The Office is an American comedy television series broadcast by NBC. It is an adaptation of the previous BBC series of the same name. The Office was adapted for American audiences by Greg Daniels, a veteran writer for Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill, and The Simpsons. It is co-produced by Daniels' Deedle-Dee Productions, and Reveille Productions, in association with Universal Television. The original executive producers were Daniels, Howard Klein, Ben Silverman, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, with numerous others being promoted in later seasons.
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. To simulate the look of an actual documentary, it is filmed in a single-camera setup, without a studio audience or a laugh track. The show debuted on NBC as a midseason replacement on March 24, 2005[1] and features Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B. J. Novak and Ed Helms among the main cast. Series star Carell, who portrays Michael Scott, left the series near the end of the seventh season.[2] Since its debut, the show has aired 162 half-hour episodes and the eighth season premiered on September 22, 2011, with James Spader joining the cast, and Ed Helms, who portrays Andy Bernard, assuming the new role of Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin.
The Office has received critical acclaim and has been included on several top TV series lists, although recent seasons have been criticized for a declining quality. The series has also won several awards including four Primetime Emmy Awards, one of which for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2006. The series initially debuted to low ratings before series star Steve Carell appeared in the film The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Following the film's release, the series became the highest rated scripted series on NBC and was eventually chosen to follow Super Bowl XLIII. Off-network syndication of The Office began in late 2007, notably on TBS and Fox-owned stations in the United States.[3]
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Greg Daniels served as the series showrunner for the first four seasons of the series and developed the British series for American television. He then had to leave for Parks and Recreation and switches off his time between the two shows.[4] Paul Lieberstein and Jennifer Celotta were named the series showrunners for the fifth season.[5] Celotta left the series after the sixth season and Lieberstein stayed on as showrunner for the following seasons while Daniel Chun serves as the series head writer.[6][7] Other executive producers include cast members B. J. Novak and Mindy Kaling.[8][9] Kaling, Novak, Daniels, Lieberstein and former Office writer Michael Schur made up the original team of writers.[10] Credited with twenty-four episodes, Kaling is the most prolific writer on The Office writing staff.[11] Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who created the original British series, are credited as executive producers, and co-wrote the pilot as well as writing the third season episode, "The Convict".[12] Merchant later directed the episode "Customer Survey" while Gervais appeared in the episodes "The Seminar" and "Search Committee".[13][14]
Before the series aired its second episode, the writers spent time researching in offices.[15] This process was used for Daniels' other series King of the Hill and Parks and Recreation.[15] The pilot is a direct adaptation of the first episode of the British version.[16] Daniels had decided to go through this route because "completely starting from scratch would be a very risky thing to do" due to the show being an adaptation.[16] He had briefly considered using the idea for "The Dundies" as the pilot episode.[17] 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".[16] Following the mixed reaction towards the first season, the writers attempted to make the series more "optimistic" and make Michael more likable.[18] They also established the supporting characters of the series more, giving them actual personalities and made the lights to the office brighter, which allowed the series to differentiate itself from the British version.[18]
A complete script is written for each episode of The Office; however, actors are given opportunities to improvise during the shooting process. Fischer said that "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."[19] This leads to a large amount 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.[20] Deleted scenes have sometimes been restored in repeats to make episodes longer or draw people who have seen the episode before back to see the bonus footage. In an experiment, a deleted scene from "The Return" was made available over NBC.com and iTunes; explaining the absence of a character over the next several episodes.[20] Daniels hoped that word of mouth among fans would spread the information, but eventually considered the experiment a failure.[20]
The series went through a unique casting process which excluded a script unlike other television series.[21] The producers would ask the actor/actress several questions and they would respond as the character they were auditioning for.[21] NBC programmer Kevin Reilly originally suggested Paul Giamatti to producer Ben Silverman for the role of Michael Scott, but the actor declined. Martin Short, Hank Azaria and Bob Odenkirk were also reported to be interested.[22] In January 2004, Variety reported Steve Carell, of the popular Comedy Central program The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, was in talks to play the role. At the time, he was already committed to another NBC mid-season replacement comedy, Come to Papa,[23] but the series was quickly canceled, leaving him fully committed to The Office. Carell later stated 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.[24] Rainn Wilson, who was cast as the power-hungry sycophant Dwight Schrute, watched every episode of the series before he auditioned.[25] Wilson had originally auditioned for Michael, a performance he described as a "terrible Ricky Gervais impersonation"; however, the casting directors liked his audition as Dwight much more and hired him for the role.[25]
