The Office (U.S. season 9)
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - The Office (U.S. season 9)
OR:
The Office (U.S. season 9) on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

The ninth and final season of the American television comedy ''
The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series o ...
'' premiered 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 are l ...
on September 20, 2012, and concluded on May 16, 2013, consisting of 25 episodes. ''The Office'' is an American adaptation of the British comedy series of the same name, and is presented in a
mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
format, portraying the daily lives of office employees in the
Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth 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 V ...
branch of the fictitious Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The ninth season of ''The Office'' aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. (
Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...
) in the United States, as part of the Comedy Night Done Right television block. It stars
Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Em ...
, 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 Suppor ...
, and
Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sitcom '' The Offi ...
, with supporting performances from
Catherine Tate Catherine Jane Ford (born 5 December 1969), known professionally as Catherine Tate, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series '' The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007) ...
,
Leslie David Baker Leslie David Baker (born February 19, 1958) is an American actor. He is known for playing disgruntled paper salesman Stanley Hudson in ''The Office'' for nine seasons (2005–2013). Early life Baker was born on February 19, 1958 in Chicago, Il ...
,
Brian Baumgartner Brian Baumgartner (born November 29, 1972) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Kevin Malone, a character in the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013). Early life and career Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Baumgartner attended Holy In ...
,
Creed Bratton Creed Bratton (born William Charles Schneider, February 8, 1943) is an American actor, singer and musician. A former member of the rock band the Grass Roots, he is best known for playing a fictionalized version of himself on the NBC sitcom '' ...
,
Clark Duke Clark Duke (born May 5, 1985) is an American actor, comedian, and director known for his roles in the films '' Kick-Ass'', ''Sex Drive'', and ''Hot Tub Time Machine'', as well as playing Clark Green in the TV series ''The Office'', Dale Kettlew ...
,
Kate Flannery Kate Destiny Flannery (born June 10, 1964) is an American actress. Following her early theatre work, Flannery had her screen breakthrough playing Meredith Palmer on the NBC series ''The Office'', which won her two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Sh ...
,
Mindy Kaling Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter and producer. She first gained recognition starring as Kelly Kapoor in the N ...
, Ellie Kemper,
Angela Kinsey Angela Faye Kinsey (born June 25, 1971) is an American actress. She played Angela Martin in the sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013) and appeared in the sitcoms '' Your Family or Mine'' (2015) and ''Haters Back Off'' (2016–2017). Since ''The ...
,
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 Patt ...
,
Paul Lieberstein Paul Bevan Lieberstein (born February 22, 1967) is an American actor, screenwriter, television director and television producer. A Primetime Emmy Award winner, he is best known as writer, as executive producer, and as supporting cast member Tob ...
, B. J. Novak,
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 l ...
, Craig Robinson, and
Phyllis Smith Phyllis Smith (born July 10, 1951) is an American actress and casting associate. She is best known for playing Phyllis Vance in the television series '' The Office'' and her critically acclaimed voice role as Sadness in the film '' Inside Out'' ...
. This is the second season not to star
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 Ca ...
as lead character Michael Scott, although he returned for a cameo appearance in the series finale. The ninth season largely focuses on the relationship between
Jim Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...
( John Krasinski) and
Pam Halpert 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 recept ...
(
Jenna Fischer Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...
). After Jim decides to follow his dream and start a sports marketing company in Philadelphia, Pam begins to worry about moving, and the couple's relationship experiences stress. Meanwhile,
Andy Bernard Andrew Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the NBC comedy television series ''The Office (U.S. TV series), The Office'', portrayed by Ed Helms. He is introduced in Season 3 as the Regional Director in Charge of Sales at the Stamford br ...
(
Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sitcom '' The Offi ...
) abandons the office for a three-month boating trip, and eventually quits his job to pursue his dream of becoming a star, although he soon becomes famous for a
viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...
. Dwight Schrute (
Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Em ...
) is finally promoted to regional manager. The documentary airs, and a year later, the members of the office gather for Dwight and Angela's marriage as well as a final round of interviews. Following the decline in ratings from the previous year, the ninth season of ''The Office'' managed to stabilize around 4 million viewers per episode. The series finale, however, was watched by over 5.69 million viewers, making it the highest-rated episode that the show had aired in over a year. The season ranked as the ninety-fourth most watched television series during the 2012–13 television year and saw a decrease in ratings from the previous season. Critical reception was moderately positive; although some critics took issue with certain aspects, such as the reveal of the in-series documentary crew, many argued that it was an improvement over the previous season. Others lauded the way the show was able to successfully wrap-up its story arcs. "Finale" was nominated for three awards at the
65th Primetime Emmy Awards The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in prime time television programming from June 1, 2012 until May 31, 2013, were held on Sunday, September 22, 2013 at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. CBS televised the cer ...
, and won for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series.


