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''The Office'' is an American
mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
television series based on the 2001–2003
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
series ''The Office'' created by
Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003) ...
and
Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, writer, director, and actor. He was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003), and co-writer ...
and starring the former. Adapted for
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 ...
by
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'' ...
, a veteran writer for ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'', ''
King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels that initially aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, with four more episodes airing in First-run syndicati ...
'', and ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'', the show depicts the everyday work lives of office employees at 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 Paper Company 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 ...
, and aired from March 24, 2005, to May 16, 2013, with a total of nine seasons consisting of 201 episodes. The show was co-produced by Daniels'
Deedle-Dee Productions Deedle-Dee Productions is an American television production company founded by Greg Daniels in 1997. It is known for producing the series ''King of the Hill'', ''The Office,'' and '' Parks and Recreation''. Logo The company's logo is a blue scre ...
,
Reveille Productions "Reveille" ( , ), called in French "Le Réveil" is a bugle call, trumpet call, drum, fife-and-drum or pipes call most often associated with the military; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel at sunrise. The name comes from (or ), the ...
(later Shine America) and
3 Arts Entertainment 3 Arts Entertainment, formerly 3 Arts Productions, is an American film and television production company founded in 1991 by Erwin Stoff, Michael Rotenberg and Howard Klein. The company has gone on to produce television series such as ''King o ...
(although uncredited) in association with
Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a division of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is ...
. The original
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 ...
s were Daniels, Gervais, Merchant, Howard Klein and
Ben Silverman Benjamin Noah Silverman (born August 15, 1970) is an American media executive. He is the co-CEO and chairman of the entertainment production company Propagate. From 2007–2009, Silverman served as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universa ...
, with numerous others being promoted in later seasons. Like its British counterpart, the series was filmed in a
single-camera setup In filmmaking, television production and video production, the single-camera setup or single-camera mode of production (also known as portable single crew, portable single camera or single-cam) is a method in which all of the various shots and c ...
without a
studio audience A studio audience is an audience present for the recording of all or part of a television program or radio program. The primary purpose of the studio audience is to provide applause and/or laughter to the program's soundtrack (as opposed to canne ...
or a
laugh track A laugh track (or laughter track) is an audio recording consisting of laughter (and other audience reactions) usually used as a separate soundtrack for comedy productions. The laugh track may contain live audience reactions or artificial laught ...
, to mirror the look of an actual documentary. It debuted on NBC as a
mid-season replacement In American network television scheduling, a mid-season replacement is a television show that premieres in the second half of the traditional television season, usually between December and May. Mid-season replacements usually take place after ...
and ended its nine-season run on May 16, 2013, with a two-part
series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...
. Its original main cast was
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 ...
,
Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, writer, and director. He starred as Dwight Schrute on NBC's American adaptation of ''The Office'' from 2005 to 2013, and received t ...
,
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 ...
,
Jenna Fischer Regina Marie Kirk ( Fischer; born March 7, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Fischer, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the P ...
, and B. J. Novak. It experienced numerous changes to its
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...
during its run. Stars outside the original main cast include
Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor, musician and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's '' The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sit ...
,
Rashida Jones Rashida Leah Jones ( ; born February 25, 1976) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is best known for her roles as Louisa Fenn on the Fox drama series ''Boston Public'' (2000–2002), Karen Filippelli on the NBC comedy series ''The Offic ...
,
Amy Ryan Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski (born May 3, 1968), known professionally as Amy Ryan, is an American actress. She began her professional stage career in 1987 and made her Broadway debut in 1993 as a replacement in the original production of Wendy W ...
,
Mindy Kaling Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Known for her work on television, she has received a Tony Awa ...
, Craig Robinson,
James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960; ) is an American actor. He is known for often portraying eccentric and morally ambiguous characters. He began his career in critically acclaimed independent films before transitioning into television, f ...
,
Ellie Kemper Elizabeth Claire Kemper (born May 2, 1980) is an American actress, best known for her roles of Erin Hannon in the sitcom ''The Office'' (2009–2013) and Kimmy Schmidt in the sitcom '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' (2015–2019). She has also app ...
, and
Catherine Tate Catherine Tate (born Catherine Jane Ford, 5 December 1969) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC Two, BBC sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007), as well as bein ...
. ''The Office'' received moderately positive reviews from critics (except for 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 ...
which received mixed reviews) during its short first season, but the following seasons, particularly Carell's performance, received significant acclaim from television critics as the show's characters, content, structure, and tone diverged considerably from the original British series. These seasons were included on several critics' year-end top TV series lists, winning several awards including a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
in 2006, two
Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
, a
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
for Carell's
performance A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Performance has evolved glo ...
, and five
Primetime Emmy Awards 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 ...
, including one for Outstanding Comedy Series, in 2006. The eighth season was criticized for declining quality, with Carell's departure in season seven seen as a contributing factor. However, the ninth and final season ended the series with a generally positive response. The
series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...
, which originally aired on May 16, 2013, was viewed by an estimated 5.7 million viewers and garnered critical acclaim. In 2016, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' named ''The Office'' one of the 100 greatest television shows of all time.


Production


Crew

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'' ...
developed the British ''Office'' series for American television and served as the
showrunner 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 ...
for the first four seasons. He then left the position when he co-created the comedy series '' Parks and Recreation'' with fellow ''Office'' writer
Michael Schur Michael Herbert Schur (born October 29, 1975) is an American television writer, producer, director, and actor. He started his career as a writer for ''Saturday Night Live'' (1998–2004) before gaining acclaim as a writer and producer of the si ...
and divided his time between both series.
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 ...
and
Jennifer Celotta Jennifer Ann Celotta (born November 11, 1971) is an American television producer, writer, and director. Among her credits are ''The Office,'' ''Cobra Kai'', ''Abbott Elementary'', ''Malcolm in the Middle'', '' The Newsroom'', '' Greg the Bunny'', ...
were named the showrunners for the fifth season. Celotta left the series after the sixth season and Lieberstein stayed on as showrunner for the following two seasons. He left the showrunner spot after the eighth season for the potential Dwight Schrute spin-off, ''The Farm'', which was eventually passed on by NBC. Daniels returned to the showrunner position for the ninth and final season. Other executive producers include cast members B. J. Novak and
Mindy Kaling Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Known for her work on television, she has received a Tony Awa ...
. Kaling, Novak, Daniels, Lieberstein and Schur made up the original team of writers. Kaling, Novak, and Lieberstein also served multiple roles on the series, as they played regular characters on the show, as well as wrote, directed, and produced episodes. Credited with twenty-four episodes, Kaling is the most prolific writer among the staff.
Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003) ...
and
Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, writer, director, and actor. He was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003), and co-writer ...
, who created the original British series, are credited as executive producers and wrote both
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 ...
and the third-season episode "
The Convict "The Convict" is the ninth episode of the third season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the show's 37th overall. It first aired on November 30, 2006 in the United States on NBC. The episode was the series' only orig ...
". Merchant later directed the episode " Customer Survey", while Gervais appeared in the episodes "
The Seminar "The Seminar" is the fourteenth episode of the seventh season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'', and the show's 140th episode overall. Written by Steve Hely and directed by B. J. Novak, the episode aired January 27, 2011 ...
" and "
Search Committee "Search Committee" is the two-part finale of the seventh season of the American television comedy series ''The Office''. It comprises the 151st and 152nd episodes of the series overall and the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season. It ...
", reprising his role as
David Brent David Brent is a fictional character in the BBC television mockumentary ''The Office'', portrayed by the show's co-creator, co-writer, and co-director Ricky Gervais. Brent is a white-collar office middle-manager and the principal character of t ...
from the British series.
Randall Einhorn Randall Einhorn (born December 7, 1963) is an American television cinematographer, director, and producer, best known for his work on ''The Office'', '' Wilfred'', ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', ''Survivor'', and ''Abbott Elementary''. Ear ...
is the most frequent director of the series, with 15 credited episodes. The series also had several guest directors, including '' Lost'' co-creator
J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Jacob Abrams (born June 27, 1966) is an American filmmaker and composer. He is best known for his works in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. Abrams wrote and produced films such as '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), '' Forever ...
, ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...
'' creator
Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...
, both of whom are fans of the series, and filmmakers
Jon Favreau Jonathan Kolia Favreau ( ; born October 19, 1966) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Favreau has appeared in films such as ''Rudy (film), Rudy'' (1993), ''PCU (film), PCU'' (1994), ''Swingers (1996 film), Swingers'' (1996), ''Very ...
,
Harold Ramis Harold Allen Ramis ( ; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. His film acting roles include Egon Spengler in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and as Russell Ziskey in '' St ...
,
Jason Reitman Jason R. Reitman (; born October 19, 1977) is a Canadian–American filmmaker. He is best known for directing the films ''Thank You for Smoking'' (2005), ''Juno (film), Juno'' (2007), ''Up in the Air (2009 film), Up in the Air'' (2009), ''Young ...
, and
Marc Webb Marc Preston Webb (born August 31, 1974) is an American filmmaker and music video director. He made his feature film directorial debut in 2009 with the romantic comedy '' (500) Days of Summer.'' He then directed ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (2012 ...
. Episodes have been directed by several of the actors on the show including
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 ...
,
Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, writer, and director. He starred as Dwight Schrute on NBC's American adaptation of ''The Office'' from 2005 to 2013, and received t ...
,
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 ...
, B. J. Novak,
Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor, musician and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's '' The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sit ...
,
Brian Baumgartner Brian Baumgartner (born November 29, 1972) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Kevin Malone on the NBC sitcom '' The Office'' (2005–2013) and its related spin-off webisodes, which earned him two Screen Actors Guild Awards ...
,
Mindy Kaling Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Known for her work on television, she has received a Tony Awa ...
and
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 ...
.


Development and writing

Before the second episode airing, the writers spent time conducting research in offices. This process was used for Daniels' other series ''
King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels that initially aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, with four more episodes airing in First-run syndicati ...
'' and '' Parks and Recreation''. The
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 ...
is a direct adaptation of the first episode of the original British series. Daniels chose to go this route because "completely starting from scratch would be a very risky thing to do" owing to the show being an adaptation. He had briefly considered using the idea for "
The Dundies "The Dundies" is the first episode of the second season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the show's seventh episode overall. Written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Greg Daniels, who is also a producer for the show, th ...
" as the pilot episode.Daniels, Greg (Writer). 2006. "The Dundies" ommentary track ''The Office'' Season Two (US/NBC Version) VD Los Angeles, CA:
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...
.
After the writers knew who the cast was, they were allowed to write for the actors, which allowed the show to be more original for the following episode, " Diversity Day". Following the mixed reaction toward the first season, the writers attempted to make the series more "optimistic" and to make
Michael Scott Michael Scott, Michael Scot, or Mike Scott may refer to: Academics * Michael Scot (1175 – c. 1232), mathematician and astrologer * Michael L. Scott (born 1959), American academic and computer scientist * Mike Scott, British linguist and designer ...
more likable.Novak, B.J. (Writer). 2006. "The Dundies" ommentary track ''The Office'' Season Two (US/NBC Version) VD Los Angeles, CA:
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...
.
They also established the supporting characters of the series more, giving them relatable personalities. They also made the lights in the office brighter, which allowed the series to differentiate itself from the British series. A common issue with the scripts, according to Novak, is that they tended to run too long for the regular 22-minute time slot, leading to several cuts. For example, the script for the episode "
Search Committee "Search Committee" is the two-part finale of the seventh season of the American television comedy series ''The Office''. It comprises the 151st and 152nd episodes of the series overall and the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season. It ...
" was initially 75 pages, which was 10 pages too long. A complete script was written for each episode; however, actors were given opportunities to improvise during filming. Fischer said, "Our shows are 100 percent scripted. They put everything down on paper. But we get to play around a little bit, too. Steve and Rainn are brilliant improvisers.". These
improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...
s led to a large number of deleted scenes with almost every episode of ''The Office'', all of which are considered part of the show's
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
and storyline by Daniels. Deleted scenes have sometimes been restored in repeats to make episodes longer or draw back people who have seen the episode before to see the bonus footage. In an experiment, a deleted scene from " The Return" was made available over
NBC.com 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 ...
and
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
, explaining the absence of a character over the next several episodes. Daniels hoped that
word of mouth Word of mouth is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a ...
among fans would spread the information, but he eventually considered the experiment a failure.


