''The Office'' is an American
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 ...
sitcom
A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...
television series that depicts the everyday work lives of office employees at the
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming Val ...
, branch of the fictional
Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. It aired on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters a ...
from March 24, 2005, to May 16, 2013, spanning a total of nine seasons. Based on the 2001–2003
BBC series of the same name created by
Ricky Gervais and
Stephen Merchant, it was
adapted
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the ...
for American television by
Greg Daniels, a veteran writer for ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'', ''
King of the Hill
''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an ...
'', and ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, L ...
''. It was co-produced by Daniels's
Deedle-Dee Productions
Deedle-Dee Productions is an American television production company owned by Greg Daniels. It is known for producing the long-running series ''King of the Hill'', '' The Office'' and ''Parks and Recreation''. The Deedle-Dee Productions logo is a ...
and
Reveille Productions (later
Shine America), in association with
Universal Television
Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#Universal Studio Group, Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serv ...
. The original
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 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 Univers ...
, with numerous others being promoted in later seasons.
Like its British counterpart, the series was filmed in a
single-camera setup
The single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, also known as portable single camera, is a method of filmmaking and video production.
The single-camera setup originally developed during the birth of the classical Hollywood cinema ...
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 a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...
to simulate the look of an actual documentary. The series 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 a ...
and aired
201 episodes for its run. ''The Office'' originally featured
Steve Carell
Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott in '' The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where Car ...
,
Rainn Wilson,
John Krasinski,
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 Supp ...
, and
B. J. Novak as the main cast; however, the series experienced
numerous changes to its
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple 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 t ...
during its run. Notable stars outside the original main cast include
Ed Helms,
Amy Ryan,
Mindy Kaling,
Craig Robinson,
James Spader,
Ellie Kemper, and
Catherine Tate.
''The Office'' was met with 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 British version. These seasons were included on several critics' year-end top TV series lists, winning several awards such as a
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
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 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
, a
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...
for Carell's
performance
A performance is an act 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.
Management science
In the work place ...
, and four
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. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...
, including one for
Outstanding Comedy Series, in 2006. The eighth season was criticized for a decline in quality. Many saw Carell's departure in season seven 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, or ...
, 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. It was first known for its cov ...
'' named ''The Office'' one of the 100 greatest television shows of all time.
Production
Crew
Greg Daniels developed
the British ''Office'' series for American television and served as the
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 ...
for the first four seasons of the series. He then left the position when he co-created the comedy series ''
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 1 ...
'' with fellow ''Office'' writer
Michael Schur and divided his time between both series.
Paul Lieberstein and
Jennifer Celotta 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. 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 and
Stephen Merchant, who created the original British series, are credited as executive producers and wrote both
pilot and the third-season episode "
The Convict". Merchant later directed the episode "
Customer Survey", while Gervais appeared in the episodes "
The Seminar" and "
Search Committee", reprising his role as
David Brent from the British series.
Randall Einhorn 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, ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the 1992 film of the same name, also written by Whedon, although the events of the film are not consid ...
'' creator
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television serie ...
, 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'' (1993), '' PCU'' (1994), '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Very Bad Things'' (1998), '' Deep Impact'' (1998 ...
,
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis (; November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014) was an American actor, comedian, director and writer. His best-known film acting roles were as Egon Spengler in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984) and ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), and as Russel ...
,
Jason Reitman
Jason R. Reitman (; born October 19, 1977) is a Canadian-American actor and filmmaker, best known for directing the films '' Thank You for Smoking'' (2005), '' Juno'' (2007), '' Up in the Air'' (2009), '' Young Adult'' (2011), and '' Ghostbuste ...
, and
Marc Webb
Marc Preston Webb (born August 31, 1974) is an American music video director and filmmaker. Webb made his feature film directorial debut in 2009 with the romantic comedy ''500 Days of Summer'', and went on to direct ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' in ...
.