Production

The ninth season of the show was produced by
Reveille Productions Endemol Shine North America is the American division of Endemol Shine Group that was founded on March 15, 2002 as a merger of Shine Americas, Shine USA, and Reveille Productions. Endemol Shine North America produces and distributes scripted and ...
and Deedle-Dee Productions, both in association with
Universal Television Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a prede ...
. The show is based on the British comedy series of the same name, which was created by Ricky Gervais and
Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...
for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. In addition, the two are executive producers on the show. On May 11, 2012,
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 are l ...
renewed ''The Office'' for a ninth season. Series developer
Greg Daniels Gregory Martin Daniels (born June 13, 1963) is an American screenwriter, television producer, and director. He has worked on several television series, including writing for ''Saturday Night Live'' and ''The Simpsons'', adapting ''The Office (Am ...
returned as showrunner this season. Daniels stated that the season would feature more big season arcs, saying "I'll tell you that the last couple of years, I don't think we did any big arc-type things in the way that we used to in the beginning, I think the thing we're going to do is bring back a lot of arcs." Brent Forrester, who had been a consulting producer and writer since the third season was promoted to executive producer, alongside new series writer
Dan Sterling Dan Sterling is an American screenwriter and television producer who has worked on many successful television shows, including ''King of the Hill'', '' Kitchen Confidential'', ''The Daily Show'', ''South Park'', ''The Sarah Silverman Program'' and ...
. In a conference call on August 21, 2012, Daniels announced that this would be the final season of the series. Daniels said, "This year feels like the last chance to really go out together and make an artistic ending for the show that pays off a lot of the stuff that matters most to fans." Daniels also said all the questions would be answered, such as who was behind the documentary, and why they had been filming it for so long, as well as the reveal of the Scranton Strangler. A central point during the season was the romance between
Erin Hannon Kelly Erin Hannon (born May 1, 1986) is a fictional character from the U.S. comedy television series ''The Office'', played by Ellie Kemper. She is the optimistic office receptionist for the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin, a position previou ...
( Ellie Kemper) and
Pete Miller ''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 wi ...
(
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 Patt ...
). According to Michael Ausiello of
TVLine ''TVLine'' is a website devoted to information, news, and spoilers of television programs. History In late 2010, ''Entertainment Weekly''s Michael Ausiello announced that he would be leaving ''EW'' after nearly two years in their employ to est ...
, the nature of their relationship was heavily debated by the writers and producers; he noted that "the triangle etween Andy, Erin, and Petehas stirred up a number of debates in the writers room, which tells me even they don't know at this point which guy Erin will choose." Daniels consulted with Kemper and asked for her input, as he felt she had the best understanding of Erin's characterization. For the season, cast members John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, and Ed Helms were credited as producers. Krasinski also directed an episode. Guest directors for the season included
Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–20 ...
, who directed the episode " Work Bus", and filmmaker Jon Favreau, who directed the episode " Moving On". Daniels directed the first episode, which he also wrote. This marked the first time that he had both written and directed an episode of ''The Office'' since the fourth season entry "
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 pr ...
".
Ken Kwapis Kenneth William Kwapis (born August 17, 1957) is an American film and television director, screenwriter, and author. He specialized in the single-camera sitcom in the 1990s and 2000s and has directed feature films such as '' Sesame Street Presen ...
directed the series finale; he also directed the show's pilot episode. While ''The Office'' was mainly filmed on a studio set at Valley Center Studios in Van Nuys,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
,"The Dundies" ommentary track ''The Office'' Season Two (US/NBC Version) VD 2006, Los Angeles, CA:
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...
. the city of
Scranton 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 V ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, where the show is set, was also used for shots of the opening theme.
Angela Kinsey Angela Faye Kinsey (born June 25, 1971) is an American actress. She played Angela Martin in the sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013) and appeared in the sitcoms '' Your Family or Mine'' (2015) and ''Haters Back Off'' (2016–2017). Since ''The ...
and
Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Em ...
, during an interview, expressed the hope to film an episode of the season in Scranton. Although this never came to fruition, exterior shots of the real Scranton bar The Bog were featured in the tenth episode " Lice". Originally, the season was supposed to contain 24 episodes, which would have meant that the series aired exactly 200 episodes. However, the series' penultimate episode was elongated into 2 separate episodes, resulting in " Finale"—which was announced previously as an hour-long special—being the 24th and 25th episodes of the season. This meant that the last part of "Finale" is the series' 201st episode. On March 19, 2013, the official ''Office'' fansite OfficeTally launched a campaign on
Change.org Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care abo ...
to "super-size or extend" the finale; this campaign was motivated by a statement made by Daniels, in which he mentioned he would "beg" the studio to air a longer episode. On May 2, 2013 the petition amassed 20,000 signatures. On May 7, NBC announced the series finale would be extended, and air in a 75-minute time slot. A one-hour retrospective of the series aired prior to the one-hour series finale on May 16.


Cast

''The Office'' employs an ensemble cast. Most of the main characters, and some supporting ones, are based on characters from the British version of ''The Office''. While these characters normally have the same attitudes and perceptions as their British counterparts, the roles have been redesigned to better fit the American show. The show is known for its large cast size, many of whom are known particularly for their improvisational work.


