The sixth season of the American

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...

'' premiered in the United States on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

on September 17, 2009, and concluded on May 20, 2010. The season consisted of 22 half-hour episodes, and 2 hour-long episodes to comprise the 26 total episodes of material created. ''The Office'' is an American adaptation of the British TV series of the same name, and is presented in a

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

format, portraying the daily lives of office employees in the

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

branch of the fictitious

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 ...

. The season stars

Steve Carell Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott (The Office), Michael Scott in ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the The Office (B ...

Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Emm ...

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''. He also served as a producer and occasional director of the series throughout its nine ...

Jenna Fischer Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...

, B. J. Novak, and

Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor 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 sitcom ''The Offic ...

, with supporting performances from

Leslie David Baker Leslie David Baker (born February 19, 1958) is an American actor. He is known for playing disgruntled paper salesman Stanley Hudson in ''The Office'' for nine seasons (2005–2013). Early life Baker was born on February 19, 1958 in Chicago, Il ...

Brian Baumgartner Brian Baumgartner (born November 29, 1972) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Kevin Malone, a character in the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013). Early life and career Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Baumgartner attended Holy In ...

Creed Bratton Creed Bratton (born William Charles Schneider, February 8, 1943) is an American actor, singer and musician. A former member of the rock band the Grass Roots, he is best known for playing a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom ''T ...

Kate Flannery Kate Destiny 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. Sh ...

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. She first gained recognition starring as Kelly Kapoor in the N ...

Ellie Kemper Elizabeth Claire Kemper (born May 2, 1980) is an American actress and comedian. She has been nominated for a Critics' Choice Movie Award, two Critics' Choice Television Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Satellite Awards, and seven Scre ...

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 ...

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 writer, as executive producer, and as supporting cast member Toby ...

Oscar Nunez Oscar Nunez (born November 18, 1958), sometimes credited as Oscar Nuñez, is a Cuban-American actor. He is best known for his role as the Dunder Mifflin accountant Oscar Martinez (The Office), Oscar Martinez on NBC's ''The Office (U.S. TV series) ...

, Craig Robinson, and

Phyllis Smith Phyllis Smith (born July 10, 1951) is an American actress and casting associate. She is best known for playing Phyllis Vance in the television series ''The Office (U.S. TV series), The Office'' and her critically acclaimed voice role as Sadness ...

. The season has been cited by several critics as weaker than earlier seasons, despite still receiving generally favorable reviews. The season ranked fifty-second in the season ratings with an average of 7.80 million viewers per episode, marking a steep drop in the ratings from the previous season which had an average of nine million viewers. The sixth season of ''The Office'' aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. (

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

) in the United States. The season was released on DVD by

Universal Studios Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...

in a four-disc box set in the Region 1 area on September 7, 2010. The DVD set contains all 26 episodes, as well as commentaries from creators, writers, actors, and directors on some of the episodes. It also contains deleted scenes from all of the episodes, as well as bloopers.

Production

The sixth season of the show was produced by

Reveille Productions Endemol Shine North America is the American division of Endemol Shine Group that was founded on March 15, 2002 as a merger of Shine Americas, Shine USA, and Reveille Productions. Endemol Shine North America produces and distributes scripted and ...

and Deedle-Dee Productions, both in association with

Universal Media Studios Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predeces ...

. The show is based upon the British series created by

Ricky Gervais Ricky Dene Gervais ( ; born 25 June 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and director. He co-created, co-wrote, and acted in the British television sitcoms ''The Office'' (2001–2003), '' Extras'' (2005–2007), and '' An Idiot Abroad' ...

and

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...

, both of whom are

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

s on both the US and UK versions. ''The Office'' is produced 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'' f ...

, who is also an executive producer. Daniels would have a limited role in this season, only co-writing an episode and directing another, as he was busy writing his new show, ''

Parks and Recreation ''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 ...

'' which he co-created with ''Office'' writer/producer

Michael Schur Michael Herbert Schur (born 1975) is an American television producer, writer, director and actor. He was a producer and writer for the comedy series ''The Office'', and co-created ''Parks and Recreation'' with ''Office'' producer Greg Daniels. ...

, who left the writing staff of ''The Office'' after season four to focus on the new show. Returning writers from the previous season include

, B. J. Novak,

Lee Eisenberg Lee Eisenberg (born April 5, 1977) is an American film and television writer and producer. He usually works with Gene Stupnitsky, with whom he founded Quantity Entertainment. Life and career Eisenberg was born in Needham, Massachusetts. His fath ...

Gene Stupnitsky Gene Stupnitsky (born August 26, 1977) is a Ukrainian-born American film and television writer and producer. He grew up in the suburbs of Chicago. He usually works with Lee Eisenberg, with whom he founded Quantity Entertainment. Life and caree ...