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 played Michael Scott in '' The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where Car ...
,
John Krasinski,
Rainn Wilson,
Ed Helms, and
Brian Baumgartner.
Development and writing
Prior to 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 for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an ...
'' and ''
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 1 ...
''.
The
pilot 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" as the pilot episode.
[Daniels, Greg (Writer). 2006. "The Dundies" ommentary track ''The Office'' Season Two (US/NBC Version) VD Los Angeles, CA: Universal.] 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 more likable.
[Novak, B.J. (Writer). 2006. "The Dundies" ommentary track ''The Office'' Season Two (US/NBC Version) VD Los Angeles, CA: Universal.] 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 problem 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" 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 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 ...
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 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 and
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...
, explaining the absence of a character over the next several episodes.
Daniels hoped that
word of mouth
Word of mouth, or ''viva voce'', 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 pe ...
among fans would spread the information, but he eventually considered the experiment a failure.
Casting
According to
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 Supp ...
, the series used an unusual casting process that did not involve a script. The producers would ask the actors several questions and they would respond as the characters they were auditioning for.
NBC programmer
Kevin Reilly originally suggested
Paul Giamatti 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 Univers ...
for the role of Michael Scott, but the actor declined.
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada.
He ...
,
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert Azaria ( ; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Sn ...
, and
Bob Odenkirk
Robert John Odenkirk (; born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker best known for his role as Saul Goodman on ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). For the latter, he has re ...
were reported to be interested in the part. In January 2004 ''
Variety'' reported that
Steve Carell
Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott in '' The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where Car ...
, of the
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programm ...
program ''
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is 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 stated 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 co-starred in '' God’s Favorite Idiot''. He has also had cameos in '' ''Bridesmaids', '' Ide ...
,
Alan Tudyk,
Jim Zulevic, and
Paul F. Tompkins.
Rainn Wilson 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. Most legal cases ...
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 compa ...
, 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.] 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-American actor, comedian and filmmaker. Originally a stand-up comedian in Vancouver, he moved to Los Angeles for a part in Judd Apatow's series ''Freaks and Geeks'', and then got a part on ...
,
Matt Besser
Matthew Gregory Besser (born September 22, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, director, producer, and writer, best known as one of the four founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe, who had their own show on Comedy ...
,
Patton Oswalt, and
Judah Friedlander also auditioned for the role.
John Krasinski and
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 Supp ...
were cast in their respective roles as Jim and Pam, the main love interests. Krasinski had attended school with
B. J. Novak, where the two were best friends. Before Krasinski landed the role, he considered quitting acting just three weeks before. He discussed on ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second it ...
'' that he moved to New York City and gave himself two-to-three years for his acting career to take off or he would quit. He was not enjoying waiting tables and was struggling to find a role but his mom told him to wait it out until the end of the year. He then booked ''The Office'' 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, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
'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, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to ...
'', Fischer recalled the last stages of the audition process for Pam and Jim, with the producers partnering the different potential Pams and Jims (four of each) together 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 both auditioned for the role of Jim, and
Kathryn Hahn
Kathryn Marie Hahn (born July 23, 1973) is an American actress and comedian. She began her career on television, starring as grief counselor Lily Lebowski in the NBC crime drama series ''Crossing Jordan'' (2001–2007). Hahn gained prominence ap ...
also auditioned for the role of Pam.
The supporting cast includes actors known for their
improv work:
Angela Kinsey,
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. ...
,
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 on NBC's ''The Office''.
He was a member of The Groundlings and ...
,
Leslie David Baker,
Brian Baumgartner,
Melora Hardin
Melora Hardin (born June 29, 1967) is an American actress, known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's '' The Office'' and Trudy Monk on USA Network's '' Monk'', and Tammy Cashman on Amazon Prime Video's '' Transparent'', for which she recei ...
, and
David Denman.