Casting

According to
Jenna Fischer Regina Marie Kirk ( Fischer; born March 7, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Fischer, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the P ...
, the series used an unusual casting process that did not involve a script. For example, the producers asked the actors several questions and they responded as the characters they were auditioning for. NBC programmer Kevin Reilly originally suggested
Paul Giamatti Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti ( ; born June6, 1967) is an American actor. His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award and three Golden Globes, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and a British Academy Film Award. After studying a ...
to producer
Ben Silverman Benjamin Noah Silverman (born August 15, 1970) is an American media executive. He is the co-CEO and chairman of the entertainment production company Propagate. From 2007–2009, Silverman served as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universa ...
for the role of Michael Scott, but the actor declined.
Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian and American comedian, actor, and writer. Short is known as an energetic comedian who gained prominence for his roles in sketch comedy. He has also acted in numerous films and television ...
,
Hank Azaria Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor and producer. He is known for voicing many characters in the long-running animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' since 1989, including Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Superintendent Chalmer ...
and
Bob Odenkirk Robert John Odenkirk (; born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, screenwriter, comedian, and producer. He started his career as a comedian and comedy writer before expanding his career by acting in dramatic works. His List of awards and no ...
were reported to be interested in the part. Silverman offered the role to Ricky Gervais, who played
David Brent David Brent is a fictional character in the BBC television mockumentary ''The Office'', portrayed by the show's co-creator, co-writer, and co-director Ricky Gervais. Brent is a white-collar office middle-manager and the principal character of t ...
in the British series, but he declined as he felt it would not make sense and did not want to move to the United States. In January 2004, ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reported that
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 ...
, of the
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
program ''
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'', was in talks to play the role. At the time, he was already committed to another NBC midseason replacement comedy, '' Come to Papa'', but the series was quickly canceled, allowing his full commitment to ''The Office''. Carell later said that he had only seen about half of the original pilot episode of the British series before he auditioned. He did not continue watching for fear that he would start copying Gervais' characterizations. Other people who were considered or auditioned for the role included
Ben Falcone Benjamin Scott Falcone (born August 25, 1973) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is married to actress Melissa McCarthy, with whom he frequently collaborates. Falcone made his directorial debut in 2014 with ''Tammy (film), Tammy'', ...
,
Alan Tudyk Alan Wray Tudyk ( ; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' (2000), '' A Knight's Tale'' (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' (2004), voice and motion capture for Sonny in '' I, Robot'' (2 ...
,
Jim Zulevic Jim Zulevic (February 20, 1965 – January 7, 2006) was an American actor, improvisational comedian, television writer, and radio host. He died suddenly, most likely due to a heart attack, at age 40. Early life Zulevic, who was of Croatian ...
, and
Paul F. Tompkins Paul Francis Tompkins (born September 12, 1968) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He worked in television on such programs as '' Mr. Show with Bob and David'', ''Real Time with Bill Maher'', and '' Best Week Ever'', later renamed ''Bes ...
.
Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, writer, and director. He starred as Dwight Schrute on NBC's American adaptation of ''The Office'' from 2005 to 2013, and received t ...
was cast as power-hungry
sycophant In modern English, sycophant denotes an "insincere flatterer" and is used to refer to someone practising sycophancy (i.e., insincere flattery to gain advantage). The word has its origin in the legal system of Classical Athens, where it had a d ...
Dwight Schrute Dwight Kurt Schrute III () is a character on the American television series ''The Office'' and is portrayed by American actor Rainn Wilson. Dwight is a salesman and assistant to Michael Scott, at the fictional paper distribution company Dunde ...
, and he watched every episode of the British series before he auditioned.Wilson, Rainn (Actor). 2005. "Pilot" ommentary track ''The Office'' Season One (U.S./NBC Version) VD Los Angeles, CA:
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...
.
Wilson had originally auditioned for Michael, a performance that he described as a "terrible Ricky Gervais impersonation"; however, the casting directors liked his audition as Dwight much more and hired him.
Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known primarily for his comedic Leading actor, leading man roles in films, the accolades he has received include nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, ...
,
Matt Besser Matthew Gregory Besser (born September 22, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, director, producer, writer, and one of the four founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, who had their own show on Comedy Central from 1 ...
,
Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His acting roles include Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–2023) as adult ...
, and
Judah Friedlander Judah Friedlander (born March 16, 1969) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is known for playing the role of writer Frank Rossitano on the NBC sitcom ''30 Rock''. Friedlander is also known for his role as Toby Radloff in the film ''Am ...
also auditioned for the role. Carell was later joined by his wife
Nancy Carell Nancy Walls Carell (born July 19, 1966) is an American actress, comedian, and writer best known for her work on ''Saturday Night Live'', ''The Daily Show'', and ''The Office''. In 2016, she co-created the TBS comedy series ''Angie Tribeca'' with ...
when she was cast to play Carol Stills, a love interest of Michael Scott. When asked what it was like working with her husband, Carell said she was intimidated at first as she had retired from acting years prior, but they had so much fun together.
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 ...
and
Jenna Fischer Regina Marie Kirk ( Fischer; born March 7, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Fischer, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the P ...
were cast in their respective roles as Jim and Pam, the main love interests. Krasinski attended school with B. J. Novak, where the two were best friends. Before Krasinski landed the role, he considered quitting acting. He discussed on ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...
'' that he moved to New York City and gave himself two to three years for his acting career to succeed or he would quit. He did not enjoy waiting tables and struggling to find roles, but his mom told him to wait it out until the end of the year. He booked his role in ''The Office'' just three weeks later. Fischer prepared for her audition by looking as boring as possible, creating the original Pam hairstyle. In an interview on
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
's ''
Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosl ...
'', she recalled the last stages of the audition process for Pam and Jim, where the producers paired up the potential Pams and Jims (four of each) to gauge their chemistry. When Fischer finished her scene with Krasinski, he told her that she was his favorite Pam, to which she reciprocated that he was her favorite Jim. Adam Scott and
John Cho John Cho (born Cho Yo-Han; June 16, 1972) is an American actor known for his roles as Harold Lee in the '' Harold & Kumar'' films, and Hikaru Sulu in the ''Star Trek'' rebooted film series as well as '' Better Luck Tomorrow'', '' Columbus'', a ...
both auditioned for the role of Jim, and
Kathryn Hahn Kathryn Marie Hahn (born July 23, 1973) is an American actress. She gained prominence appearing as a supporting actress in a number of comedy films, including '' How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days'' (2003), '' Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy'' (2 ...
also auditioned for the role of Pam. The supporting cast includes actors known for their
improv Improv may refer to: *Improvisation, an act of spontaneous invention **Improvisational theatre (includes improvisational comedy) **Musical improvisation Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of im ...
work:
Angela Kinsey Angela Faye Kinsey (born June 25, 1971) is an American actress. She played Angela Martin in the sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013) and appeared in the sitcoms '' Your Family or Mine'' (2015) and ''Haters Back Off'' (2016–2017). Since ''The O ...
,
Kate Flannery Kate Flannery (born June 10, 1964) is an American actress. Following her early theatre work, Flannery had her screen breakthrough playing Meredith Palmer on the NBC series ''The Office'', which won her two Screen Actors Guild Awards. She went o ...
,
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 ...
,
Leslie David Baker Leslie David Baker (born February 19, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Stanley Hudson on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), which earned him two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Baker had recurring roles on t ...
,
Brian Baumgartner Brian Baumgartner (born November 29, 1972) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Kevin Malone on the NBC sitcom '' The Office'' (2005–2013) and its related spin-off webisodes, which earned him two Screen Actors Guild Awards ...
,
Melora Hardin Melora Diane Hardin Jackson (born June 29, 1967) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's ''The Office'' (2005–2013), Trudy Monk on USA Network's ''Monk'' (2004–2009), and Tammy Cashman o ...
and
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 ...
. Kinsey originally auditioned for Pam. The producers thought she was "too feisty" for the character, but called her back for the part of
Angela Martin Angela Noelle Schrute (née Martin; formerly Lipton) is a fictional character in the U.S. version of the television sitcom '' The Office,'' portrayed by actress Angela Kinsey. The character is based on Sheila from the original version of ''Th ...
, which she won. Flannery first auditioned for the part of Jan Levinson-Gould before landing the role of Meredith Palmer. Baumgartner originally auditioned for Stanley, but was eventually cast as Kevin.
Ken Kwapis Kenneth William Kwapis (born August 17, 1957) is an American film and television director, screenwriter, and author. He specialized in single-camera sitcoms in the 1990s and 2000s and has directed feature films such as '' Sesame Street Present ...
, the director of the pilot episode, liked the way
Phyllis Smith Phyllis Smith (born August 15, 1949) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Phyllis Vance in the television series ''The Office'' and her voice role as Sadness in Pixar's animated franchise '' Inside Out''. Early life and educa ...
, a casting associate, read with other actors auditioning so much that he cast her as Phyllis.Wolk, Josh. "The Drudge Report: A Visit With 7 More ''Office'' Mates." ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
,'' February 24, 2006: 24–25.
At the beginning of the third season,
Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor, musician and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's '' The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sit ...
and
Rashida Jones Rashida Leah Jones ( ; born February 25, 1976) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is best known for her roles as Louisa Fenn on the Fox drama series ''Boston Public'' (2000–2002), Karen Filippelli on the NBC comedy series ''The Offic ...
joined the cast as members of Dunder Mifflin Stamford. Jones later left the cast, becoming a regular on '' Parks and Recreation'' in February 2007, and NBC announced that Helms was being promoted to a series regular. Four of the show's writers have also appeared in the show. B. J. Novak was cast as the reluctant temp
Ryan Howard Ryan James Howard (born November 19, 1979), nicknamed "the Big Piece", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Howard spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, from to . He is ...
after Daniels saw his stand-up act.
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 ...
was cast as
human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...
director
Toby Flenderson ''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments ...
on Novak's suggestion after his cold readings of scripts. Greg Daniels was originally unsure where to use
Mindy Kaling Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Known for her work on television, she has received a Tony Awa ...
on-screen until the opportunity came in the script for the second episode, " Diversity Day", where Michael needed to be slapped by a minority. "Since hat slap I've been on the show" (as
Kelly Kapoor Kelly Rajanigandha Kapoor is a fictional character from the American television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Mindy Kaling. She is the customer service representative at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin from seasons 1 to 8. Following ...
), Kaling said.
Michael Schur Michael Herbert Schur (born October 29, 1975) is an American television writer, producer, director, and actor. He started his career as a writer for ''Saturday Night Live'' (1998–2004) before gaining acclaim as a writer and producer of the si ...
has also made several guest appearances as Dwight's cousin
Mose MOSE () is a project intended to protect the city of Venice, Italy, and the Venetian Lagoon from flooding. The project is an integrated system consisting of rows of mobile gates, installed on the seafloor at the Lido, Malamocco, and Chioggi ...
, and consulting producer
Larry Wilmore Elister Larry Wilmore III (born October 30, 1961) is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Correspondent" on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2014, and hosted ''The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore'' in 2 ...
has played diversity trainer Mr. Brown. Plans were made for
Mackenzie Crook Mackenzie Crook (born Paul James Crook, 29 September 1971) is an English actor, director, comedian and writer best known for his roles in television and film. He gained widespread recognition for portraying Gareth Keenan in the British sitcom '' ...
,
Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won two Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most ...
and
Lucy Davis Lucy Clare Davis (born 17 February 1973) is an English actress known for playing Dawn Tinsley in the BBC comedy ''The Office'' (2001–2003), Hilda Spellman in the Netflix series '' The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina'' (2018–2020), Dianne i ...
, from the British series, to appear in the third season, but scheduling conflicts prevented them; however, Ricky Gervais made two appearances in the show's seventh season as David Brent.