Brent Forrester Brent Forrester is an American writer and producer, who has written for 6 Emmy Award-winning television comedies. He wrote several episodes of the animated television sitcom ''The Simpsons'' between 1993 and 1997. He has worked as a writer on ''T ...

Justin Spitzer Justin Spitzer is an American television and film writer, producer, and series creator whose credits include ''Scrubs'' and ''Courting Alex''. He worked as a writing assistant on '' Queer as Folk'' (U.S. version) and ''Grounded for Life'' prio ...

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'', ''Andy R ...

Aaron Shure Aaron Shure is an American television writer, director, and producer. He is known for his work on several comedy series, including ''The Office'', ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', ''Lucky Louie'', ''George and Leo'', ''and The New Adventures of Old ...

Charlie Grandy Charles Brendan Grandy (born March 5, 1974) is an American stand-up comedian, television writer and producer. He began his career on the television series ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'', ''Saturday Night Live'', ''The Office'', and ''Guys ...

Warren Lieberstein Warren Keith Lieberstein (born September 20, 1968) is an American writer and producer. He has worked on shows such as ''Carpoolers'' and ''The Office'', to which he has extensive ties. He is the younger brother of Paul Lieberstein, the show's fo ...

, and

Halsted Sullivan Halsted Sullivan is an American television writer and producer who has worked on shows such as ''Carpoolers'' and ''The Office''. He often works with his writing partner Warren Lieberstein. He's currently an executive producer and one of the t ...

. New writers in the sixth season include Daniel Chun, Jason Kessler (who served as script coordinator) and Jonathan Hughes (who previously wrote several of the ''Office'' webisodes). Lieberstein served as executive producer and

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

. Kaling, Novak, Eisenberg, Stupnitsky and Shure were co-executive producers; Celotta and Forrester were consulting producers; Chun was a supervising producer; and Spitzer, Grandy, Warren Lieberstein and Halsted Sullivan were producers. This season featured 26 episodes directed by 20 directors.

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'', and '' Survivor''. Early life and career Bo ...

and

Seth Gordon Seth Lewis Gordon (born July 15, 1974) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and film editor. He has produced and directed for film and television, including for PBS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the United Nations Staf ...

each directed several episodes during the season. Writers

and

each directed episodes. Cast members B. J. Novak,

and

all directed episodes as well.

Season overview

Notable plots that affect the sixth season and beyond include: * Jim Halpert's promotion to co-manager alongside Michael Scott, but later returns to sales. * Dwight Schrute's anger and jealousy that he was passed over for the co-manager job and his subsequent attempts to sabotage Jim * Jim's wedding to Pam Beesly * Michael engaging in a romantic relationship with Pam's mother Helene, much to Pam's horror * Dunder Mifflin navigating through the economic crisis * Dunder Mifflin getting bought out by Florida-based printer company Sabre and the arrival of Sabre representatives Jo Bennett and Gabe Lewis * Warehouse foreman

Darryl Philbin ''The Office (American TV series), The Office'' is an Television in the United States, 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 ...

earning a promotion to the upstairs office * Andy Bernard's attempts to court Erin Hannon * Jim and Pam welcoming their first child, Cecelia "Cece" Halpert * Dwight Schrute and Angela Martin contractually agree to have a baby together

Cast

Many characters portrayed by ''The Office'' cast are based on the British version of the show. While these characters normally have the same attitude and perceptions as their British counterparts, the roles have been redesigned to better fit the American show. The show is known for its generally large cast size, with many of its actors and actresses known particularly for their

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

al work.

Main

as Michael Scott, Regional Manager of the Dunder Mifflin 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 th ...

, Gervais' character in the British version, Scott is a dim-witted and lonely man, who attempts to win friends as the office comedian, usually making himself look bad in the process. *

Dwight Schrute Dwight Kurt Schrute III () is a fictional character on ''The Office (U.S.)'' and is portrayed by American actor Rainn Wilson. Dwight's character was a salesman and the assistant to the regional manager, at the fictional paper distribution compan ...

, who, based upon

Gareth Keenan Gareth Keenan (born 17 April 1971) is a fictional paper salesman on BBC's comedy ''The Office'', portrayed by Mackenzie Crook. Gareth is a self-important team leader proud of his alleged Lieutenant status in the Territorial Army. He spends his da ...

, is the office's top-performing sales representative. *

Jim Halpert James "Jim" 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 ...

, a sales representative who is co-manager for part of this season, and is based on

Tim Canterbury Timothy 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. T ...

. *

as Pam Beesly/Halpert, who is based on

Dawn Tinsley ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...

, the office's former receptionist who is now part of the sales team. She is shy, but in many cases a cohort with

, whom she marries and has a baby with. * B. J. Novak as

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 had previously left Dunder Mifflin to travel to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, only to be subsequently re-hired in the fifth season "

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, ...