Kinsey had originally auditioned for Pam. The producers thought she was "too feisty" for the character, but they called her back for the part of
Angela Martin, 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, the director of the pilot episode, liked the way
Phyllis Smith, 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 digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...
,'' February 24, 2006: 24–25. At the beginning of the third season,
Ed Helms and
Rashida Jones
Rashida Leah Jones (; born February 25, 1976) is an American actress.
Jones appeared as Louisa Fenn on the Fox drama series ''Boston Public'' (2000–2002), as Karen Filippelli on the NBC comedy series ''The Office'' (2006–2009; 2011), and as ...
joined the cast as members of Dunder Mifflin Stamford. While Jones would later leave the cast and end up in a role on ''
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 1 ...
'', in February 2007, NBC announced that Helms was being promoted to a series regular.
Four of the show's writers have also performed in front of the camera. B. J. Novak was the first person to be hired on the 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 ...
after Daniels saw his
stand-up act.
Paul Lieberstein 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 includ ...
director
Toby Flenderson on Novak's suggestion after his cold readings of scripts.
Greg Daniels was originally unsure where to use
Mindy Kaling on-screen in the series 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), says Kaling.
Michael Schur has also made several guest appearances as Dwight's cousin
Mose, and consulting producer
Larry Wilmore has played
diversity trainer Mr. Brown. Plans were made for
Mackenzie Crook,
Martin Freeman
Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Freeman's most n ...
, and
Lucy Davis, from the British series, to appear in the third season, but those plans were scrapped due to scheduling conflicts; however, Ricky Gervais did make two appearances in the show's seventh season as
David Brent.
Filming
''The Office'' was filmed with a
single-camera setup
The single-camera setup, or single-camera mode of production, also known as portable single camera, is a method of filmmaking and video production.
The single-camera setup originally developed during the birth of the classical Hollywood cinema ...
in
cinéma vérité style to create the look of an actual documentary, with no studio audience or laugh track, allowing its "deadpan" and "absurd" humor to fully come across.
The show's primary premise that a camera crew is filming
Dunder Mifflin 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 main action of the show is supplemented with talking-head interviews or "confessionals" in which characters speak one-on-one with the camera crew.
Actor
John Krasinski shot the footage of Scranton for the opening credits after he found out he was cast as Jim. He visited Scranton for research and interviewed employees at actual paper companies.
In order to get the feel of an actual documentary, the producers hired cinematographer
Randall Einhorn, who is known for directing episodes of ''
Survivor'', which allowed the show to have the feel of "rough and jumpy" like an actual documentary.
This was facilitated by the open floor plan of the main set, which was purposely developed by showrunner Daniels, production designer Donald Lee Harris (Matt Flynn became production designer later), and director of the pilot
Ken Kwapis to allow camera operators to catch characters "unaware".
Unlike most TV sets, the office layout was built with immovable walls to emphasize its airless, claustrophobic atmosphere—trapping the documentary film crew in with the characters.
According to producer
Michael Schur, the producers to the series would follow the documentary format strictly.
The producers and directors would have long discussions over whether a scene could work under 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 and not pass by Stanley. The producers debated whether that was possible and Einhorn walked through the whole scene in order to see if a camera operator could get to all the places in time to shoot the whole scene.
Despite the strict nature in the early years of the series, later seasons seem to have loosened the rules on the format, with the camera crew often going into places that actual documentary crews would not, which also changed the writing and comedy style of the series.
This inconsistency has received criticism from critics and fans.
Music
When it came to choosing the theme song 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 Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhy ...
, "
Float On" by
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members are lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Strongly influen ...
, and "
Mr. Blue Sky" by
Electric Light Orchestra,
and several original pieces artists contributed to the producers via a
cattle call.
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
Los Angeles International Airport , commonly referred to as LAX (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary international airport serving Los Angeles, California and its surrounding metropolitan area. LAX is located in the W ...
'' (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 or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of ...
, which previously rolled in silence. The exteriors of buildings in the title sequence are actual buildings in
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming Val ...