Filming

''The Office'' was filmed with a
single-camera setup In filmmaking, television production and video production, the single-camera setup or single-camera mode of production (also known as portable single crew, portable single camera or single-cam) is a method in which all of the various shots and c ...
in
cinéma vérité Cinéma vérité (, , ) is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about '' Kino-Pravda''. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or highlight subje ...
style to create the look of an actual documentary, with no studio audience or laugh track, allowing its "
deadpan Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of Comedy, comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant t ...
" and "absurd" humor to fully come across. The show's primary premise is that a camera crew is filming
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 ...
and its employees, seemingly around the clock. The presence of the camera is acknowledged by the characters, especially Michael Scott, who enthusiastically participates in the filming. The characters, especially Jim and Pam, also look towards the camera when Michael creates an awkward situation. The show's main action is supplemented with talking-head interviews or "confessionals" where characters speak one-on-one with the camera. Actor
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 ...
shot the footage of Scranton for the opening credits when he found out he was cast as Jim. He visited Scranton for research and interviewed employees at actual paper companies. To create the show's documentary style, the producers hired cinematographer
Randall Einhorn Randall Einhorn (born December 7, 1963) is an American television cinematographer, director, and producer, best known for his work on ''The Office'', '' Wilfred'', ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', ''Survivor'', and ''Abbott Elementary''. Ear ...
, known for directing episodes of ''
Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: * one who survives Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 KKnD series#Armies, ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Foundation'', a fictional ...
'', who gave the show its "rough and jumpy" feel. This was facilitated by the main set's open floor plan, purposely designed by showrunner Daniels, production designer Donald Lee Harris (Matt Flynn became production designer later), and pilot director
Ken Kwapis Kenneth William Kwapis (born August 17, 1957) is an American film and television director, screenwriter, and author. He specialized in single-camera sitcoms in the 1990s and 2000s and has directed feature films such as '' Sesame Street Present ...
to allow camera operators to catch characters "unaware". Unlike most sets, the office layout was built with immovable walls to emphasize its airless, claustrophobic atmosphere—"trapping" the documentary film crew with the characters. Producer
Michael Schur Michael Herbert Schur (born October 29, 1975) is an American television writer, producer, director, and actor. He started his career as a writer for ''Saturday Night Live'' (1998–2004) before gaining acclaim as a writer and producer of the si ...
said that the series would strictly follow the documentary format. The producers and directors had long discussions on how scenes could work in the documentary format. For example, in the fourth-season episode " Did I Stutter?", a scene featured Michael going through a long process to go to the bathroom without passing Stanley. The producers debated whether it was possible, and Einhorn walked through the scene to see if a camera operator could get everywhere to shoot the whole scene. Later seasons relaxed the format, with the camera crew often going where actual documentary crews would not. This also changed the series' writing and comedy styles, an inconsistency criticized by some reviewers and fans. The first season of the show was filmed in a real office space in
Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...
. The remaining seasons were filmed at Chandler Valley Center Studios in the
San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...
.


Music

When it came to choosing the theme music for ''The Office'', producer Greg Daniels had several tracks he was thinking of using: existing songs including " Better Things" by
The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...
, " Float On" by
Modest Mouse Modest Mouse is an American rock music, rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members were lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock (musician), Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and ba ...
, and "
Mr. Blue Sky "Mr. Blue Sky" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), featured on the band's seventh studio album '' Out of the Blue'' (1977). Written and produced by frontman Jeff Lynne, the song forms the fourth and final track of the "Concerto fo ...
" by
Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood and drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangement ...
, and several original pieces artists contributed to the producers via a
cattle call An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...
. Daniels decided that the cast would vote on what song to use and gave them four of the choices. Most of them wanted "Mr. Blue Sky", but that option turned out to be invalid as it was already used in the drama series ''
LAX A lax is a salmon. LAX as an acronym most commonly refers to Los Angeles International Airport in Southern California, United States. LAX or Lax may also refer to: Places Within Los Angeles * Union Station (Los Angeles), Los Angeles' main tr ...
'' (2004–2005). Thus, the final choice was an original track written by Jay Ferguson and performed by The Scrantones. The theme is played over the title sequence, which features scenes of Scranton, various tasks around the office, and the main cast members. Some episodes of the series use a shortened version of the theme song. Starting with the fourth season, the theme song is played over the
closing credits Closing credits, aka end credits or end titles, are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television show, or video game. While opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to or at th ...
, which previously rolled in silence. Ferguson described his theme as "against type; it has this vulnerability, this yearning to it that soon explodes into this overdone optimism which then gets crushed - which is pretty much what the show is about." The
mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...
format of the show contains no
laugh track A laugh track (or laughter track) is an audio recording consisting of laughter (and other audience reactions) usually used as a separate soundtrack for comedy productions. The laugh track may contain live audience reactions or artificial laught ...
, and most of the music is
diegetic Diegesis (; , ) is a style of fiction storytelling in which a participating narrator offers an on-site, often interior, view of the scene to the reader, viewer, or listener by subjectively describing the actions and, in some cases, thoughts, o ...
, with songs either sung or played by the characters or heard on radios, computers, or other devices; however, songs have been played during montages or the closing credits, such as "
Tiny Dancer "Tiny Dancer" is a song written by English musician and composer Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally released on John's 1971 album ''Madman Across the Water'' as its opening track, and was later produ ...
" by
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
("
The Dundies "The Dundies" is the first episode of the second season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the show's seventh episode overall. Written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Greg Daniels, who is also a producer for the show, th ...
") and " Islands in the Stream" by
Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...
and
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
("
E-mail Surveillance "Email Surveillance" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the show's fifteenth episode overall. Written by Jennifer Celotta, and directed by Paul Feig, the episode first air ...
"). Featured music tends to be well known, and often songs reflect the character, such as Michael's attempt to seem hip by using "
Mambo No. 5 "Mambo No. 5" is an instrumental mambo and jazz dance song originally composed and recorded by Cuban musician Dámaso Pérez Prado in 1949 and released the next year. German singer Lou Bega sampled the original for a new song released under the s ...
" and later "
My Humps "My Humps" is a song by American hip hop group the Black Eyed Peas, released on September 20, 2005 by A&M Records and Interscope Records. It was originally written by will.i.am for the American girl group the Pussycat Dolls, but was ultimately ...
" as his cell phone ringtone. Michael confusing
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
's " Just Dance" with
Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...
' "
Gimme More "Gimme More" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her fifth studio album, ''Blackout (Britney Spears album), Blackout'' (2007). It was released on August 31, 2007, by Jive Records, as the lead single from the album. "Gimme More" was ...
" is another example of this. Daniels has said that it does not count as
film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...
as long as it already appeared in the episode.