Main

*
Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Em ...
as Dwight Schrute, based upon
Gareth Keenan Gareth Keenan (born 17 April 1971) is a fictional paper salesman on BBC's comedy ''The Office'', portrayed by Mackenzie Crook. Gareth is a self-important team leader proud of his alleged Lieutenant status in the Territorial Army. He spends his d ...
, who is the office's top-performing sales representative. * John Krasinski as Jim Halpert, a sales representative and prankster, who is based upon
Tim Canterbury Timothy Canterbury is a fictional character in the BBC sitcom ''The Office'', portrayed by Martin Freeman. He is a sales representative at the Slough branch of Wernham Hogg Paper Merchants. He has a self-deprecating and ironic sense of humour. ...
, and is married to
Pam Halpert 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 recept ...
, the office administrator. *
Jenna Fischer Regina Marie "Jenna" Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Pam Beesly on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Suppor ...
as
Pam Halpert 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 recept ...
, who is based on Dawn Tinsley, is shy, but is often a cohort with Jim in his pranks on Dwight. *
Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sitcom '' The Offi ...
as
Andy Bernard Andrew Baines Bernard is a fictional character from the NBC comedy television series ''The Office (U.S. TV series), The Office'', portrayed by Ed Helms. He is introduced in Season 3 as the Regional Director in Charge of Sales at the Stamford br ...
, the preppy manager and boastful Cornell alumnus whose love for a cappella music and awkward social skills generate mixed feelings from his employees.


Starring

*
Catherine Tate Catherine Jane Ford (born 5 December 1969), known professionally as Catherine Tate, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series '' The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007) ...
as
Nellie Bertram Nellie Bertram is a fictional character on the United States of America, U.S. comedy television series ''The Office (U.S. TV series), The Office'', portrayed by Catherine Tate. She first appears as a guest star in the The Office (U.S. season 7), se ...
, the manager of special projects. *
Leslie David Baker Leslie David Baker (born February 19, 1958) is an American actor. He is known for playing disgruntled paper salesman Stanley Hudson in ''The Office'' for nine seasons (2005–2013). Early life Baker was born on February 19, 1958 in Chicago, Il ...
as Stanley Hudson, a grumpy salesman. *
Brian Baumgartner Brian Baumgartner (born November 29, 1972) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Kevin Malone, a character in the NBC sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013). Early life and career Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Baumgartner attended Holy In ...
as
Kevin Malone Kevin Malone is a fictional character in the American television series ''The Office''. He is portrayed by Brian Baumgartner. Kevin's counterpart in the UK TV series is Keith Bishop, who shares Kevin's lack of communication skills, musical int ...
, a dim-witted accountant, who is based on Keith Bishop. *
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 '' ...
as Creed Bratton, the office’s strange quality assurance officer. *
Clark Duke Clark Duke (born May 5, 1985) is an American actor, comedian, and director known for his roles in the films '' Kick-Ass'', ''Sex Drive'', and ''Hot Tub Time Machine'', as well as playing Clark Green in the TV series ''The Office'', Dale Kettlew ...
as Clark Green, one of the two new customer sales representatives hired to replace Ryan and Kelly, who wants to become a salesman. *
Kate Flannery Kate Destiny Flannery (born June 10, 1964) is an American actress. Following her early theatre work, Flannery had her screen breakthrough playing Meredith Palmer on the NBC series ''The Office'', which won her two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Sh ...
as Meredith Palmer, the
promiscuous Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by ma ...
supplier relations representative. *
Mindy Kaling Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter and producer. She first gained recognition starring as Kelly Kapoor in the N ...
as
Kelly Kapoor Kelly Rajanigandha Kapoor is a fictional character from the American television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Mindy Kaling. She is the customer service representative at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin from seasons 1 to 8. Followin ...
, the pop-culture obsessed customer service representative, who leaves with her fiancé, Ravi, at the beginning of the season. * Ellie Kemper as
Erin Hannon Kelly Erin Hannon (born May 1, 1986) is a fictional character from the U.S. comedy television series ''The Office'', played by Ellie Kemper. She is the optimistic office receptionist for the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin, a position previou ...
, the receptionist and love interest of Andy. *
Angela Kinsey Angela Faye Kinsey (born June 25, 1971) is an American actress. She played Angela Martin in the sitcom ''The Office'' (2005–2013) and appeared in the sitcoms '' Your Family or Mine'' (2015) and ''Haters Back Off'' (2016–2017). Since ''The ...
as Angela Martin, a judgemental accountant. *
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 Patt ...
as Pete Miller, one of the two new customer sales representatives hired to replace Ryan and Kelly, who develops feelings for Erin. *
Paul Lieberstein Paul Bevan Lieberstein (born February 22, 1967) is an American actor, screenwriter, television director and television producer. A Primetime Emmy Award winner, he is best known as writer, as executive producer, and as supporting cast member Tob ...
as Toby Flenderson, the sad-eyed human resources representative. * B. J. Novak as Ryan Howard, a former temporary worker, who leaves and follows Kelly to Ohio at the beginning of the season. *
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 l ...
as Oscar Martinez, an intelligent accountant, who is also gay. * Craig Robinson as Darryl Philbin, the warehouse supervisor, who starts working with Jim at his new company. *
Phyllis Smith Phyllis Smith (born July 10, 1951) is an American actress and casting associate. She is best known for playing Phyllis Vance in the television series '' The Office'' and her critically acclaimed voice role as Sadness in the film '' Inside Out'' ...
as Phyllis Vance, a motherly saleswoman.