" story arc. After making enemies with the recently promoted Jim, Ryan is subsequently moved to a closet office. *

Andy Bernard Andrew Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the NBC comedy television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Ed Helms. He is introduced in Season 3 as the Regional Director in Charge of Sales at the Stamford branch of paper distribution co ...

, who had appeared regularly since the opening of the third season, is added to the starring cast from the episode "

Sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

" onwards.

Starring

as Stanley Hudson, a grumpy salesman. *

Kevin Malone Kevin Malone is a fictional character in the American television series ''The Office (US TV series), The Office''. He is portrayed by Brian Baumgartner. Kevin's counterpart in the The Office (UK TV series), UK TV series is Keith Bishop, who sha ...

, a dim-witted accountant, who is based on Keith Bishop. *

as Creed Bratton, the office's strange quality assurance officer. *

as Meredith Palmer, the

promiscuous Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different Sexual partner, partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as pro ...

supplier relations 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 ...

, the pop-culture obsessed customer service representative. *

Erin Hannon Kelly Erin Hannon (born May 1, 1986) is a fictional character from the U.S. comedy television series ''The Office'', played by Ellie Kemper. She is the optimistic office receptionist for the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin, a position previously ...

, the receptionist and new love interest of Andy. *

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 ''The O ...

, a judgemental accountant. *

as Toby Flenderson, the sad-eyed human resources representative. *

as Oscar Martinez, an intelligent accountant, who is also gay. * Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin, the warehouse supervisor. *

as Phyllis Vance, a motherly saleswoman.

Special guest star

Kathy Bates Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actor and director. Known for her roles in comedic and dramatic films and television programs, she has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, includ ...

as Jo Bennet, the CEO of Sabre Industries.

Recurring

Andy Buckley Andrew P. Buckley Jr. (born February 13, 1965) is an American actor and financial analyst best known for his role as David Wallace on the NBC comedy series ''The Office'' from 2006 to 2013. Early life Buckley was born in Salem, Massachusetts, ...

as David Wallace, Dunder Mifflin's CFO. *

Linda Purl Linda Purl (born September 2, 1955) is an American actress and singer, known for her roles as Ashley Pfister (Fonzie's girlfriend) on ''Happy Days'' (she originally played Gloria as Richie’s date in season 2 episode 6), Sheila Munroe in the 1982 ...

as Helene Beesly, Pam's mother, who previously appeared in the season two episode "

Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

", although the role was recast with Purl, who first appeared in "Niagara", and made two more appearances. *

Bobby Ray Shafer Robert Ray Shafer (born April 10, 1958) is an American character actor who has appeared in film, television, commercials, voice-over and theater. Shafer, sometimes credited as Bobby Ray Shafer, is perhaps best known for playing Bob Vance, Vanc ...

as Bob Vance, Phyllis’ husband, who runs Vance Refrigeration. *

Kelen Coleman Kelen Sadie Coleman (born April 19, 1984) is an American actress. Early life Coleman grew up in Potomac, Maryland and graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her father is bluegrass musician T. Michael Coleman. Her mothe ...

as Isabel Poreba, Pam's friend who becomes interested in Dwight. *

Sam Daly Samuel Pierce Daly (born March 24, 1984) is an American actor. He is the son of actor Tim Daly and actress Amy Van Nostrand, and grandson of actor James Daly (actor), James Daly. His aunt is actress Tyne Daly. Daly attended Moses Brown School wher ...

as Matt, a warehouse worker that Oscar has a crush on. *

Zach Woods Zachary Woods (born September 25, 1984) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. 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 ...

as Gabe Lewis, the director of Sabre sales. *

Nelson Franklin Nelson Franklin is an American actor best known for his television roles in ''The Millers'', ''Traffic Light'', ''The Office'', ''New Girl'', ''Black-ish'', and ''Veep''. Life and career Franklin was born to father Howard Franklin, a screenwri ...

as Nick, the IT guy. *

Amy Pietz Amy Pietz (born March 6, 1969) is an American actress, known for her roles on television. She received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series nomination for her role as Annie Spadaro in the ...

as Donna, who is cheating on her husband with Michael. *

Hugh Dane Hugh Dane (October 21, 1942 – May 16, 2018) was an American character actor. He was best known for playing Hank the security guard on the television sitcom ''The Office'' from 2005 to 2013. Acting career Dane's professional acting career be ...

as Hank Tate, the building's security guard.