, and were shot by cast member John Krasinski.
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 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 of the show contains no
laugh track
A laugh track (or laughter track) is a separate soundtrack for a recorded comedy show containing the sound of audience laughter. In some productions, the laughter is a live audience response instead; in the United States, where it is most common ...
, and most of the music is
diegetic
Diegesis (; from the Greek from , "to narrate") is a style of fiction storytelling that presents an interior view of a world in which:
# Details about the world itself and the experiences of its characters are revealed explicitly through narr ...
, 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" by
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
("
The Dundies") and "
Islands in the Stream" by
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...
and
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...
("
E-mail Surveillance").
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" and later "
My Humps
"My Humps" is a song recorded by American group the Black Eyed Peas for their fourth studio album '' Monkey Business'' (2005). It was written and produced by group member will.i.am. Musically, it's a hip hop and dance song structured as a due ...
" as his cell phone ringtone.
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 e ...
as long as it already appeared in the episode.
Characters
''The Office'' employs an
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple 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 t ...
. Many characters portrayed by ''The Office'' cast are based on the original British series. While these characters generally have the same attitude and perceptions as their British counterparts, the roles have been redesigned to fit the American show better. The show is known for its relatively large cast size, and many of its actors and actresses are 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.
Steve Carell
Steven John Carell (; born August 16, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He played Michael Scott in '' The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where Car ...
stars as
Michael Scott, regional manager of the
Dunder Mifflin Scranton Branch. Loosely based on
David Brent, Gervais' character in the British series, Scott is a well-intentioned man whose attempts at humor, while seemingly innocent to himself, often offend and annoy his peers and employees, and in some situations lead to reprimanding from his superiors.
Rainn Wilson portrays
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 compa ...
, based upon
Gareth Keenan, who is a salesman and the assistant to the regional manager, a fictional title created by Michael.
John Krasinski portrays
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 Dunde ...
, a salesman and, in later seasons, assistant manager or co-manager who is known for his wittiness and his practical jokes on Dwight (often accompanied by
Pam Beesly
Pamela Morgan Halpert (née 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 the rec ...
). Halpert is based upon
Tim Canterbury and, at the start of the series, is known to have feelings for Pam, the receptionist, who is engaged to a fellow employee, Roy. Pam, played by
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 Supp ...
, is based on
Dawn Tinsley. She is shy, but in many cases a collaborator 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 ...
, 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 Kinsey), an uptight and ultra-religious woman who likes to keep things orderly and make sure situations remain as businesslike as possible;
Kevin Malone (
Brian Baumgartner), a lovable but dim-witted man who revels in juvenile humor and frequently indulges in gambling; and
Oscar Martinez (
Oscar Nuñez), who is intelligent and cultured, but often patronizing, and whose
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
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 (
Leslie David Baker), who cannot stand Michael's constant references to his
Black American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
heritage (he also doesn't like to take part in time-wasting meetings and often solves crossword puzzles or sleeps during them); eccentric
quality assurance
Quality assurance (QA) is the term used in both manufacturing and service industries to describe the systematic efforts taken to ensure that the product(s) delivered to customer(s) meet with the contractual and other agreed upon performance, design ...
representative
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 ...
(
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 ...
), who has a mysterious criminal history; the matronly saleswoman
Phyllis Lapin (
Phyllis Smith), who dates and then marries Bob Vance (
Robert R. Shafer) from Vance Refrigeration, a company whose office is across the hall from Dunder Mifflin;
Andy Bernard (
Ed Helms), a salesman from the
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 202 ...
branch of Dunder Mifflin introduced in season three who transfers to the Scranton branch after the two offices merge; the shallow and talkative customer service representative
Kelly Kapoor (
Mindy Kaling); the promiscuous
alcoholic
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...
supply relations representative
Meredith Palmer (
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. ...