Special guest star

*
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 Ca ...
as Michael Scott, the former regional manager of the Scranton branch, who is now happily married to
Holly Flax Hollis Partridge "Holly" Scott (''née'' Flax) is a fictional character from the US television series ''The Office'', played by Amy Ryan. She is an original character, and not based on any character from the British version of the show. Initia ...
in Colorado. He returns to be Dwight’s best man. *
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 received ...
as
Jan Levinson Janet Levinson (formerly Levinson-Gould) is a recurring fictional character from the US television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Melora Hardin. She is the no-nonsense Vice President of Northeast Sales at the paper distribution company Dunde ...
, a former Dunder Mifflin employee, now working at the Scranton White Pages.


Recurring

* Jack Coleman as Robert Lipton, Angela’s husband and a state senator. * Ameenah Kaplan as Val Johnson, a warehouse worker and Darryl’s girlfriend. * Bobby Ray Shafer as Bob Vance, the owner of Vance Refrigeration and Phyllis’ husband. *
Andy Buckley Andrew P. Buckley Jr. (born February 13, 1965) is an American actor and financial analyst best known for his role as David Wallace on the NBC comedy series ''The Office'' from 2006 to 2013. Early life Buckley was born in Salem, Massachusetts, ...
as David Wallace, the owner and CEO of Dunder Mifflin. *
Hugh Dane Hugh Dane (October 21, 1942 – May 16, 2018) was an American character actor. He was best known for playing Hank the security guard on the television sitcom ''The Office'' from 2005 to 2013. Acting career Dane's professional acting career be ...
as Hank Tate, the building’s security guard. *
Chris Diamantopoulos Chris Diamantopoulos (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian actor. He played Russ Hanneman in the HBO series '' Silicon Valley'' and starred in the film '' The Three Stooges'', and the TV series ''Good Girls Revolt''. He currently voices Mickey Mouse ...
as Brian, a boom mic operator. *
Michael Schur Michael Herbert Schur (born 1975) is an American television producer, writer, director and actor. He was a producer and writer for the comedy series ''The Office'', and co-created ''Parks and Recreation'' with ''Office'' producer Greg Daniels. ...
as Mose Schrute, Dwight’s cousin. * Matt L. Jones as Ziek Schrute, Dwight’s cousin and Mose’s brother. *
Nora Kirkpatrick Nora Kirkpatrick (born December 6, 1984) is an American director, writer and musician. Early life Kirkpatrick grew up in rural Iowa. She graduated from La Quinta High School. She graduated with a BA in theater from UCLA School of Theater, Film a ...
as Esther Breugger, Dwight’s girlfriend.


Notable guests

*
David Denman David Denman (born July 25, 1973) is an American actor. He made his film debut in '' The Replacements''. His other feature credits include ''Big Fish'', '' Fair Game'', ''The Nines'', '' Shutter'', ''Smart People'', '' Fanboys'', '' Let Go'', '' ...
as Roy Anderson, a former warehouse worker and Pam’s ex-fiancé. *
Randall Park Randall may refer to the following: Places United States *Randall, California, former name of White Hall, California, an unincorporated community * Randall, Indiana, a former town *Randall, Iowa, a city *Randall, Kansas, a city * Randall, Minneso ...
as Steve, an Asian actor pretending to be Jim. *
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...
as Broccoli Rob, a former member of Here Comes Treble, Andy’s a cappella group. *
Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...
as Walter Bernard Jr., Andy’s brother. *
Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...
as himself *
Ed Lauter Edward Matthew Lauter Jr. ( ; October 30, 1938 – October 16, 2013) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He appeared in more than 200 films and TV series episodes in a career that spanned over 40 years. Early life Lauter was born and ...
as Sam Stone Sr., the owner of a suit warehouse. *
Linda Purl Linda Purl (born September 2, 1955) is an American actress and singer, known for her roles as Ashley Pfister (Fonzie's girlfriend) on '' Happy Days'' (she originally played Gloria as Richie’s date in season 2 episode 6), Sheila Munroe in the 198 ...
as Helene Beesly, Pam’s mother. * Bob Odenkirk as Mark Franks, a regional manager in Philadelphia. *
Zach Woods Zachary Woods (born September 25, 1984) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known for his roles as a series regular for three seasons as Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', as Jared Dunn on the HBO ...
as Gabe Lewis, a former Sabre employee and Erin’s ex-boyfriend, who was fired after the Sabre’s liquidation. *
Collette Wolfe Collette Wolfe (born April 4, 1980) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in films such as ''Observe and Report'' (2009), ''Hot Tub Time Machine'' (2010), ''Young Adult'' (2011), and '' Interstellar'' (2014). Early life Wolf ...
as Alice, Pete’s ex-girlfriend. *
Majandra Delfino Maria Alejandra Delfino ( ; born February 20, 1981), known professionally as Majandra Delfino, is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Maria DeLuca on '' Roswell'', and as Andi on the CBS sitcom ''Friends with Bette ...
as Fannie Schrute, Dwight’s sister. *
Thomas Middleditch Thomas Steven Middleditch (born March 10, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Richard Hendricks in the HBO series '' Silicon Valley'' (2014–2019), earning a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award ...
as Jeb Schrute, Dwight’s brother. *
David Koechner David Michael Koechner ( ; born August 24, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing roles such as Champ Kind in the ''Anchorman'' films and Todd Packer on NBC's ''The Office''. Koechner first became involved in perf ...
as Todd Packer, a rude and offensive man and a former employee of Dunder Mifflin Sabre, who was fired by Robert California. * Ryan Howard as himself *
Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and former presidential candidate. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (1988–1 ...
as Carla Fern, Andy’s agent. *
Clay Aiken Clayton Holmes Aiken (''né'' Grissom; born November 30, 1978) is an American singer, television personality, actor, politician, and activist. Aiken finished second place on the second season of ''American Idol'' in 2003, and his debut album, ' ...
as himself *
Mark McGrath Mark Sayers McGrath (born March 15, 1968) is an American singer who is the lead vocalist of the rock band Sugar Ray. McGrath is also known for his work as a co-host of '' Extra'', and he was the host of '' Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' in 2010. ...
as himself * Aaron Rodgers as himself *
Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. '' Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, S ...
as herself * Ed Begley Jr. as Martin Hannon, Erin’s biological father. *
Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack (; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama '' Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In & Out'' (1997 ...
as Fran Hannon, Erin’s biological mother. *
Dakota Johnson Dakota Mayi Johnson (born October 4, 1989) is an American actress. The daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, she made her film debut at age ten with a minor role in the dark comedy film ''Crazy in Alabama'' (1999) with her mothe ...
as Dakota, an accountant hired to replace Kevin. * Devon Abner as Devon White, a former Dunder Mifflin Employee who was fired by Michael. *
Nancy Carell Nancy Ellen Walls Carell (born July 19, 1966) is an American actress, comedian, and writer best known for her work on ''Saturday Night Live'', ''The Daily Show'' and ''The Office''. In 2016, she co-created the TBS comedy series '' Angie Tribeca' ...
as Carol Stills, a real estate agent.