Characters

''The Office'' features an
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...
. Many of its characters are based on characters in the original British series. While these characters generally have the same attitudes and perceptions as their British counterparts, the roles were modified to fit the American show. The show is known for its relatively large cast, and many of its actors and actresses are known particularly for their
improvisation Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...
al work.
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 ...
stars as
Michael Scott Michael Scott, Michael Scot, or Mike Scott may refer to: Academics * Michael Scot (1175 – c. 1232), mathematician and astrologer * Michael L. Scott (born 1959), American academic and computer scientist * Mike Scott, British linguist and designer ...
, regional manager of the
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 ...
Scranton Branch. Loosely based on
David Brent David Brent is a fictional character in the BBC television mockumentary ''The Office'', portrayed by the show's co-creator, co-writer, and co-director Ricky Gervais. Brent is a white-collar office middle-manager and the principal character of t ...
, Gervais' character in the British series, Scott is a well-intentioned man whose oblivious attempts at humor often offend and annoy his peers and employees, and sometimes draw reprimands from his superiors.
Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, writer, and director. He starred as Dwight Schrute on NBC's American adaptation of ''The Office'' from 2005 to 2013, and received t ...
portrays
Dwight Schrute Dwight Kurt Schrute III () is a character on the American television series ''The Office'' and is portrayed by American actor Rainn Wilson. Dwight is a salesman and assistant to Michael Scott, at the fictional paper distribution company Dunde ...
, based on Gareth Keenan, who is a salesman and the Assistant to the Regional Manager, an imaginary title created by Michael.
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 ...
portrays
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 ...
, a salesman and, in later seasons, assistant manager or co-manager who is known for his wittiness and his practical jokes on Dwight. Halpert is based upon
Tim Canterbury Tim Canterbury is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom ''The Office'', portrayed by Martin Freeman. He is a sales representative at the Slough branch of Wernham Hogg Paper Merchants. He has a self-deprecating and ironic sense of humour. Tim f ...
and, at the start of the series, is known to have feelings for receptionist
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 ...
, who is engaged to warehouse worker Roy. Pam, played by
Jenna Fischer Regina Marie Kirk ( Fischer; born March 7, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Fischer, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the P ...
, is based on
Dawn Tinsley ''The Office'' is a British mockumentary television sitcom first broadcast in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, it follows the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slo ...
. She is shy but often collaborates with Jim in his pranks on Dwight. B. J. Novak portrays
Ryan Howard Ryan James Howard (born November 19, 1979), nicknamed "the Big Piece", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Howard spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, from to . He is ...
, who for the first two seasons is a
temporary work Temporary work or temporary employment (also called gigs) refers to an employment situation where the working arrangement is limited to a certain period of time-based on the needs of the employing organization. Temporary employees are sometimes ...
er but is promoted to a sales representative in the third season. He later ascends to be the company's youngest vice president, North East Region, and director of new media until his innovations are exposed as corporate fraud and he is fired. He then gets a job in a bowling alley and later briefly works for the Michael Scott Paper Company. After this and a stint in rehab, he again eventually ends up as a temporary worker at the Scranton branch. The accounting department includes
Angela Martin Angela Noelle Schrute (née Martin; formerly Lipton) is a fictional character in the U.S. version of the television sitcom '' The Office,'' portrayed by actress Angela Kinsey. The character is based on Sheila from the original version of ''Th ...
(
Angela Kinsey Angela Faye Kinsey (born June 25, 1971) is an American actress. She played Angela Martin in the sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013) and appeared in the sitcoms '' Your Family or Mine'' (2015) and ''Haters Back Off'' (2016–2017). Since ''The O ...
), an uptight and ultra-religious woman who likes to keep things orderly and make sure situations remain as businesslike as possible;
Kevin Malone Kevin Malone is a fictional character in the American television series '' The Office,'' portrayed by Brian Baumgartner. In the series, Kevin is a member of the accounting department at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin. He is shown to ...
(
Brian Baumgartner Brian Baumgartner (born November 29, 1972) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Kevin Malone on the NBC sitcom '' The Office'' (2005–2013) and its related spin-off webisodes, which earned him two Screen Actors Guild Awards ...
), a lovable but dim-witted man who revels in juvenile humor and frequently indulges in gambling; and
Oscar Martinez Óscar Martínez or Oscar Martinez may refer to: *Oscar Martínez (actor) (born 1949), Argentine actor * Óscar Martínez (basketball), Paraguayan basketball coach, see Paraguay women's national basketball team * Oscar Martínez (fencer) (born 1889 ...
(
Oscar Nuñez 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 receiv ...
), who is intelligent and cultured, but often patronizing, and whose
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
and Hispanic heritage made him a frequent target of Michael's unintentional off-color comments. Rounding out the office are the laconic salesman
Stanley Hudson ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'' is an American television series based on The Office (British TV series), the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary tec ...
(
Leslie David Baker Leslie David Baker (born February 19, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Stanley Hudson on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), which earned him two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Baker had recurring roles on t ...
), who cannot stand Michael's constant references to his
Black American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
heritage (he also does not like to take part in time-wasting meetings and often solves crossword puzzles or sleeps during them); the matronly saleswoman
Phyllis Lapin ''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments ...
(
Phyllis Smith Phyllis Smith (born August 15, 1949) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Phyllis Vance in the television series ''The Office'' and her voice role as Sadness in Pixar's animated franchise '' Inside Out''. Early life and educa ...
), who dates and then marries Bob Vance ( Robert R. Shafer) from Vance Refrigeration, a company whose office is across the hall from Dunder Mifflin; eccentric quality assurance representative
Creed Bratton Creed Bratton (born William Charles Schneider; February 8, 1943) is an American actor and musician. A former member of the rock band the Grass Roots, he is best known for playing a Creed Bratton (character), fictionalized version of himself o ...
(
Creed Bratton Creed Bratton (born William Charles Schneider; February 8, 1943) is an American actor and musician. A former member of the rock band the Grass Roots, he is best known for playing a Creed Bratton (character), fictionalized version of himself o ...
), who has a mysterious criminal history;
Andy Bernard Andrew Baines Bernard (born Walter Baines Bernard Jr.) is a fictional character portrayed by Ed Helms in the NBC comedy television series ''The Office.'' Character synopsis Season 3 (2006–2007) Andy's character is introduced in the season ...
(
Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor, musician and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's '' The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sit ...
), a salesman from the
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 ...
branch of Dunder Mifflin introduced in season three who transfers to the Scranton branch after the two offices merge;
Karen Filippelli ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'' is an American television series based on The Office (British TV series), the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary tec ...
(
Rashida Jones Rashida Leah Jones ( ; born February 25, 1976) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is best known for her roles as Louisa Fenn on the Fox drama series ''Boston Public'' (2000–2002), Karen Filippelli on the NBC comedy series ''The Offic ...
) a short term love interest for Jim also from Stamford; the shallow and talkative customer service representative
Kelly Kapoor Kelly Rajanigandha Kapoor is a fictional character from the American television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Mindy Kaling. She is the customer service representative at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin from seasons 1 to 8. Following ...
(
Mindy Kaling Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Known for her work on television, she has received a Tony Awa ...
); the promiscuous
alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...
supply relations representative
Meredith Palmer ''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments ...
(
Kate Flannery Kate Flannery (born June 10, 1964) is an American actress. Following her early theatre work, Flannery had her screen breakthrough playing Meredith Palmer on the NBC series ''The Office'', which won her two Screen Actors Guild Awards. She went o ...
);
human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ' ...
representative
Toby Flenderson ''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments ...
(
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 ...
), who is loathed, and often the target of abuse, by Michael; warehouse foreman
Darryl Philbin ''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments ...
( Craig Robinson); warehouse dock worker and Pam's fiancé 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 ...
), who is fired in the third season for attacking Jim; and the vice president for regional sales for Dunder Mifflin
Jan Levinson Janet Levinson (formerly Levinson-Gould) is a recurring fictional character from the US television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Melora Hardin. She is the Vice President of Northeast Sales at the paper distribution company Dunder Mifflin, d ...
(
Melora Hardin Melora Diane Hardin Jackson (born June 29, 1967) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's ''The Office'' (2005–2013), Trudy Monk on USA Network's ''Monk'' (2004–2009), and Tammy Cashman o ...
), who later becomes Michael's rather toxic love interest. Toward the end of season five, the bubbly and naive
Erin Hannon Kelly Erin Hannon (born May 1, 1986) is a fictional character from the American comedy television series ''The Office'', played by Ellie Kemper. She is the optimistic office receptionist for the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin, a position previo ...
(
Ellie Kemper Elizabeth Claire Kemper (born May 2, 1980) is an American actress, best known for her roles of Erin Hannon in the sitcom ''The Office'' (2009–2013) and Kimmy Schmidt in the sitcom '' Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'' (2015–2019). She has also app ...
) is introduced as Pam's replacement at the reception and develops a unique bond with Michael when he becomes almost a father figure in her life. A story arc at the end of season four has
Holly Flax Hollis Partridge "Holly" Scott (''née'' Flax) is a fictional character from the American television series ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'', played by Amy Ryan. She is an original character, and not based on any character from th ...
(
Amy Ryan Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski (born May 3, 1968), known professionally as Amy Ryan, is an American actress. She began her professional stage career in 1987 and made her Broadway debut in 1993 as a replacement in the original production of Wendy W ...
) transferred to the office as Toby's replacement. She becomes a love interest for Michael, as they share very similar personality traits.
Jo Bennett ''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments ...
(
Kathy Bates Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actress. Kathy Bates filmography, Her work spans over five decades, and List of awards and nominations received by Kathy Bates, her accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, t ...
) is the CEO of Sabre, a company which takes over Dunder Mifflin.
Gabe Lewis ''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments ...
(
Zach Woods Zach Woods (born September 25, 1984) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles as a series regular for three seasons as Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom '' The Office'', as Jared Dunn on the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley ...
), introduced in the middle of season six, is a Sabre employee assigned to the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch as the regional director of sales. In season seven, Bennett's friend
Nellie Bertram Nellie Bertram is a fictional character on the American comedy television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Catherine Tate. She first appears as a guest star in the seventh season, where she interviewed for the Regional Manager position at the D ...
(
Catherine Tate Catherine Tate (born Catherine Jane Ford, 5 December 1969) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC Two, BBC sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007), as well as bein ...
) is interviewed to replace Scott and later serves as a replacement regional manager for Bernard in season eight after
Robert California Robert California, also known as Bob Kazamakis, is a fictional character on the American comedy television series ''The Office'', portrayed by James Spader. In the eighth season, Robert managed to persuade Jo Bennett to appoint him CEO in her ...
(
James Spader James Todd Spader (born February 7, 1960; ) is an American actor. He is known for often portraying eccentric and morally ambiguous characters. He began his career in critically acclaimed independent films before transitioning into television, f ...
) has become the new CEO of Sabre. In season nine, Clark Green (
Clark Duke Clark Duke (born May 5, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the films '' Sex Drive'' (2008), '' Kick-Ass'' (2010), '' Hot Tub Time Machine'' (2010), and '' The Croods'' (2013), as well as playing Clark Green in ''The Office ...
) and
Pete Miller Peter Miller or Pete Miller may refer to: * Peter Miller (musician) (born 1942), English singer, songwriter and record producer * Peter Miller (Australian footballer) (born 1969), Australian rules footballer * Peter Miller (actor) (born 1969), Cana ...
(
Jake Lacy Jameson Griffin "Jake" Lacy (born February 14, 1985) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of Pete Miller on the ninth and final season of ''The Office'', as Fran Parker in the fourth and fifth seasons of HBO's '' Girls'', and Sha ...
) join as new customer service representatives who attempt to catch up on the ignored customer service complaints that Kelly has neglected while working at Dunder Mifflin. Clark is later moved to sales. Initially, the actors who portray the supporting office workers were credited as
guest stars The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...
, but then were named series regulars during the second season. The show's large ensemble was mainly praised by critics and led to the series winning two
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast (or Ensemble) in a Comedy Series is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest ensemble acting achievements in comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works ...
. Carell was reportedly paid $175,000 per episode starting in the third season. Krasinski and Fischer were paid around $20,000 at the beginning of the series, and around $100,000 per episode by the fourth season.


Season synopses

A typical episode for a half-hour time slot runs minutes. The final episode of season two introduced the first of what would be several "super-sized" episodes that had an approximately 28-minute running time for a 40-minute time slot. Season three introduced the first of occasional hour-long episodes (approximately 42-minute running time, also suitable for being shown as two separate normal episodes in reruns).


Season 1 (2005)

The first season consists of six episodes; the shortest season of the series. The series starts by introducing
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 ...
's employees via a tour given by branch manager
Michael Scott Michael Scott, Michael Scot, or Mike Scott may refer to: Academics * Michael Scot (1175 – c. 1232), mathematician and astrologer * Michael L. Scott (born 1959), American academic and computer scientist * Mike Scott, British linguist and designer ...
for both a documentary camera crew and first-day temp
Ryan Howard Ryan James Howard (born November 19, 1979), nicknamed "the Big Piece", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Howard spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the Philadelphia Phillies, from to . He is ...
. Salesman
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 ...
has a crush on receptionist
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 ...
, who helps him play pranks on co-worker
Dwight Schrute Dwight Kurt Schrute III () is a character on the American television series ''The Office'' and is portrayed by American actor Rainn Wilson. Dwight is a salesman and assistant to Michael Scott, at the fictional paper distribution company Dunde ...
, even though she is engaged to Roy Anderson, who works in the company's downstairs warehouse. Rumors spread throughout the office that Dunder Mifflin's corporate headquarters is planning to downsize an entire branch, leading to general anxiety. Still, Michael chooses to deny or downplay the realities of the situation to maintain employee morale.