);
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 includ ...
representative
Toby Flenderson (
Paul Lieberstein), who is loathed, and often the target of abuse, by Michael; warehouse foreman
Darryl Philbin (
Craig Robinson); warehouse dock worker and Pam's fiancé
Roy Anderson (
David Denman), who is fired in the third season for attacking Jim; and the vice president for regional sales for Dunder Mifflin
Jan Levinson (
Melora Hardin
Melora Hardin (born June 29, 1967) is an American actress, known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's '' The Office'' and Trudy Monk on USA Network's '' Monk'', and Tammy Cashman on Amazon Prime Video's '' Transparent'', for which she recei ...
), who later becomes Michael's love interest.
Toward the end of season five, the bubbly and naive
Erin Hannon (
Ellie Kemper) is introduced as Pam's replacement at reception following Pam's short stint at the Michael Scott Paper Company and subsequent move to sales. A story arc at the end of season four has
Holly Flax (
Amy Ryan) transferred to the office as Toby's replacement. She becomes a love interest for Michael, as they share very similar personality traits.
Jo Bennett (
Kathy Bates) is the CEO of Sabre. This company takes over Dunder Mifflin, and
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 w ...
(
Zach Woods), introduced in the middle of season six, is a Sabre employee who is assigned to the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch as the regional director of sales. In season seven, Bennett's friend
Nellie Bertram (
Catherine Tate) is interviewed to replace Scott and later serves as a replacement regional manager for Bernard in season eight after
Robert California (
James Spader) has become the new CEO of Sabre. In season nine,
Clark Green (
Clark Duke) and
Pete Miller (
Jake Lacy
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 his role as Shane Pat ...
) 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, 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.
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
The first season consists of six episodes; the shortest season of the series.
The series starts by introducing
Dunder Mifflin's employees via a tour given by branch manager
Michael Scott 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 ...
.
Salesman
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 Dunde ...
has a crush on receptionist
Pam Beesly
Pamela Morgan Halpert (née 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 the rec ...
, who helps him play pranks on co-worker
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 compa ...
, 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
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, but does not have sex with her.
Dwight and Angela become romantically involved,
but keep their relationship a secret.
Kelly Kapoor 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 the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 202 ...
branch, but tells Pam in the
season finale 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
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'' 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 ...
, whom Jim has begun dating, and the anger-prone preppy salesman
Andy Bernard, 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 ask Pam out on a date, which she joyfully accepts. In the final scene, we learn Ryan has been awarded Jan's job.
Season 4
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. After Dwight's crude (though well-intentioned) method of
euthanasia
Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering.
Different countries have different eutha ...
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 (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the ...
and is replaced by
Holly Flax, 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 a satellite campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The school was founded in 188 ...
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
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 midway 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. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 91,322, the second-largest in northern New England after nearby Manchester. Along with Manchester, it is a seat of New Hampshire's most populou ...
branch, 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 implements a rigid managerial style over the branch that causes Michael to resign in protest.
Michael opens the
Michael Scott Paper Company 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 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, 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
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, 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
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 played Michael Scott in '' The Office'' (2005–2011; 2013), NBC’s adaptation of the British series created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, where Car ...
, who plays
Michael Scott, as NBC did not renew Carell's contract. Beginning with this season,
Zach Woods, 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 w ...
, 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, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 200 ...
) 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
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 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 compa ...
is actually the child's biological father). Darryl starts falling for new warehouse foreman, Val.
Dwight is tasked with traveling to
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...
, to assist Sabre special projects manager
Nellie Bertram (
Catherine Tate) in launching a chain of retail stores, along with Jim, Ryan, Stanley, Erin, and new office temp
Cathy Simms. 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 to repurchase Dunder Mifflin from Sabre, putting Sabre completely out of business and giving Andy the manager position once again.
Season 9
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 other new customer service rep Clark, replaces Kelly, leaving 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 hurt 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 singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to A ...