Casting

Krasinski and Helms were expected to appear in fewer episodes in order to film several upcoming movies. Helms was temporarily written out of the series with a storyline that saw his character travel to the Caribbean with his brother on a boat. As such, Helms made only a small appearance in "
The Whale A whale is a sea mammal. Whale or The Whale may also refer to: Places Extraterrestrial * Cetus, a constellation also known as "The Whale" * Cthulhu Regio on Pluto, unofficially called Whale United Kingdom * Whale, Cumbria, England, a hamlet ...
" and was absent from the following eight episodes. He returned in the episode " Couples Discount". According to TVLine, he returned to work right before the show's Christmas break. Krasinski ultimately continued to appear in every episode, but was frequently absent from the primary Scranton setting as part of a storyline that saw Jim begin a start-up business in Philadelphia. Additionally, Wilson was initially slated to appear in only 13 episodes before leaving for a planned Dwight-centric spin-off, but the spin-off was not picked up by NBC. Mindy Kaling and B. J. Novak have much lesser roles as
Kelly Kapoor Kelly Rajanigandha Kapoor is a fictional character from the American television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Mindy Kaling. She is the customer service representative at the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin from seasons 1 to 8. Followin ...
and Ryan Howard, respectively. Both Kaling and Novak appeared in the season opener "New Guys", and both returned for the series finale. Actress
Catherine Tate Catherine Jane Ford (born 5 December 1969), known professionally as Catherine Tate, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series '' The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007) ...
, who joined the series as a series regular midway through season eight portraying
Nellie Bertram Nellie Bertram is a fictional character on the United States of America, U.S. comedy television series ''The Office (U.S. TV series), The Office'', portrayed by Catherine Tate. She first appears as a guest star in the The Office (U.S. season 7), se ...
, continued with the series.
Clark Duke Clark Duke (born May 5, 1985) is an American actor, comedian, and director known for his roles in the films '' Kick-Ass'', ''Sex Drive'', and ''Hot Tub Time Machine'', as well as playing Clark Green in the TV series ''The Office'', Dale Kettlew ...
and Lacy joined the cast as customer service representatives hired to deal with the many neglected customer service complaints Kelly has amassed over the years; Lacy's character, Pete, is also a love interest for Erin. Kinsey and Wilson also noted that the cast and crew could neither "confirm nor deny" but were "hoping" for a return of
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 Ca ...
as Michael Scott. In mid-December, Krasinski later revealed that he was optimistic about a return; in an interview with
E! Online E! (an initialism for Entertainment Television) is an American basic cable channel which primarily focuses on pop culture, celebrity focused reality shows, and movies, owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of NBCUniver ...
Krasinski said that the producers were supposedly "still trying to figure out arell'sschedule" and that the finale "just wouldn't be the same without him". However, NBC chairman
Robert Greenblatt Robert Greenblatt (born 1959/1960) is an American television executive, former Chairman of NBC Entertainment and former Chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment. He has since launched his production company, The Green Room Early life and educatio ...
later admitted during an interview that while he is "hopeful", he does not think Carell will return; he noted that Carell was satisfied with his character's exit and did not want to tarnish it. On January 16, Daniels revealed that Carell would not appear in the finale in any capacity, a decision that Carell later reiterated. Three months later, however, the producers for ''The Office'' mounted "an 11th-hour effort last month" to get Carell to make a cameo in the show's final episode, according to TVLine. Carell's personal representative confirmed that Carell was on the set for the final episode, but that he did not film any scenes. However, an anonymous source "close to the show" said "don't rule anything out". TVLine later reported on May 6, that Carell would appear in a cameo, although NBC declined to comment and Carell's representatives continued to deny the reports. Carell, however, did end up returning for the finale; his character, Michael Scott, becomes Dwight's best man at his wedding. A month after the episode aired, Carell explained in an interview with TVLine that he "lied for months to the press, to almost everyone, really". He noted that he "felt terribly for the cast and for xecutive producerGreg Daniels, because they all lied, too." Krasinski, on the other hand, explained that "It was so thrilling. We all just flat-out lied … It was just one of those things that we all vowed and had to protect". In addition to Carell, the season also saw the return of several "veteran cast members". Former series regular
David Denman David Denman (born July 25, 1973) is an American actor. He made his film debut in '' The Replacements''. His other feature credits include ''Big Fish'', '' Fair Game'', ''The Nines'', '' Shutter'', ''Smart People'', '' Fanboys'', '' Let Go'', '' ...
was the first to do so, appearing as Roy Anderson in the second episode of the season " Roy's Wedding"; he was last seen as part of the '' Threat Level Midnight'' film in season seven.
Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...
reprised his role as Andy's brother, Walter Jr, appearing in the episode "The Boat".
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 received ...
returned as
Jan Levinson Janet Levinson (formerly Levinson-Gould) is a recurring fictional character from the US television series ''The Office'', portrayed by Melora Hardin. She is the no-nonsense Vice President of Northeast Sales at the paper distribution company Dunde ...
in the episode "The Whale" and had a small vocal cameo in the episode "Couples Discount". "Junior Salesman" saw the return of several minor characters, including
Lance Krall Lance Krall (born December 9, 1970) is an American producer, screenwriter, and actor of half Vietnamese descent. He became well known after his portrayal as "Kip" in the role in faux-reality show ''The Joe Schmo Show''. He went on to create ...