Season 2 (2005–2006)

The second season is the series' first 22-episode season and has its first 28-minute "super-sized" episode. Many workers seen in the background of the first season are developed into secondary characters and romantic relationships begin to develop between some of them. Michael makes out with and then spends the night with his boss,
Jan Levinson Janet Levinson (formerly Levinson-Gould) is a recurring fictional character from the US television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Melora Hardin. She is the Vice President of Northeast Sales at the paper distribution company Dunder Mifflin, d ...
, but does not have sex with her. Dwight and Angela become romantically involved, but keep their relationship a secret.
Kelly Kapoor Kelly Rajanigandha Kapoor is a fictional character from the American television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Mindy Kaling. She is the customer service representative at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin from seasons 1 to 8. Following ...
develops a crush on Ryan, and they start dating off and on. When Roy finally agrees to set a date for his wedding to Pam, at a company booze cruise, Jim grows depressed and considers transferring to the
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 ...
, branch, but tells Pam in the
season finale A season finale (British English: series finale; Australian English: season final) is the final episode of a season of a television program. This is often the final episode to be produced for a few months or longer, and, as such, will attempt to ...
that he is in love with her. Even though Pam insists she is with Roy, the two kiss, and Jim transfers to the Stamford branch soon after. The general threat of downsizing continues throughout the season as well.


Season 3 (2006–2007)

The third season consists of 17 half-hour episodes, four 40-minute "super-sized" episodes, and two one-hour episodes. The total number of episodes is 25. The season starts with a brief flashback to (and additional footage from) the last episode of season two, "Casino Night", when Jim kissed Pam and confessed his feelings for her. Jim briefly transfers to Dunder Mifflin's Stamford branch after Pam confirms her commitment to Roy. Corporate is later forced to merge the Stamford branch with the Scranton branch. Michael takes this merger very seriously. Transferred to the Scranton branch are saleswoman
Karen Filippelli ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'' is an American television series based on The Office (British TV series), the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary tec ...
, whom Jim has begun dating, and the anger-prone preppy salesman
Andy Bernard Andrew Baines Bernard (born Walter Baines Bernard Jr.) is a fictional character portrayed by Ed Helms in the NBC comedy television series ''The Office.'' Character synopsis Season 3 (2006–2007) Andy's character is introduced in the season ...
, along with other Stamford employees who all eventually quit within the first few episodes of being there. Pam is newly single after calling off her engagement to Roy, and Jim's unresolved feelings for her and his new relationship with Karen lead to shifting tensions between the three. Meanwhile, Michael and Jan's relationship escalates, which causes them to behave erratically on the job. On the other hand, Dwight and Angela continue their steamy secret relationship. In the season's finale, Jim, Karen, and Michael interview for a corporate position that turns out to be Jan's, who is fired for poor performance. Jim is offered the job but rejects it off-screen, opting instead to remain in Scranton without Karen and asking Pam out on a date, which she joyfully accepts. In the final scene, we learn Ryan has been awarded Jan's job.


Season 4 (2007–2008)

NBC ordered a fourth full season of thirty half-hour episodes but ended with only 19 due to a halt in production caused by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. The season consists of nine half-hour and five hour-long episodes for a total of 19 episodes of material created. Karen has left the Scranton branch after her breakup with Jim and becomes the regional manager at the Utica branch. A self-employed Jan moves herself and her candle business into Michael's condo, until the dissolution of their relationship midway through the season during an intimate dinner party including Pam, Jim, Andy, Angela and Dwight. This episode showcases what has become a very toxic and unhealthy relationship between Michael and Jan. After Dwight's crude (though well-intentioned) method of
euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
of Angela's ailing cat without her permission, she leaves him for Andy, leading Dwight into depression. Ryan, in his new corporate life in New York City, attempts to modernize Dunder Mifflin with a new website for online sales; he also learns that his boss, David Wallace, favors Jim, and thus Ryan attempts to sabotage Jim's career. Ryan is soon arrested and fired for misleading the shareholders and committing fraud related to the website's sales numbers. Toby announces he is moving to
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
and is replaced by
Holly Flax Hollis Partridge "Holly" Scott (''née'' Flax) is a fictional character from the American television series ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'', played by Amy Ryan. She is an original character, and not based on any character from th ...
, who quickly shows a liking for Michael. Pam decides to follow her artistic interests and is accepted to attend a three-month graphic design course at the
Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...
in New York City. In the season finale, Jim almost proposes to Pam but is interrupted by Andy proposing to Angela, who reluctantly agrees. Phyllis then catches Dwight and Angela having sex in the office.


Season 5 (2008–2009)

The fifth season consists of 28 half-hours of material, divided into 24 half-hour episodes and two hour-long episodes, one of which aired after Super Bowl XLIII. Jim proposes to Pam at a gas station halfway between Scranton and New York City, where they meet for a visit. Pam ultimately returns from New York to Scranton, where Jim has bought his parents' house for the two of them. Having avoided jail and only been sentenced to community service, Ryan bleaches his hair and starts working at a bowling alley. Michael initiates a romance with Holly until she is transferred to the
Nashua, New Hampshire Nashua () is a city in southern New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester, New Hampshire, Manchester. It is on ...
, branch, Toby returns to Scranton to replace Holly, and their relationship ends. When Andy is made aware of Dwight and Angela's continued affair, both men leave her. Newly hired Vice President
Charles Miner Charles Miner (February 1, 1780 – October 26, 1865) was an anti-slavery advocate and politician who served in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from 1807 to 1808 and the United States House of Representatives from 1825 to 1829. H ...
implements a rigid managerial style over the branch that causes Michael to resign in protest. Michael opens the
Michael Scott Paper Company "Michael Scott Paper Company" is the twenty-third episode of the fifth season of the television series ''The Office'' and the 95th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 9, 2009. In the episode, ...
in the same office building, enticing Pam and Ryan to join as salespeople, and though his business model is ultimately unsustainable, Dunder Mifflin's profits are immediately threatened. In a
buyout In finance, a buyout is an investment transaction by which the ownership equity, or a controlling interest of a company, or a majority share of the capital stock of the company is acquired. The acquirer thereby "buys out" the present equity holde ...
of the Michael Scott Paper Company, the three are rehired with Pam promoted to sales and Ryan returning as a temp. During the chaos a new receptionist,
Erin Erin is a personal name taken from the Hiberno-English word for Ireland, originating from the Irish word ''"Éirinn"''. "Éirinn" is the dative case of the Irish word for Ireland, "Éire", genitive "Éireann", the dative being used in preposi ...
, is hired to fill the vacancy originally left by Pam. The season ends with a scene that subtly alludes to Pam's (unplanned) pregnancy.


Season 6 (2009–2010)

The sixth season consists of 26 half-hours of material, divided into 22 half-hour episodes and two hour-long episodes. Jim and Pam marry and have a baby named Cecelia Marie Halpert. Meanwhile, Andy and Erin develop an interest in each other, but find their inherent awkwardness inhibits his attempts to ask her out on a date during a murder-mystery game meant to distract the members of the office. Jim is promoted as co-manager. Rumors of bankruptcy begin to surround Dunder Mifflin, and by Christmas, Wallace announces to the branch that Dunder Mifflin has accepted a buyout from Sabre Corporation, a printer company. While Wallace and other executives are let go, the Scranton office survives due to its relative success within the company. Michael Scott is now the highest-level employee at Dunder Mifflin. In the
season finale A season finale (British English: series finale; Australian English: season final) is the final episode of a season of a television program. This is often the final episode to be produced for a few months or longer, and, as such, will attempt to ...
, Dwight buys the office park. Michael agrees to make an announcement to the press regarding a case of faulty printers. When Jo Bennett, Sabre CEO, asks how she can repay him, Michael responds that she could bring Holly back to the Scranton branch.


Season 7 (2010–2011)

The seventh season consists of 26 half-hours of material, divided into 21 half-hour episodes, one "super-sized" episode, and two hour-long episodes. This was the final season for
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 ...
, who plays
Michael Scott Michael Scott, Michael Scot, or Mike Scott may refer to: Academics * Michael Scot (1175 – c. 1232), mathematician and astrologer * Michael L. Scott (born 1959), American academic and computer scientist * Mike Scott, British linguist and designer ...
, as NBC did not renew Carell's contract. Beginning with this season,
Zach Woods Zach Woods (born September 25, 1984) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles as a series regular for three seasons as Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom '' The Office'', as Jared Dunn on the HBO comedy series ''Silicon Valley ...
, who portrays
Gabe Lewis ''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments ...
, was promoted to a series regular. Erin and Gabe have begun a relationship, much to Andy's chagrin, and Andy attempts to win Erin's affection back. Holly, Michael's former girlfriend, returns to Scranton to fill in for Toby, who is on jury duty for the "Scranton Strangler" trial. Michael and Holly eventually restart their relationship. After the two get engaged, Michael reveals he will be leaving Scranton to move to Colorado with Holly to support her elderly parents. Jim and Pam adjust to parenthood, while Angela starts dating state senator Robert Lipton and gets engaged off-screen in the season finale. After Michael's replacement Deangelo (
Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...
) is seriously injured on the job, Jo creates a search committee to interview candidates and choose a new manager for the office. In the meantime, Dwight Schrute, and later Creed Bratton, take over as acting manager.


Season 8 (2011–2012)

The eighth season consists of 24 episodes. James Spader joins the cast as Robert California, the new CEO of Dunder Mifflin/Sabre. Andy is then promoted to regional manager and works hard to make a good impression on Robert, asking Dwight to be his number two. Pam and Jim are expecting their second child, Phillip, at the start of the season, to coincide with Fischer's real-life pregnancy. Angela is also pregnant with her first son, also named Philip, with State Senator Robert Lipton (although it is implied that Dwight is the child's biological father). Darryl starts falling for the new warehouse foreman, Val. Dwight is tasked with traveling to
Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...
, to assist Sabre special projects manager
Nellie Bertram Nellie Bertram is a fictional character on the American comedy television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Catherine Tate. She first appears as a guest star in the seventh season, where she interviewed for the Regional Manager position at the D ...
(
Catherine Tate Catherine Tate (born Catherine Jane Ford, 5 December 1969) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC Two, BBC sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007), as well as bein ...
) in launching a chain of retail stores, along with Jim, Ryan, Stanley, Erin, and new office temp
Cathy Simms ''The Office'' is an American television series based on the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary technique that intersperses traditional situation comedy segments w ...
. Cathy is also revealed to have ulterior motives for the trip, as she intends to seduce Jim. Still, she fails. Robert later kills the retail store project, and Erin decides to stay in Florida as an elderly woman's live-in helper. Andy goes to Florida to win back Erin, allowing Nellie to claim the manager position as her own. Robert tells Andy that he has been demoted back to a salesman, but Andy refuses to accept the news, which causes him to be fired. Andy becomes motivated to begin a Dunder Mifflin comeback and joins with former CFO David Wallace, now a millionaire, to repurchase Dunder Mifflin from Sabre, putting Sabre completely out of business and giving Andy the manager position once again.