-like
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
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 has been 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, 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. 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,
HP,
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor ...
, 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 video game franchise published by Activision. Starting out in 2003, it first focused on games set in World War II. Over time, the series has seen games set in the midst of the Cold War, futuristic w ...
'' video game series. In certain versions of "
The Merger",
Kevin Malone uses a Staples-branded shredding machine to shred a Staples-branded
CD-R
CD-R (Compact disc-recordable) is a digital optical disc storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can be written once and read arbitrarily many times.
CD-R discs (CD-Rs) are readable by most CD readers manufactured prior to the i ...
and many other nonpaper items, including a salad.
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...
, 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 ...
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 restaurants were used for filming in "
The Dundies" and "
The Client
Client(s) or The Client may refer to:
* Client (business)
* Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer
* Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuab ...
", 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.]["The Client" ommentary track ''The Office'' Season Two (US/NBC Version) VD 2006, Los Angeles, CA: Universal] 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.
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
received over four minutes of publicity for the
iPod
The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...
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 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 an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user created content within a multi player online virtual world. Developed and owned by the San Fr ...
'' 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 mov ...
'', which was also based on a
British version.
The ''
New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in t ...
'' called it "so diluted there's little left but muddy water," and ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' 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'' 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 (born November 3, 1944) is an American writer and retired critic of television programming and operations. He was a television critic for '' The Washington Post'' from 1977 to 2010, for which Shales received the Pulitzer ...
of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' 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 of ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'' 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. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series ('' Galactica 1980''), a line of ...
''.
''
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 cult ...
'' 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 American 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 cr ...
'' 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 digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...
'' "New TV Classics" list. ''
Time'''s
James Poniewozik 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. while ''
Paste'' named it the sixth-best sitcom of 2010. In 2013 the
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers:
* The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO
* The Writers Gui ...
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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''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 satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office with engineer Dilbert as the title characte ...
'', 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 syndicated '' Dilbert'' comic strip, and the author of several nonfiction works of satire, commentary, and business. ''Dilbert'' gained natio ...
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-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 prevent the formation 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 ...
on American television.
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that 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 average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc D ...
, 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 wrote in his blog, referring to "
Search Committee," particularly
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...
'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 and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Univ ...
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 (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, image ...
, 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, Michael ...
",
[
For various reviews, see:
*
*
] "
Dwight Christmas",
[
For various reviews, see:
*
*
] "
A.A.R.M.
"A.A.R.M." is the collective name for the twenty-second and twenty-third episodes of the ninth season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'', as well as the 198th and 199th episode overall. It was also the series' penultimate entr ...
",
[
For various reviews, see:
*
*
*
] and "
Finale".
[
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. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime E ...
nominations, with five wins. It won for
Outstanding Comedy Series in season two,
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (
Greg Daniels 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 episode ...
"),
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"), and
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series (
David Rogers and Claire Scanlon for "
Finale"). 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 in a Television Comedy or Musical in 2006. The series was also named the best TV series by the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
in 2006 and 2008, won two
Screen Actors Guild Award
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 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie and ...
s for
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 Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
in 2006.
Ratings
Premiering on Thursday, March 24, 2005, after an episode of ''
The Apprentice
''The Apprentice'' is a reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States.
Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with various professional backg ...
'' 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, 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 first season's
finale, rated a 2.2 with a 10
audience measurement share. Episodes were also rerun on
CNBC.
As the second season started, the success of Carell's hit summer movie ''
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
''The 40-Year-Old Virgin'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Judd Apatow, who produced the film with Clayton Townsend and Shauna Robertson. It features Steve Carell as the titular 40-year-old virgin Andy, an employee at an e ...
'' and online sales of episodes at
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...
helped the show. The increase in viewership led NBC to move the series to the "
Must See TV
Must See TV is an American advertising slogan that was used by NBC to brand its primetime blocks during the 1990s, and most often applied to the network's Thursday night lineup, which featured some of its most popular sitcoms and drama series of ...