as Sensei Ira (who first appeared in the second-season episode " The Fight"),
Noel Petok Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city * Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * 1563 Noël, an asteroid *Mount Noel, Briti ...
as Troy Underbridge (who first appeared in the fourth-season episode " Night Out"),
Beth Grant Beth Grant (born September 18, 1949) is an American character actress. Between 2012 and 2017, she was a series regular on the television comedy '' The Mindy Project'' in the role of Beverly Janoszewski. She is also known for her role as Gracie ...
as Dwight's babysitter (who first appeared in the fourth-season episode " Dinner Party"), and
James Urbaniak James Christian Urbaniak (born September 17, 1963) is an American character actor. He is best known for his roles as Simon Grim in three Hal Hartley films: '' Henry Fool'' (1997), '' Fay Grim'' (2006) and '' Ned Rifle'' (2014), Robert Crumb in ...
as Rolf (who first appeared in the fifth-season episode " Company Picnic"). Although cast member
Zach Woods Zachary Woods (born September 25, 1984) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known for his roles as a series regular for three seasons as Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', as Jared Dunn on the HBO ...
' series regular contract was not renewed for the season, he returned to the series as a guest star, in the episode "Moving On".
David Koechner David Michael Koechner ( ; born August 24, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing roles such as Champ Kind in the ''Anchorman'' films and Todd Packer on NBC's ''The Office''. Koechner first became involved in perf ...
returned as Todd Packer in "The Farm". "Finale" also featured the return of several recurring characters, such as
Nancy Carell Nancy Ellen Walls Carell (born July 19, 1966) is an American actress, comedian, and writer best known for her work on ''Saturday Night Live'', ''The Daily Show'' and ''The Office''. In 2016, she co-created the TBS comedy series '' Angie Tribeca' ...
as Carol Stills (who played the recurring role of Michael's real-estate agent and short-time girlfriend), Sendhil Ramamurthy as Ravi, Jackie Debatin as Elizabeth (who first appeared in the third season episode "
Ben Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading intel ...
"), Devon Abner as Devon (who was a former Dunder Mifflin employee fired in " Halloween"), and Spencer Daniels as Jake Palmer (who first played Meredith's son in the season two episode " Take Your Daughter to Work Day").
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...
guest starred in the Halloween episode as Broccoli Rob, a former member of Here Comes Treble, Andy's a cappella group. The episode "Lice" guest starred
Julius Erving Julius Winfield Erving II (born February 22, 1950), commonly known by the nickname Dr. J, is an American former professional basketball player. Erving helped legitimize the American Basketball Association (ABA), and he was the best-known player ...
playing himself as an investor in Jim's sports marketing business. Former NBC co-chairman and ''The Office'' executive producer Ben Silverman had a minor recurring role as one of Jim's colleagues. He appeared in the episodes "Here Comes Treble", "
Suit Warehouse "Suit Warehouse" is the eleventh episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the 187th episode overall. The episode was written by Dan Greaney and directed by Matt Sohn. It originally aired on NBC on Ja ...
", " Customer Loyalty", and "Moving On". The fourteenth episode, "Junior Salesmen", featured several guest stars. These included
Eric Wareheim Eric Alexander Wareheim (; born April 7, 1976) is an American comedian, actor, writer, director, musician, and winemaker. He is best known as one half of the comedy duo Tim & Eric, alongside Tim Heidecker. He also had a recurring role on the Netf ...
as Gabor, Matt L. Jones as Zeke, and Will McCormack as Wolf. In the episode " Promos", athlete Ryan Howard played a version of himself. Comedian
Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and former presidential candidate. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (1988–1 ...
had a two-episode arc as a talent agent named Carla Fern, and first appeared in the episode " Stairmageddon".
Michael Imperioli Michael Imperioli (born March 26, 1966) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO crime drama ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Ou ...
guest starred in the episode "
Livin' the Dream "Livin' the Dream" is the twenty-first episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'' and the 197th episode overall. It originally aired on NBC on May 2, 2013. The episode guest stars Michael Imperioli as Sens ...
" as Sensei Billy, acting as a foil for Dwight. The episode "A.A.R.M." guest starred Aaron Rodgers,
Clay Aiken Clayton Holmes Aiken (''né'' Grissom; born November 30, 1978) is an American singer, television personality, actor, politician, and activist. Aiken finished second place on the second season of ''American Idol'' in 2003, and his debut album, ' ...
,
Mark McGrath Mark Sayers McGrath (born March 15, 1968) is an American singer who is the lead vocalist of the rock band Sugar Ray. McGrath is also known for his work as a co-host of '' Extra'', and he was the host of '' Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' in 2010. ...
,
Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. '' Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, S ...
, and Jessica St. Clair, all playing themselves. The series finale guest starred:
Rachael Harris Rachael Elaine Harris (born January 12, 1968) is an American actress and comedian. She is known for her numerous acting roles, such as starring as Dr. Linda Martin in ''Lucifer'', her role in the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' film series, and as a g ...
as Angela's sister;
Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack (; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama '' Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In & Out'' (1997 ...
and Ed Begley Jr. as Erin's biological parents; Malcolm Barrett as Stanley's replacement; and
Bill Hader William Thomas Hader Jr.''Finding Your Roots'', January 26, 2016, PBS. (born June 7, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the creator, producer, writer, director, and star of the HBO dark comedy series ''Barry'' (201 ...
and Seth Meyers as themselves.