Season 9 (2012–2013)

The final season consists of 25 episodes. Andy, recently returning from Outward Bound manager training, reverts to his arrogant earlier season personality, abandoning both Erin and the office to travel around the Caribbean with his brother in their sailboat after his parents' relationship's demise. In his absence, Erin strikes up a romance with new customer service rep Pete, who, along with another new customer service rep Clark, replaces Kelly, leaving for Ohio with her new husband. (Ryan also moves to Ohio for "unrelated reasons.") Meanwhile, Jim receives an exciting opportunity from an old college friend who offers him a job at Athlead, a Philadelphia sports marketing company. Darryl also jumps on board, but the distance and dedication to Athlead hurts Jim's relationship with Pam. Angela must deal with her husband's infidelity with Oscar. She also deals with her lingering attraction to Dwight, who inherits his family's beet farm. Dwight receives more good news when David Wallace handpicks him to be the new manager after Andy quits to pursue an acting career, which quickly ends when he embarrasses himself at an
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
-like
a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
singing competition that turns into a viral web sensation. Dwight later makes Jim his assistant to the regional manager, and the two officially end their grudge. After Jim reconciles with Pam, choosing to stay in Scranton over Philadelphia, Dwight professes his love for Angela and finally marries her. In the series finale, which takes place one year after the release of the documentary that was shot during the entire series, the employees reunite for Dwight and Angela's wedding, for which Michael returns to serve as the best man (with help from Jim who was the person Dwight first asked to be best man). Kelly and Ryan run away together, Nellie now lives in Poland and "adopts" Ryan's abandoned baby, Erin meets her birth parents, Andy gets a job at
Cornell Cornell University is a 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 White in 1865. Since ...
, Stanley retires to Florida, Kevin and Toby are both fired—the former buying a bar, the latter moving to New York City to become an author, and Oscar runs for the
State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...
. Jim and Pam, at her persuasion, move to Austin, Texas to open a new branch of Athleap (previously Athlead) with Darryl (Dwight "fires" them to give them both severance packages), and Creed is arrested for his many crimes.


Product placement

''The Office'' has had product placement deals with Staples and Olympic balers, as well as mentioning in dialogue or displaying clear logos for products such as
Sandals Resorts Sandals Resorts is a Jamaican operator of All-inclusive resort, all-inclusive couples resorts in the Caribbean. The company is a part of Sandals Resorts International (SRI), which also operates Beaches Resorts, Fowl Cay Resort, and several privat ...
, HP,
Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
, and Gateway computers, and
Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
's ''
Call of Duty ''Call of Duty'' is a first-person shooter military video game series and media franchise published by Activision, starting in 2003. The games were first developed by Infinity Ward, then by Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games. Several spin-of ...
'' video game series. In certain versions of " The Merger",
Kevin Malone Kevin Malone is a fictional character in the American television series '' The Office,'' portrayed by Brian Baumgartner. In the series, Kevin is a member of the accounting department at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin. He is shown to ...
uses a Staples-branded shredding machine to shred a Staples-branded
CD-R CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital media, digital optical disc data storage device, storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can only be Write once read many, written once and read arbitrarily many times. CD-R discs (CD-Rs) ...
and many other nonpaper items, including a salad.
Cisco Systems Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational corporation, multinational digital communications technology conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, m ...
, a supplier of networking and telephone equipment, paid for product placement, which can be seen on close-up shots of the Cisco IP telephones. Some products have additional branding labels attached; this can be clearly seen with the HP photo printer on Toby's desk in season 6, and less noticeably with the Cisco phones. In " The Secret" Michael takes Jim to
Hooters Hooters is the registered trademark used by two American restaurant chains: Hooters, Inc., based in Clearwater, Florida, and Hooters of America, Inc. based in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by the private investment firm Nord Bay Capital (with Tr ...
to discuss Jim's feelings for Pam. Many products featured are not part of product placement agreements but rather inserted by writers as products the characters would use to create realism under the guise of a documentary.
Chili's Chili's Grill & Bar (stylized as chili's) is an American casual dining restaurant chain founded by Larry Lavine in Texas in 1975 and is currently owned and operated by Brinker International. History Chili's first location, a converted postal ...
restaurants were used for filming in "
The Dundies "The Dundies" is the first episode of the second season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the show's seventh episode overall. Written by Mindy Kaling and directed by Greg Daniels, who is also a producer for the show, th ...
" and " The Client", as the writers believed they were realistic choices for a company party and business lunch."The Dundies" ommentary track ''The Office'' Season Two (US/NBC Version) VD 2006, Los Angeles, CA:
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...
.
"The Client" ommentary track ''The Office'' Season Two (US/NBC Version) VD 2006, Los Angeles, CA:
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...
Though not an explicit product placement, the producers of the show had to allow Chili's to have final approval of the script before filming, causing a scene of "The Dundies" to be hastily rewritten when the chain objected to the original version.
Wegmans Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a privately held American supermarket chain. It is now headquartered in Gates, New York, but was founded on January 30, 1916, in Rochester, New York. As of late 2024, Wegmans had 111 stores in eight states (New Yo ...
, a supermarket chain based out of
Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
has had a working relationship with the show since the fall of 2007. Wegmans cereal, popcorn and cans of Wegmans soda have discreetly popped up in many episodes since then.
Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...
received over four minutes of publicity for the
iPod The iPod is a series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. from 2001 to 2022. The iPod Classic#1st generation, first version was released on November 10, 2001, about mon ...
when it was used as a much-desired gift in " Christmas Party", though the company did not pay for the placement. The travel website
TripAdvisor Tripadvisor is an American company that operates online travel agency, travel agencies, comparison shopping websites, and mobile apps with user-generated content. Its namesake brand, Tripadvisor.com, operates in 40 countries and 20 languages, and ...
was featured during Season 4 when after a visit to Dwight's "agritourism" bed and breakfast, Schrute Farms, Jim and Pam post an online review about their stay. The show reportedly approached the travel review website about using their name on the show and TripAdvisor set up a review page for the fictional B&B, which itself received hundreds of reviews. The appearance of ''
Second Life ''Second Life'' is a multiplayer virtual world that allows people to create an Avatar (computing), avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user-created content within a multi-user online environment. Developed for person ...
'' in the episode " Local Ad" was rated eighth in the top ten most effective product placements of 2007.


Reception and legacy


Critical reviews and commentary

Before the show aired, Ricky Gervais acknowledged that there were feelings of hesitation from certain viewers. The first season of ''The Office'' was met with a mixed response from critics with some of them comparing it to the short-lived NBC series ''
Coupling A coupling is a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for the purpose of transmitting power. The primary purpose of couplings is to join two pieces of rotating equipment while permitting some degree of misalignment or end mo ...
'', which was also based on a British version. The ''
New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' called it "so diluted there's little left but muddy water," and ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' called it a "passable imitation of a miles-better BBC original."Timms, Dominic
U.S. version of ''The Office'' scores ratings victory.
''Guardian Unlimited'', March 29, 2005. Retrieved on February 8, 2022.
A ''
Guardian Unlimited ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' review panned its lack of originality, stating that Steve Carell "just seems to be trying too hard.... Maybe in later episodes when it deviates from Gervais and Merchant's script, he'll come into his own. But right now he's a pale imitation."
Tom Shales Thomas William Shales (November 3, 1944 – January 13, 2024) was an American writer and television critic. He was a television critic for ''The Washington Post'' from 1977 to 2010, for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1 ...
of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' said it was "not the mishmash that he Americanized version of ''Coupling''turned out to be, but again the quality of the original show causes the remake to look dim, like when the copying machine is just about to give out." The second season was better received.
James Poniewozik James Poniewozik (; born July 12, 1968) is an American journalist and television critic. He is the chief TV critic for ''The New York Times''. Earlier in his career, he wrote '' Time's'' ''Tuned In'' column for 16 years. Early life Originally fro ...
of ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' remarked, "Producer Greg Daniels created not a copy but an interpretation that sends up distinctly American work conventions ... with a tone that's more satiric and less mordant... The new boss is different from the old boss, and that's fine by me." He named it the second-best TV show of 2006 after ''
Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...
''. ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' writer Mark Harris echoed these sentiments a week later, stating, "Thanks to the fearless Steve Carell, an ever-stronger supporting cast, and scripts that spew American corporate absurdist vernacular with perfect pitch, this undervalued remake does the near-impossible—it honors Ricky Gervais' original and works on its own terms." ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' reviewer Nathan Rabin expressed its views on the show's progression: "After a rocky start, ''The Office'' improved immeasurably, instantly becoming one of TV's funniest, sharpest shows. The casting of Steve Carell in the Gervais role proved to be a masterstroke. The American ''Office'' is that rarest of anomalies: a remake of a classic show that both does right by its source and carves out its own strong identity." The series has been included on several top TV series lists. The show placed #61 on ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' "New TV Classics" list. ''Time'''s
James Poniewozik James Poniewozik (; born July 12, 1968) is an American journalist and television critic. He is the chief TV critic for ''The New York Times''. Earlier in his career, he wrote '' Time's'' ''Tuned In'' column for 16 years. Early life Originally fro ...
named it the second-best TV series of 2006, and the sixth-best returning series of 2007, out of ten TV series. He also included it on his "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME" list. The show was also named the best show of 2006 by
BuddyTV BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profile ...
. while ''
Paste Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to: Science and technology * Adhesive or paste ** Wallpaper paste ** Wheatpaste, a liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water * Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves as ...
'' named it the sixth-best sitcom of 2010. In 2013 the
Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...
placed it at No. 66 on their list of ''101 Best Written TV Series''. In 2019, the series was ranked 32nd on ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''s list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century. The show has some superficial similarities to the comic strip ''
Dilbert ''Dilbert'' is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Scott Adams, first published on April 16, 1989. It is known for its satire, satirical office humor about a White-collar worker, white-collar, micromanagement, micromanaged offic ...
'', which also features employees coping with an inept superior. John Spector, CEO of The Conference Board, says that they both show the impact a leader can have, for good or bad. Dilbert creator
Scott Adams Scott Raymond Adams (born June 8, 1957) is an American author and cartoonist. He is the creator of the ''Dilbert'' comic strip and the author of several nonfiction works of business, commentary, and satire. Adams worked in various corporate r ...
also touts the similarities: "The lesson from ''The Office'' and from ''Dilbert'' is that people are often dysfunctional, and no amount of training can fix it." A
labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
-affiliated group, American Rights at Work (ARAW), praised the second-season episode " Boys and Girls" for what it considered an unusually frank depiction of
union busting Union busting is a range of activities undertaken to disrupt or weaken the power of trade unions or their attempts to grow their membership in a workplace. Union busting tactics can refer to both legal and illegal activities, and can range anywhe ...
on American television.
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, a review aggregation website, graded only the first, third, sixth, and final seasons; however, it denoted that all four of them received "generally favorable reviews" from critics, awarding a 61, 85, 78, and 64 score—out of 100—to each of them, respectively. It later named it the thirteenth most mentioned series on "Best of Decade" top-ten lists. The last few seasons were criticized for a dip in quality. The sixth season received criticisms for a lack of stakes for the characters, particularly Jim and Pam. ''The Office'' co-creator
Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003) ...
wrote in his blog, referring to "
Search Committee "Search Committee" is the two-part finale of the seventh season of the American television comedy series ''The Office''. It comprises the 151st and 152nd episodes of the series overall and the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season. It ...
," particularly
Warren Buffett Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of the conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his investment success, Buffett is ...
's guest appearance, "If you're going to jump a shark, jump a big one," and compared the episode to the
Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and producer. He is best known as the vocalist, pianist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Martin went to University Colleg ...
episode of Gervais' other series, '' Extras'' (although he later said on his website, "I fucking didn't iss ''The Office'' that's for sure"). Some critics said the series should have ended after the departure of Steve Carell. In an IAmA interview on
Reddit Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...
, Rainn Wilson felt that the eighth season possessed some mistakes "creatively," such as the chemistry between Spader and Helms, which he called "a bit dark" and argued that the show should have gone for a "brighter and more energized" relationship. Despite this, there are later-series episodes that have received critical acclaim, including " Niagara", "
Garage Sale A garage sale (also known as a yard sale, tag sale, moving sale and by many other namesSome rarely used names include "attic sale", "basement sale", "rummage sale", "thrift sale", "patio sale", "lawn sale", and "jumble sale".) is an informal ...
", For various reviews, see: * * "
Goodbye, Michael "Goodbye, Michael" is the twenty-second episode of the seventh season of the American comedy series ''The Office'' and the show's 148th episode overall. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on April 28, 2011. In the episode, Micha ...
", For various reviews, see: * * "
Dwight Christmas "Dwight Christmas" is the ninth episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the 185th episode overall. The episode was written by Robert Padnick and directed by Charles McDougall. It originally aired ...
", For various reviews, see: * * " A.A.R.M.", For various reviews, see: * * * and "
Finale Finale may refer to: Pieces of music * Finale (music), the last movement of a piece * ''Finale'' (Loggins and Messina album), 1977 * ''Finale'' (Pierrot album), 1999 * "Finale" (song), by Madeon * " Neo Universe/Finale", a single by L'Arc-en-C ...
". For various reviews, see: * * * *