Notable guests

Max Carver Max Carver (born Robert Maxwell Martensen Jr; August 1, 1988) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Preston Scavo in the ABC television series ''Desperate Housewives'', as Aiden on the MTV teen-horror drama ''Teen Wolf'', and in the ...

as Eric, an intern. *

Anna Camp Anna Ragsdale Camp (born September 27, 1982) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as the villainous Sarah Newlin in the HBO vampire drama ''True Blood'' (2009, 2013–2014) and Aubrey Posen in the musical comedy '' ...

as Penny Beesly, Pam's sister. *

Rick Overton Richard Overton (born August 10, 1954) is an American screenwriter, actor and comedian. His writing credits include ''Dennis Miller Live'', and his acting credits include ''Beverly Hills Cop'', ''Groundhog Day'' and ''Mrs. Doubtfire''. Life and ...

as William Beesly, Pam's father. *

David Costabile David Costabile (; born January 9, 1967) is an American actor. He is best known for his television work, having appeared in supporting roles in several television series such as '' Billions'', ''Breaking Bad'', ''Damages'', ''Flight of the Conch ...

as Eric Ward, an investment banker. *

David Koechner David Michael Koechner ( ; born August 24, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing roles such as Champ Kind in the ''Anchorman'' films and Todd Packer on NBC's ''The Office''. Koechner first became involved in perf ...

as Todd Packer, a rude and offensive traveling salesman, and Michael's best friend. *

Christian Slater Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut with a leading role in ''The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthrough role as Jason "J.D." D ...

as himself, hosting a Sabre welcoming video.

Reception

The sixth-season premiere "

Gossip Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others; the act is also known as dishing or tattling. Gossip is a topic of research in evolutionary psychology, which has found gossip to be an important means ...

" received a 4.0 share in the

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

among viewers aged 18 to 49, meaning that 4.0% of viewers aged 18 to 49 watched the episode. The episode was seen by 8.21 million viewers. The show ranked 17th in the seasonal 18–49 demographic ratings with an average of a 4.0 rating in the demographic. The viewership was an 18 percent drop compared to the fifth-season premiere, "Weight Loss". The season finale, "

Whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

" was viewed by 6.60 million viewers with a 3.4 rating/10% share in the 18–49, marking a 3% drop from the fifth-season finale, "

Company Picnic "Company Picnic" is the fifth season finale of the American comedy television series ''The Office'', and the 100th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on May 14, 2009. In the episode, Michael plans to ...

." The season also ranked 52nd in the seasonal total viewership with an average of 7.80 million viewers.

Critical reception

The sixth season received generally favorable reviews, with an overall score of 78/100 on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. However, some critics identified a decline in quality compared to previous seasons. The season mainly faced criticism for a lack of stakes for the characters. Some critics have also criticized the conclusion to the Jim and Pam romance while others were critical of the lack of growth for Michael. Cindy White of

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

gave the season a 7.5 saying it was "Good" and "We did get some funny moments and some good episodes in Season 6, but as a whole it just doesn't compare to the strength of seasons past." She also went on to criticize the storylines including Jim's stint as co-manager. Will Leitch of ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' said "''The Offices season six was usually funny and always big-hearted, but there was never much at stake". ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' writer Darren Franich called the season the "least cohesive" season of the series.

Honors

The show received numerous nominations. The show was nominated for Favorite TV Comedy at the

36th People's Choice Awards The 36th People's Choice Awards, honoring the best in popular culture for 2009, was held on January 6, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and was broadcast on CBS. Not all of the awards were presented on air during the show, ...

, but lost to ''

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...

''. The show was nominated for

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 series. Winners and nominees 1990s 20 ...

for the fourth time at the

16th Screen Actors Guild Awards The 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, honoring the best achievements in film and television performances for the year 2009, were presented on January 23, 2010 at the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles, California for the fourteenth co ...

, but lost to ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

''. It was also nominated for two awards at

Writers Guild of America Awards 2009 The 62nd Writers Guild of America Awards honored the best film, television, and videogame writers of 2009. Winners were announced on February 20, 2010. Nominees Names in bold denote the winners. Film Best Adapted Screenplay * ''Crazy Heart'' * ...

for Comedy Series and Episodic Comedy for the episode "

" written by

. This season received four Emmy nominations at the

62nd Primetime Emmy Awards The 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards, presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, were held on Sunday, August 29, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PDT (00:00 UTC; August 30). Come ...

— Outstanding Comedy Series,

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. The award is presented to the best performance by a lead actor in a television comedy series. Beginning with the 18th Primetime Emmy ...

(

), Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (

and

for "

Niagara Niagara may refer to: Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada *Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River *Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border *Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ov ...

") and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation.

Episodes

In the following table, "U.S. viewers (million)" refers to the number of Americans who viewed the episode on the night of broadcast. Episodes are listed by the order in which they aired, and may not necessarily correspond to their production codes. denotes an hour-long episode (with advertisements; actual runtime around 42 minutes).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Office (American season 6), The 2009 American television seasons 2010 American television seasons