Reception


Ratings

The season aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m., as part of the Comedy Night Done Right programming block. The season premiere, "
New Guys "New Guys" is the first episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series ''The Office'', and the show's 177th episode overall. It originally aired on NBC on September 20, 2012. The episode was written and directed by ser ...
" received a 2.1/6 percent share in the Nielsen ratings among viewers aged 18 to 49, meaning that 2.1 percent of viewers aged 18 to 49 watched the episode, and 6 percent of viewers watching television at the time watched the episode. The episode was viewed by 4.28 million viewers and became the lowest-rated season premiere for the series. In addition, it marked a 46 percent drop in viewership from the season eight premiere " The List". For the first sixteen episodes, the series was able to maintain roughly 4 million viewers. However, starting with the seventeenth episode "The Farm", ratings began to drop below this threshold. The series hit an all-time low with the twentieth episode, "Paper Airplane", which was viewed by only 3.25 million viewers, and received a 1.7 rating/5 percent share. The series finale was viewed by 5.69 million viewers and received a 3.0 rating among adults between the ages of 18 and 49. This made it the highest-rated episode of the season; it also marked an increase in the previous season finale, which garnered only 4.49 million viewers. "Finale" was the most watched episode of ''The Office'' since the eighth season episode "
Pool Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...
", but ranked as the third-least watched finale of the series, following the eighth- and first-season finales.Alt URL
/ref> Although in its ninth season, ''The Office'' no longer was NBC's highest-rated scripted comedy series—it was surpassed by ''
Go On Go On may refer to: * Go On (TV series), ''Go On'' (TV series), a TV series starring Matthew Perry * ''Go On...'', the third album by American pop band Mr. Mister * Go On (George Strait song), "Go On" (George Strait song), a country music song reco ...
''—it often ranked as the highest-rated scripted NBC series on Thursday nights. Rainn Wilson argued that the show's lower ratings were a combination of the overall trend in lower television ratings in 2012, as well as the fact that "NBC didn't promote he seriesone bit". NBC increased their usual ad-price by 200 percent for the finale, asking for $400,000 per commercial. This was largely due to the anticipated increase in viewership that the finale would bring. The season ranked as the ninety-fourth most watched television series during the 2012–13 season, with an average of 5.061 million viewers. The season also tied with the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
series ''
Rules of Engagement Rules of engagement (ROE) are the internal rules or directives afforded military forces (including individuals) that define the circumstances, conditions, degree, and manner in which the use of force, or actions which might be construed as pro ...
'' and the Fox series '' American Dad!'' to be the forty-third most watched television series in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic. In this category, the show received a 2.6 rating. This meant that, on average, the season was viewed by 2.6 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds. It was viewed by 3.32 million in this demographic. In terms of viewers, the ninth season ranked as the lowest-rated season of ''The Office'', although it beat the first season's ranking, which was the 102nd most watched program for the 2004–05 year.