Awards

The series received 42
Primetime Emmy Awards 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 ...
nominations, with five wins. It won for Outstanding Comedy Series in season two, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (
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'' ...
for "
Gay Witch Hunt "Gay Witch Hunt" is the third-season premiere of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the show's twenty-ninth episode overall. Written by executive producer and show runner Greg Daniels and directed by Ken Kwapis, the episo ...
"), Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (
Jeffrey Blitz Jeffrey Blitz is an American film director, screenwriter and producer best known for the documentary '' Spellbound'' (2003), ''The Office'' (2007 - 2010), the fiction film '' Rocket Science'' (2007) and ''Comedy Central’s'' ''Review'' (2014 - ...
for "
Stress Relief In psychology, stress is a feeling of emotional strain and pressure. Stress is a form of psychological and mental discomfort. Small amounts of stress may be beneficial, as it can improve athletic performance, motivation and reaction to the envi ...
"), and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series (David Rogers (film editor), David Rogers and Claire Scanlon for "
Finale Finale may refer to: Pieces of music * Finale (music), the last movement of a piece * ''Finale'' (Loggins and Messina album), 1977 * ''Finale'' (Pierrot album), 1999 * "Finale" (song), by Madeon * " Neo Universe/Finale", a single by L'Arc-en-C ...
"). Many cast and crew members have expressed anger that Carell did not receive an Emmy award for his performance in the series. Despite this, Carell won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical in 2006. The series was also named the best TV series by the American Film Institute in 2006 and 2008, won two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2006 and 2007 and won a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
in 2006.


Ratings

Premiering on Thursday, March 24, 2005, with a "preview" episode, after an episode of ''The Apprentice (American TV series), The Apprentice'' on NBC, ''The Office'' brought in 11.2 million viewers in the U.S., winning its time slot. When NBC moved the series to its intended Tuesday night slot for its official series premiere, it lost nearly half its audience with only 5.9 million viewers. The program averaged 5.4 million viewers, ranking it #102 for the 2004–05 U.S. television season. "Hot Girl (The Office), Hot Girl," the first season's season finale, finale, rated a 2.2 with a 10 Audience measurement, audience measurement share. Episodes were also rerun on CNBC on April 1 and April 24, 2005. As the second season started, the success of Carell's hit summer movie ''The 40-Year-Old Virgin'' and online sales of episodes at iTunes helped the show. The increase in viewership led NBC to move the series to the "Must See TV" Thursday night in January 2006, where ratings continued to grow. By the 2005–06 season, it placed #67 (tied with ''20/20 (American TV program), 20/20''). It averaged 8 million viewers with a 4.0/10 rating/share among viewers ages 18–49, and was up 80% in viewers from the year before and up 60% in viewers ages 18–49. The series ranked as NBC's highest rated scripted series during its run. The highest rated episode of the series was "
Stress Relief In psychology, stress is a feeling of emotional strain and pressure. Stress is a form of psychological and mental discomfort. Small amounts of stress may be beneficial, as it can improve athletic performance, motivation and reaction to the envi ...
," which was watched by 22.9 million viewers. This episode was aired right after Super Bowl XLIII. While later seasons dropped in the ratings, the show was still one of NBC's highest rated shows, and in October 2011 it was reported that it cost $178,840 per 30-second commercial, the most for any NBC scripted series. The series was also the most streamed of 2020, with 57 billion minutes watched in the United States.


Nielsen ratings


Cultural impact

The city of Scranton, long known mainly for its industrial past as a coal mining and rail transportation in the United States, rail center, has embraced, and ultimately has been redefined by the show. "We're really hip now," said the mayor's assistant. The Dunder Mifflin logo is on a lamppost banner in front of Scranton City Hall, as well as the pedestrian bridge to The Mall at Steamtown. The Pennsylvania Paper and Supply Company, Pennsylvania Paper & Supply Company, whose tower is shown in the opening credits, plans to add it to the tower as well. Newspapers in other Northeastern United States, Northeastern cities have published travel guides to Scranton locations for tourists interested in visiting places mentioned in the show. Scranton has become identified with the show outside the United States as well. In a 2008 St. Patrick's Day speech in its suburb of Dickson City, Pennsylvania, Dickson City, former Taoiseach (the Irish Head of Government) Bertie Ahern identified the city as the home of Dunder Mifflin. The inaugural ''The Office'' convention was held downtown in October 2007. Landmarks, some of which have been settings for the show, that served as venues include the University of Scranton, the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel and the Mall at Steamtown. Cast appearances were made by B. J. Novak, Ed Helms, Oscar Nunez, Angela Kinsey, Brian Baumgartner, Leslie David Baker, Mindy Kaling, Craig Robinson, Melora Hardin, Phyllis Smith, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Bobby Ray Shafer, and Andy Buckley. Besides Novak and Kaling, writer appearances were made by Greg Daniels, Michael Schur, Jennifer Celotta, Lee Eisenberg, Gene Stupnitsky, Justin Spitzer, Anthony Ferrell, Ryan Koh, Lester Lewis, and Jason Kessler. Not present were writer-actor Paul Lieberstein (who was originally going to make an appearance), Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson, and Jenna Fischer. File:Dunder mifflin banner scranton.jpg, Dunder Mifflin banner in front of Scranton City Hall File:Mall at Steamtown atrium during Office convention.jpg, Atrium of the Mall at Steamtown during the inaugural ''The Office'' convention File:The_Office_-_Dunder_Mifflin_(48472735581).jpg, Dunder Mifflin Logo added to the Penn Paper Building in Scranton On an episode of ''The Daily Show'', Republican Party (United States), Republican presidential candidate John McCain, reportedly a devoted fan of the show, jokingly told Jon Stewart he might take Dwight Schrute as his running mate. Rainn Wilson later accepted on Dwight Schrute's behalf while on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''. After the airing of "
Garage Sale A garage sale (also known as a yard sale, tag sale, moving sale and by many other namesSome rarely used names include "attic sale", "basement sale", "rummage sale", "thrift sale", "patio sale", "lawn sale", and "jumble sale".) is an informal ...
," where the character of Michael Scott decides to move to Colorado, Colorado governor John Hickenlooper issued a press release appointing Scott to the position of director of paper distribution in the Department of Natural Resources. The show is often paid tribute by the band Relient K. Frontman Matt Thiessen is a fan of ''The Office'', and during concerts will often perform a self-described "love song" about the series, titled "The Ballad of Dunder Mifflin," followed by him and the band playing the show's opening theme. A parody musical, titled ''The Office! A Musical Parody'', written by Bob McSmith, Tobly McSmith, and Assaf Gleizner, began performances at The Theater Center, The Jerry Orbach Theatre on September 24, 2018, with an official opening on October 3, 2018. The show temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and resumed performances on April 9, 2021, becoming the first New York City stage musical to reopen following the pandemic. Cast members
Jenna Fischer Regina Marie Kirk ( Fischer; born March 7, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Fischer, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the P ...
and
Angela Kinsey Angela Faye Kinsey (born June 25, 1971) is an American actress. She played Angela Martin in the sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013) and appeared in the sitcoms '' Your Family or Mine'' (2015) and ''Haters Back Off'' (2016–2017). Since ''The O ...
attended a performance in May 2022. Multiple scenes from ''The Office'' have served as the basis for Internet memes. Examples include a meme based on Michael exclaiming "No, god! No, God, please, no! No! No! Noooo!" upon seeing Toby in the season 5 episode "Frame Toby" and a meme called "They're the Same Picture" based on a quote by Pam in the season 7 finale "
Search Committee "Search Committee" is the two-part finale of the seventh season of the American television comedy series ''The Office''. It comprises the 151st and 152nd episodes of the series overall and the 25th and 26th episodes of the seventh season. It ...
".