" Thursday night in January 2006, where ratings continued to grow. By the 2005–06 season, it placed #67 (tied with ''
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," which was watched by 22.9 million viewers. This episode was aired right after
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...
. 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
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...
and
rail
Rail or rails may refer to:
Rail transport
*Rail transport and related matters
* Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway
Arts and media Film
* ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini
* ''Rail'' ...
center,
has embraced, and ultimately has been redefined by the show. "We're really hip now," says 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 & Supply Company, whose tower is shown in the opening credits, plans to add it to the tower as well.
Newspapers in other
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
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost pat ...
speech in its suburb of
Dickson City
Dickson City is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, north of Scranton. Coal mining was an important industry in the past. The borough's population peaked at 12,395 in 1930 and was 6,051 at the 2020 census.
History
Dickson City was ...
, former
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the office ...
(the Irish Head of Government)
Bertie Ahern
Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste an ...
identified the city as the home of Dunder Mifflin.
[ ]
The inaugural ''The Office'' convention was held downtown in October 2007. Notable landmarks, some of which have been settings for the show, that served as venues include the
University of Scranton
The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took th ...
, the
Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel
The Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel, built as the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Station, is a French Renaissance style building in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was built as a train station and office building in 1908; closed in 1970; l ...
and the
Mall at Steamtown
The Marketplace at Steamtown (formerly The Mall at Steamtown) is a shopping mall in Scranton, Pennsylvania. United States. It was conceived in the mid-1980s as the keystone of downtown revitalization, though the project was not completed until 1993 ...
. 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
The Marketplace at Steamtown (formerly The Mall at Steamtown) is a shopping mall in Scranton, Pennsylvania. United States. It was conceived in the mid-1980s as the keystone of downtown revitalization, though the project was not completed until 1993 ...
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
''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...
'',
Republican presidential candidate
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
, reportedly a devoted fan of the show, jokingly told
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts '' T ...
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
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014.
The fourth incarnation of the ' ...
''. 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
John Wright Hickenlooper Jr. (; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Colorado since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 42nd governor of Colorado from 2011 to 201 ...
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
Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio, by Matt Thiessen, Matt Hoopes, and Brian Pittman Board Message during the band members' third year in high school and their time at Malone University. The band is named afte ...
. Frontman
Matt Thiessen
Matthew Arnold Thiessen (born August 12, 1980) is a Canadian-American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the Christian rock band Relient K. Wit ...
is a fan of ''The Office'', and during
concert
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...
s 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 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 "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 Supp ...
and
Angela Kinsey attended a performance in May 2022.
Other media
Online releases
Episodes from ''The Office'' were among the first shows available for download from the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,000 ...
beginning in December 2005. In 2006, ten
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
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
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a film ...
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 on December 31, 2020, as NBCUniversal acquired the rights to the show for its streaming service
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are ref ...
, 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
A fun run is a friendly race that involves either road running or cross country running with participants taking part for their own enjoyment rather than competition. A fun run will usually be held to raise funds for a charity, with sponsors pro ...
," the fourth season's premiere, 2.7 million, or 22%, were on a computer via online streaming. "''The Office''," said ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', "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
laptop
A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...
s and
iPod
The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...
s.
Between the online viewings and those who use
digital video recorder
A digital video recorder (DVR) is an electronic device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SSD or other local or networked mass storage device. The term includes set-top boxes with direct ...
s, 25–50% of the show's viewers
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
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most vis ...
shortly after the strike began, pointing out how little if any, they received in
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
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ( ...
-winning summer webisodes "The Accountants", which NBC considered promotional material despite the embedded
commercials
A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
.
Other broadcasts
Aside from
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters a ...
, ''The Office'' has gone into off-network syndication in the United States. It previously ran on local stations and
TBS. On December 13, 2017,
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programm ...
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
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on de ...