Critical response

The ninth season of ''The Office'' received moderately positive reviews from television critics. Based on seven critiques, review aggregation website
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 ...
gave the ninth season of the show a 64 out of 100 rating, which denotes "generally favorable reviews". Entertainment website Holy Moly named the series one of the best shows during the 2012–13 season, writing that "this final season of ''The Office'' has been great" largely due to the fact that "every single relationship in the show rings true with the audience." Michael Tedder of ''
Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
'' commented that he was "willing to call it the fourth best season of the show overall, which is by no means faint praise." He explained that this was largely due to the fact that the "final season was a chance to see how everyone else would end up". Emily VanDerWerff of ''
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 cre ...
'' wrote that "the tension between Jim and Pam in the final season ended up being highly controversial for a number of reasons ... but it also provided the most hopeful moments of the series' final stretch" (although she did note that it was clear that the writers had "blatantly" set up the drama). She concluded that the finale was able to successfully return the series "to what had always been its heart—to have true fulfillment". Roth Cornet of
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
awarded the season an 8.5 out of 10, denoting a "great" year. She felt that the character growth in the final few episodes was particularly well executed, and the last stretch of the season helped raise it after a rocky start; ultimately, she felt that the writers were able to craft the proper ending for the show. She was, however, critical of Andy's characterization, noting that he was merely used as a plot device when convenient. Many critics argued that the season was an improvement, in both writing and humor, over the previous season. Several specific episodes received praise. Andrea Reiher of Zap2it named "Dwight Christmas" the best comedy TV episode of 2012. She wrote that the episode "was not only funny but had a huge nostalgia factor", and continued the show's trend of strong Christmas episodes. Reiher also praised the episode's two subplots, writing that "drunk Darryl and ''Die Hard''" helped produce "a classic episode of ''The Office'' that brought back the warm and fuzzy feelings of the early seasons of the show." The season's penultimate entry, " A.A.R.M.", received a glowing response from many critics.
Alan Sepinwall Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...
of
HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...
wrote that the episode was "surprisingly ... terrific in most areas." Roth Cornet of
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
noted that "The interplay between Jim, Dwight, and Pam has been the core of the series since Michael Scott's departure, and it was good to see the trio front and center once again as ''The Office'' comes to a close." The series finale, in particular, was praised by critics. Sepinwall called it "a tremendously satisfying conclusion to a show that could make us gasp with laughter, but that could also make us cry or smile". Cornet wrote that it "was a strong hour of television ndthe finale shone and delivered on all of its promise." Nick Campbell of
TV.com TV.com was a website owned by Red Ventures that covered television series and episodes with a focus on English-language shows made or broadcast in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Origin ...
wrote that the episode was "just right" for the series. Other episodes were not received as positively. "Lice", for instance, was called "terrible" by Campbell, as well as the "epitome of filler" by Brett Davinger of ''The California Literary Review''. "The Farm" was largely derided due to its uneven nature, and the broad humor that it used. The reveal of the in-series documentary crew in "Customer Loyalty" received large amounts of critical attention.
E! Online E! (an initialism for Entertainment Television) is an American basic cable channel which primarily focuses on pop culture, celebrity focused reality shows, and movies, owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of NBCUniver ...
named the reveal one of the "Best TV Moments of the Week". Verne Gay of '' Newsday'' called the scene a "historic" moment for the show. Conversely, Myles McNutt of ''The A.V. Club'' wrote an article that argued that the mockumentary format made the camera "an audience surrogate", and that by revealing the documentary crew, "the audience no longer felt welcome". The subplot involving Brian (played by
Chris Diamantopoulos Chris Diamantopoulos (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian actor. He played Russ Hanneman in the HBO series '' Silicon Valley'' and starred in the film '' The Three Stooges'', and the TV series ''Good Girls Revolt''. He currently voices Mickey Mouse ...
), a boom mic operator for the in-series documentary, was met with mostly negative reviews. Michael Tedder of ''Vulture'' called it "the least interesting way this camera crew reveal could have gone". Dan Forcella of TV Fanatic criticized the reintroduction of the character in the episode "Promos", noting that his reappearance felt "forced". McNutt called it "an abandoned novelty". Daniels later revealed in an interview that the subplot was a red herring to keep viewers emotionally invested in Pam and Jim's story. He explained, "we never intended him to actually nterfere with Pam and Jim's marriage but wanted people to worry about it so they would be engaged in the story."


Awards

On December 12, 2012, the series was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, but lost to ''
Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of th ...
''. Michael Scott's return was nominated and won the fan-voted "Best TV Moment" at the 3rd Critics' Choice Television Awards on June 10, 2013. Greg Daniels was nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series is an annual award presented as part of the Primetime Emmy Awards. It recognizes writing excellence in regular comedic series, most of which can generally be described as situat ...
at the
65th Primetime Emmy Awards The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in prime time television programming from June 1, 2012 until May 31, 2013, were held on Sunday, September 22, 2013 at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. CBS televised the cer ...
for "Finale". "Finale" was also nominated for an Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series Emmy and an Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series Emmy; David Rogers and Claire Scanlon for "Finale" won the latter, marking the fifth win for ''The Office'' at the Emmys overall and the series' first win since 2009. Rogers and Scanlon also won an American Cinema Editors award for Best Edited Half-Hour Series for Television. In addition, the web documentary "The Office: The Farewells", which aired on NBC.com prior to the series' conclusion, was nominated for an Outstanding Special Class Program Creative Arts Emmy Award.


Episodes

In the following table, "U.S. viewers (million)" refers to the number of Americans who viewed the episode on the night of broadcast. Episodes are listed by the order in which they aired, and may not necessarily correspond to their production codes. denotes an hour-long episode (with advertisements; actual runtime around 42 minutes).
denotes an extended 75-minute episode (with advertisements; actual runtime around 52 minutes).


Home media release


Notes


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Office (American season 9), The 2012 American television seasons 2013 American television seasons