Other media


Online releases

NBC webcast the " Diversity Day" episode on March 16, 2005, on MySpace to promote the show's then-upcoming premiere, days before the TV broadcasts began. This was NBC's first-ever online debut of a complete episode of a network series, and also included a trimmed-down webisode version of the episode for on-demand viewing on MySpace the following day. Episodes from ''The Office'' were among the first shows available for download from the iTunes Store and for free streaming on NBC.com beginning in December 2005. In 2006, ten List of The Office (American TV series) episodes#Webisodes, internet-exclusive webisodes featuring some of the characters on ''The Office'' aired on NBC.com. "Producer's Cuts" (containing approximately ten additional minutes of material) of the episodes "Branch Closing" and " The Return" were also made available on NBC.com. ''The Office'' also became available for download from Amazon.com's Amazon Unbox, Unbox video downloads in 2006. Sales of new ''The Office'' episodes on iTunes ceased in 2007 due to a dispute between NBC and Apple ostensibly overpricing. As of September 9, 2008, ''The Office'' was put back on the iTunes Store and can be bought in HD and SD format. It is also available through all other major digital distribution sales platforms. Netflix also offered the show for online viewing by subscribers, in addition to traditional DVD rental. The series would become one of the most streamed shows on Netflix, with its availability on a streamer leading to the show's sustained popularity. ''The Office'' left Netflix in the United States on December 31, 2020, as NBCUniversal acquired the rights to the show for its streaming service Peacock (streaming service), Peacock, which joined the following day. Exclusive to Peacock are extended episodes which include deleted scenes and additional footage. The first five seasons previously stream for free but now are premium only, and seasons 6–9 are available to stream on its premium tier. When the show was in production, it was noted for its large amount of delayed viewing. Of the 12.4 million total viewings of "Fun Run," the fourth season's premiere, 2.7 million, or 22%, were on a computer via online streaming. "''The Office''," said ''The New York Times'', "is on the leading edge of a sharp shift in entertainment viewing that was thought to be years away: watching television episodes on a computer screen is now a common activity for millions of consumers." It was particularly popular with online viewers, an NBC researcher said, because as an episode-driven sitcom without special effects it was easy to watch on smaller monitors such as those found on laptops and
iPod The iPod is a series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. from 2001 to 2022. The iPod Classic#1st generation, first version was released on November 10, 2001, about mon ...
s. Between the online viewings and those who use digital video recorders, 25–50% of the show's viewers Time shifting, watched it after its scheduled airtime. The show's Internet success became an issue in the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Daniels and many of the cast members who double as writers posted a video to YouTube shortly after the strike began, pointing out how little if any, they received in Residual (entertainment industry), residuals from online and DVD viewing. "You're watching this on the Internet, a thing that pays us zero dollars," Schur said. "We're supposed to get 11 cents for every two trillion downloads." The writers were particularly upset that they weren't compensated for the Daytime Emmy Award-winning summer webisodes "The Accountants", which NBC considered promotional material despite the embedded Television advertisement, commercials.


Other broadcasts

Aside from
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 Office'' has gone into syndication in the United States. It previously ran on local broadcast stations in off-network syndication and TBS (American TV channel), TBS. On December 13, 2017,
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
announced that they had acquired all nine seasons of the show from NBCUniversal in a non-exclusive deal, and some episodes are available to stream on Comedy Central's official website and mobile app on a rotating basis. Reruns of ''The Office'' began airing on Comedy Central on January 15, 2018. The deal between Viacom (who owns Comedy Central) and NBCUniversal (for rights for airing reruns of ''The Office'') was extended throughout 2021. The series will then air in a non-exclusive window on Paramount Media Networks and its sister Fave TV through 2025. The series aired on Cozi TV from January 1, 2019, to October 3, 2021. It also aired on Nick at Nite starting January 1, 2019, and later on Paramount Network, although Nick at Nite no longer airs the program as of May 5, 2019. The show then began airing on Freeform (TV channel), Freeform on January 1, 2022. In the United Kingdom, the show was named in listings magazines (but not onscreen) as ''The Office: An American Workplace'' when it originally aired there on ITV2. In Australia, all 9 seasons aired on 10 Shake.


Promotional

The show's success has resulted in expansion outside of television. Characters have appeared in promotional materials for NBC, and a licensed video game—''The Office''—was released on November 28, 2007, by MumboJumbo from the development company Reveille. In 2008 two games were introduced via Pressman Toy Corp: ''The Office'' Trivia Board Game and ''The Office'' DVD Board Game. In 2009, ''The Office'' Cluedo, Clue was released, and ''The Office'' Monopoly (game), Monopoly was released in 2010. Other merchandise, from T-shirts and a bobblehead doll of Dwight Schrute to more office-specific items such as Dunder Mifflin copy paper and parodies of the Successories motivational poster series featuring the cast are available. Dunder Mifflin had two websites, and the cast members maintained blogs both as themselves and in character. In April 2024, cast members Rainn Wilson, Craig Robinson, Jenna Fischer, Kate Flannery, Brian Baumgartner, and Creed Bratton appeared in an AT&T commercial for the company's AT&T Business Next Level Network.


Cast blogs

Several members of the cast maintained blogs on MySpace, including Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, and Brian Baumgartner, who posted regularly during the season.
Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, writer, and director. He starred as Dwight Schrute on NBC's American adaptation of ''The Office'' from 2005 to 2013, and received t ...
wrote in character as Dwight for the "Schrute Space" blog on NBC.com, which was updated periodically; however, he stopped writing the blog himself. It is unknown whether
Creed Bratton Creed Bratton (born William Charles Schneider; February 8, 1943) is an American actor and musician. A former member of the rock band the Grass Roots, he is best known for playing a Creed Bratton (character), fictionalized version of himself o ...
authors "Creed Thoughts," the blog attributed to Creed Bratton (character), his character.Creed Thoughts.
NBC.com. Retrieved on April 12, 2008.


Cast podcast

On September 11, 2019,
Jenna Fischer Regina Marie Kirk ( Fischer; born March 7, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Fischer, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the P ...
and
Angela Kinsey Angela Faye Kinsey (born June 25, 1971) is an American actress. She played Angela Martin in the sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013) and appeared in the sitcoms '' Your Family or Mine'' (2015) and ''Haters Back Off'' (2016–2017). Since ''The O ...
announced their podcast called ''Office Ladies'' which premiered on October 16, 2019, on Earwolf. The podcast features Fischer and Kinsey watching episodes of ''The Office'' and offering behind-the-scenes details and answering fan questions. The theme song for the podcast, "Rubber Tree" is performed by
Creed Bratton Creed Bratton (born William Charles Schneider; February 8, 1943) is an American actor and musician. A former member of the rock band the Grass Roots, he is best known for playing a Creed Bratton (character), fictionalized version of himself o ...
. In February 2021,
Brian Baumgartner Brian Baumgartner (born November 29, 1972) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Kevin Malone on the NBC sitcom '' The Office'' (2005–2013) and its related spin-off webisodes, which earned him two Screen Actors Guild Awards ...
started a podcast called ''The Office Deep Dive with Brian Baumgartner'' in which he sits down with other actors, writers, and others who worked on the show and share behind-the-scenes stories about the show. The podcast introduction song, "Bubble and Squeek" is performed by
Creed Bratton Creed Bratton (born William Charles Schneider; February 8, 1943) is an American actor and musician. A former member of the rock band the Grass Roots, he is best known for playing a Creed Bratton (character), fictionalized version of himself o ...
.


Home media

The complete series of ''The Office'' was released on Blu-ray from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on November 10, 2020.


Proposed spin-offs

A Spin-off (media), spin-off to the series was proposed in 2008, with a Television pilot, pilot episode expected to debut as the List of Super Bowl lead-out programs, Super Bowl lead-out program in 2009. The idea created by the writers was that a copy machine breaks in ''The Office'' and then it is recalled, fixed, and shipped to Pawnee, Indiana, the setting of ''Parks and Recreation''. However, ''The Office''s creative team instead decided to develop '' Parks and Recreation'' as a separate series. Also, actress Rashida Jones was to portray a different character in both, causing a problem for the potential spin-off. Another spin-off starring Rainn Wilson as Dwight Schrute running a bed-and-breakfast and beet farm, titled ''The Farm'', was proposed in early 2012. In October 2012, however, NBC decided not to go forward with the series. A backdoor pilot episode was produced, and although the show was not picked up, it was modified and aired during the ninth season as "The Farm (The Office), The Farm". In September 2019, with the announcement of NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock (streaming service), Peacock, Bonnie Hammer, Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises at NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Group, NBCU stated that it is her "hope and goal that we do an ''Office'' reboot". In March 2020, former showrunner
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'' ...
expressed doubts at a reboot being possible, and later that year, former NBC president of original content Bill McGoldrick stated that "a reboot has not come up specifically for Peacock". A reboot of the series was revealed to be in development in September 2023, with Greg Daniels returning as a showrunner. In November 2023, Daniels clarified that he had no interest in rebooting the series by redoing "that same show with a different cast", instead preferring to have a spinoff series focusing on a different subject in the same world. In July 2020,
Leslie David Baker Leslie David Baker (born February 19, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Stanley Hudson on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), which earned him two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Baker had recurring roles on t ...
launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of a
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 ...
for ''Uncle Stan'', a proposed spin-off focusing on a now-engaged
Stanley Hudson ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'' is an American television series based on The Office (British TV series), the British television comedy of the same name. The format of the series is a parody of the fly on the wall documentary tec ...
as "After several years of enjoying a relatively uneventful retirement lifestyle, Uncle Stan receives an urgent call for help from his favorite nephew, Lucky: a recent widower with two small children and a motorcycle repair/flower shop in Los Angeles. Soon Uncle Stan finds himself dishing out all the support and guidance he has to offer in his new California home." As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, plans for the spinoff were put "on hold" and later cancelled, with Leslie David Baker announcing that backers would be refunded.


Upcoming follow-up series

In January 2024, it was announced that Greg Daniels is setting up a development room for a possible expansion of ''The Office'' to explore ideas for a follow-up series. The follow-up, to be available for streaming on Peacock, will center around the documentary crew from the original series finding a new subject in a dying Midwestern historic newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters. The follow-up has Daniels, Michael Koman, Howard Klein,
Ben Silverman Benjamin Noah Silverman (born August 15, 1970) is an American media executive. He is the co-CEO and chairman of the entertainment production company Propagate. From 2007–2009, Silverman served as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universa ...
, Banijay Americas and the creatives behind the original British series (
Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, television producer and filmmaker. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003) ...
and
Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, writer, director, and actor. He was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office (British TV series), The Office'' (2001–2003), and co-writer ...
) on board as its executive producers.
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 ...
, who portrayed
Michael Scott Michael Scott, Michael Scot, or Mike Scott may refer to: Academics * Michael Scot (1175 – c. 1232), mathematician and astrologer * Michael L. Scott (born 1959), American academic and computer scientist * Mike Scott, British linguist and designer ...
, confirmed that he will not be making an appearance in the new show.


References


Further reading

* Fernández, Luis J. Tosina. "Michael Scott’s anti-proverbs and pseudo-proverbs as a source of humour in The Office." ''The European Journal of Humour Research'' 11, no. 1 (2023): 67–78. * Griffin, Jeffrey. "The Americanization of ''The Office'': A Comparison of the Offbeat NBC Sitcom and its British Predecessor.” ''Journal of Popular Film and Television'' 35 (2008): 154–16. * Schwind, Kai Hanno. "Chilled-out Entertainers: Multi-layered Sitcom Performances in the British and American Version of ''The Office''." ''Comedy Studies'' 5.1 (2014): 20–32.


External links

*
''The Office''
at NBC, NBC.com (2016 archive) * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Office, The The Office (American TV series), The Office television series 2005 American television series debuts 2013 American television series endings 2000s American satirical television series 2000s American single-camera sitcoms 2000s American workplace comedy television series 2000s American mockumentary television series 2010s American satirical television series 2010s American single-camera sitcoms 2010s American workplace comedy television series 2010s American mockumentary television series American television series based on British television series American English-language television shows Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Peabody Award–winning television programs Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series winners Primetime Emmy Award–winning television series Scranton, Pennsylvania Television series by 3 Arts Entertainment Television series by Reveille Productions Television series by Universal Television Television shows adapted into video games Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television shows set in Pennsylvania Television series created by Greg Daniels NBC sitcoms