played by Jenna Fischer. Her counterpart in the original UK series of ''The Office'' is Dawn Tinsley. Pam begins the series as th ...

( Jenna Fischer),

Jim Halpert James Duncan Halpert is a fictional character in the U.S. version of the television sitcom '' The Office'', portrayed by John Krasinski. He is introduced as a sales representative at the Scranton branch of paper distribution company Dunder Miff ...

(

John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), where he was also a producer and occasional director. He directed, co-w ...

) transfers to Stamford. In addition, Pam calls off her engagement with Roy Anderson (

David Denman David Denman (born July 25, 1973) is an American actor. He made his film debut in '' The Replacements'' (2000) before his breakout role as Roy Anderson on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2008; 2011–2012), which earned him a Screen Actors ...

). An estimated 9.1 million viewers watched the episode, a 23 percent increase from the previous

season premiere A season premiere is the first episode of a new season of a returning television show. In the United States, many season premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or late winter. In countries su ...

" The Dundies". "Gay Witch Hunt" received positive reviews from television critics.

Plot

is revealed to have transferred to

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

office from

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

, with Ryan Howard taking over his old job. After calling Oscar Martinez " faggy", Michael Scott is reprimanded by Toby Flenderson, who reveals to Michael that Oscar is in fact

. While attempting to apologize, Michael inadvertently outs Oscar to the entire office. Jan Levinson berates Michael for his behavior, after Michael's seminar on homosexuality is a disaster. When Oscar threatens to quit, Michael attempts to reconcile with Oscar, first by hugging him, and then kissing him on the lips. Oscar is given three months paid vacation and use of a company car in exchange for not suing Dunder Mifflin. In a flashback to the moments after their kiss,

confirms to Jim her intention to marry her fiancé, Roy Anderson. However, in the present, Pam reveals to the documentary crew that just days before the wedding, she got

cold feet ''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...

and called it off, moving into her own apartment and beginning to take art classes. Pam's rejection sent Roy into a downward spiral, hitting rock bottom with a

drunk driving Drunk driving (or drink-driving in British English) is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is in ...

arrest. In an interview with the camera crew, Roy vows to win Pam back. At Stamford, Jim meets smug co-worker Andy Bernard, who brags about his wild college days at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. Sales representative Karen Filippelli expresses uncertainty about Jim's interactions with the documentary crew, particularly his facial expressions. Jim pranks Andy by encasing his desk calculator in

gelatin Gelatin or gelatine () is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also be referred to as hydrolyzed collagen, coll ...

, but is surprised when Andy reacts with fury. In a closing credits scene, Dwight receives a handheld

metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. A metal detector consists of a control box, an adjustable shaft, and ...

as a gift from Jim, who has convinced Dwight it is a " gaydar" device. Dwight uses the device on Oscar, whose belt buckle sets it off, convincing Dwight that Jim was telling the truth; Dwight's own belt buckle also sets off the metal detector, perturbing him and amusing Pam.

Production

"Gay Witch Hunt" was the eighth episode of the series directed by Ken Kwapis. Kwapis had previously directed "

Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

", " Diversity Day", "

Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

", " The Fire", " The Fight", "

Booze Cruise In British slang, a booze cruise is a brief trip from Britain to France or Belgium with the intent of taking advantage of lower prices, and buying personal supplies of (especially) Alcoholic beverage, alcohol or tobacco in bulk quantities. This ...

", and "

Casino Night "Casino Night" is the second season finale of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the twenty-eighth episode overall. Written by Steve Carell, who also acts in the show as Michael Scott, and directed by Ken Kwapis, the ep ...

". "Gay Witch Hunt" was written by

and

. The kiss between Michael and Oscar in the conference room was scripted to be on the cheek, but according to

Paul Lieberstein Paul Bevan Lieberstein (born February 22, 1967) is an American actor, screenwriter, television director and television producer. A Primetime Emmy Award winner, he is best known as a writer, executive producer, and supporting cast member on the ...

, "One take, ichael actor Steve arelljust won't let Oscar unezturn away. He got closer and closer and it just got creepy." The other cast members were laughing during the kiss but because the camera stays focused on Carell and Nunez, the scene was still usable. Nunez has said that the scene was shot a couple times without Carell kissing him at all. At

Paleyfest The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York City with a branch office in Los Angeles. It is de ...

in early 2007, Steve Carell later recalled that he enjoyed the episode "because it spoke to the fact that Michael is not a homophobe; he just doesn't understand the world. They are two very different things. It's not that he's intrinsically racist or homophobic or sexist, he just doesn't have a frame of reference. He's not capable of understanding. And once he does glean some understanding he misinterprets it into something altogether. But I think at least the way I feel about the character is he's a decent heart, a decent person and he's just trying his best." The third season DVD contains a number of deleted scenes from this episode, including Karen pulling a prank on Jim by programming the "9" button on his office phone to speed dial a Hong Kong number and then rebuffing his attempt to establish camaraderie, Andy demonstrating his

vertical leap A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

to Jim, Michael suggesting Pam use a body pillow as a surrogate for Roy, Jim explaining why he prefers Josh as a boss, and Michael updating the documentary crew on his relationship with Carol.

Reception

"Gay Witch Hunt" first aired on NBC on September 21, 2006. The

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

for "Gay Witch Hunt" indicated that it was watched by approximately 9.1 million viewers, a 23 percent increase from the second season premiere " The Dundies". During its timeslot, "Gay Witch Hunt" ranked second among men ages 18–49 and 24–54, and first among men ages 18–34. "Gay Witch Hunt" generally received praise from critics. ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

s Matt Roush admitted that he "loved Oscar's self-deprecating reaction to his newfound notoriety".Roush, Matt (September 22, 2006)
A Gay Old Office Time
. ''

''. Retrieved June 25, 2008 Roush said that when watching Michael "you can't help but forgive the idiot, while wondering how in the world he manages to keep his job," and that the kiss between Michael and Oscar was "horrifically funny". Brian Zoromski of

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

rated the episode with a 9 out of 10, an indication of an "amazing" episode. He observed that the episode's best scenes "show the impact of Jim and Pam being in different offices," and thought Andy's reactions made the audience appreciate Dwight more. Steve West of Cinemablend stated that "the balance between laughing at Michael’s ineptitude and the discomfit of Oscar was handled so deftly that it’s a wonder the show became successful when similarly great writing in ''

Arrested Development ''Arrested Development'' is an American satire, satirical television sitcom created by Mitchell Hurwitz. It follows the Bluths, a formerly wealthy, dysfunctional family and is presented in a Serial (radio and television), serialized format, inco ...

'' did nothing to garner viewers."West, Steve (September 22, 2006)
TV Recap: ''The Office'' Season Premiere
. Cinemablend. Retrieved June 25, 2008 For his work on this episode,

won the

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. Ken Kwapis also received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for his work on this episode as well, but lost to ''

Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. It is based on the Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea' ...

''s

Richard Shepard Richard Shepard (born 1965) is an American film and television director and screenwriter. Biography Shepard was born in New York City, New York. Shepard's father was from an Austro-Hungarian-Jewish background and his mother was of Armenian des ...

for his work on the

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

References

External links

"Gay Witch Hunt"
at NBC.com * {{Good article 2006 American television episodes American LGBTQ-related television episodes The Office (American TV series) season 3 episodes Emmy Award–winning episodes Television episodes written by Greg Daniels