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 Viacom Media Networks through 2025. The series aired on
Cozi TV
Cozi TV (stylized on-air as COZI TV) is an American free-to-air television network owned by the NBC Owned Television Stations division of NBCUniversal. The network airs classic television series from the 1960s to the 2000s.
The network origina ...
from January 1, 2019, to October 3, 2021. It also aired on
Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite) is an American nighttime basic cable television channel that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon. It typically broadcasts Mondays to Thursday nights from 9 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. ET/ PT, Friday nights fr ...
starting January 1, 2019, and later on
Paramount Network
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
The channel was or ...
, although Nick at Nite no longer airs the program as of May 5, 2019. The show then began airing on
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
ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, ...
.
In Australia, all 9 seasons air on
10 Shake
10 Shake is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel owned by Network 10. It launched on 27 September 2020 at 6am.
The channel includes a mix of shows for people aged forty and under. It broadcasts programming for children fro ...
.
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
MumboJumbo, LLC was an independent developer of games for personal computers, game consoles and mobile devices. MumboJumbo Mobile, LLC publishes entertainment software for Android and iOS devices.
History
The company was founded in January 200 ...
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''
Clue
Clue may refer to:
People with the name
* DJ Clue (born 1975), mixtape DJ
* Arthur Clues (1924–1998), Australian rugby league footballer
* Ivan Clues
* Tim Cluess
Arts, entertainment, and media ''Clue'' entertainment franchise
* ''Clued ...
was released, and ''The Office''
Monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
was released in 2010. Other merchandise, from T-shirts and a
bobblehead
A bobblehead, also known by common silly nicknames such as nodder, wobbler, or wacky wobbler, is a type of small collectible action figure. Its head is often oversized compared to its body. Instead of a solid connection, its head is connected to ...
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.
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 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, 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 ...
authors "Creed Thoughts," the blog attributed to
his character.
[Creed Thoughts.](_blank)
NBC.com. Retrieved on April 12, 2008.
Cast podcast
On September 11, 2019,
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 Supp ...
and
Angela Kinsey announced their podcast called ''
Office Ladies'' which premiered on October 16, 2019, on
Earwolf
Earwolf is an American comedy podcasting network founded by Scott Aukerman and Jeff Ullrich in August 2010. In 2011, they announced a partnership with Funny Or Die. It merged with podcast advertising network The Mid Roll in 2014, a separate compa ...
. 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, 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 ...
.
In February 2021,
Brian Baumgartner started a podcast called ''The Office Deep Dive with Brian Baumgartner'' in which he sits down with other actors, writers, and others that 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, 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 ...
.
Home media
The complete series of ''The Office'' was released on
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of stori ...
from
Universal Pictures 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 ...
on November 10, 2020.
Proposed spin-offs
A
spin-off
Spin-off may refer to:
*Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work
* Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity
* Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...
to the series was proposed in 2008, with a
pilot episode
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distr ...
expected to debut as the
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
''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 1 ...
'' 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
A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...
episode was produced, and although the show was not picked up, it was modified and aired during the ninth season as "
The Farm".
In July 2020,
Leslie David Baker launched a
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
campaign to fund the production of a
pilot for ''Uncle Stan'', a proposed spin-off focusing on a now-engaged
Stanley Hudson 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."
Possible reboot
In September 2019, with the announcement of
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primari ...
's streaming service
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are ref ...
,
Bonnie Hammer
Bonnie Hammer (born 1950) is an American network and studio executive. , her title is vice-chairman, NBCUniversal.
Early life
Born to a Jewish family , Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and Digital Enterprises at
NBCU
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primaril ...
stated that it is her "hope and goal that we do an ''Office'' reboot". In March 2020, former showrunner
Greg Daniels 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".
References
Further reading
* 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.com (2016 archive)
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Office, The
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
English-language television shows
NBC original programming
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
Super Bowl lead-out shows
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
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Television series created by Greg Daniels