John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer were virtual unknowns before being cast in their respective roles as Jim and Pam, the central love interests. Krasinski had attended school with, and was a friend of B. J. Novak.[26] Krasinski recalled accidentally insulting Greg Daniels while waiting to audition for the series, telling him, "I hope [the show's developers] don't screw this up." Daniels then introduced himself and told Krasinski who he was.[27] Fischer prepared for her audition by looking as boring as possible, creating the original Pam hairstyle.[28] In an interview on NPR's Fresh Air, 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.[21]
The supporting cast includes actors known for their improv work: Angela Kinsey, Kate Flannery, Oscar Nunez, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Melora Hardin, and David Denman.[29] 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.[30] Flannery first auditioned for the part of Jan Levenson-Gould, before landing the role of Meredith Palmer.[31] Baumgartner originally auditioned for Stanley, but was eventually cast as Kevin.[32] Ken Kwapis liked the way Phyllis Smith, a casting associate, read with other actors auditioning so much that he cast her as Phyllis.[33] At the beginning of the third season, Ed Helms and Rashida Jones joined the cast as members of Dunder Mifflin Stamford. While Jones would later leave the cast for a role on Parks and Recreation, in February 2007, NBC announced that Helms was being promoted to a series regular.[34]
Four of the show's writers have also stepped in front of the camera. B. J. Novak was cast as reluctant temp Ryan Howard after Daniels saw his stand-up act. Paul Lieberstein was cast as human resources director Toby Flenderson on Novak's suggestion after his cold readings of scripts.[29] Greg Daniels was originally unsure where to use the Indian American Mindy Kaling on-screen in the series until the opportunity came in the second episode's script, where Michael needed to be slapped by a minority. "Since [that slap], I've been on the show" (as Kelly Kapoor), says Kaling.[33] Michael Schur has also made occasional 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, and Lucy Davis from the British version of The Office to appear in the third season,[35][36] but those plans were scrapped due to scheduling conflicts.[37]
The Office is filmed with a single-camera setup in a cinéma vérité style simulating the look of an actual documentary, with no studio audience or laugh track, allowing for its "deadpan" and "absurd" humor to fully come across.[38] The primary vehicle for the show is that a camera crew has decided to film Dunder Mifflin and its employees, seemingly around the clock.[38] The presence of the camera is acknowledged by the characters, especially Michael Scott, who enthusiastically participates in the filming.[39] The characters, especially Jim and Pam, also look towards the camera when Michael creates an awkward situation.[21] The main action of the show is supplemented with talking-head interviews or "confessionals", with the characters speaking one on one with the camera crew about the day's events.[21]
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.[39] According to producer Michael Schur, the producers to the series would follow the documentary format strictly.[40] The producers would have long discussions over whether a scene could work under the documentary format.[40] For example, in the fourth season episode "Did I Stutter?" a scene would feature 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 to the whole scene in order to see if a camera man could get to all these places in time to shoot the whole scene.[40] Despite the strict nature in the early years of the series, recent seasons seem to have loosened the rules on the format, with the camera crew often going into places actual documentary crews wouldn't, which has also changed the writing and comedy-style of the series.[41] This inconsistency has received criticism from critics and fans.[41][42]
The theme song for The Office was written by Jay Ferguson and performed by The Scrantones.[43] It is played over the title sequence, which features scenes of Scranton and various tasks around the office. 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, which previously rolled in silence. The exteriors of buildings in the title sequence are actual buildings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and were shot by cast member John Krasinski.[44] The mockumentary format of the show contains no laugh track, and most of the music is diegetic, with songs either sung or played by the characters or heard on radios, computers, or other devices.[45] However, songs have been played during montages or the closing credits, such as "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John ("The Dundies") and "Islands in the Stream" by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton ("E-mail Surveillance").[17] 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" as his cell phone ringtone.[45] Daniels has said that it doesn't count as film score as long as it already appeared in the episode.[17]
The Office employs an ensemble cast. Many characters portrayed by The Office cast are based on the British version of the show. While these characters normally have the same attitude and perceptions as their British counterparts, the roles have been redesigned to better fit the American show. The show is known for its generally large cast size, with many of its actors and actresses known particularly for their improvisational work. Steve Carell stars as Michael Scott, Regional Manager of the Dunder Mifflin Scranton Branch. Loosely based on David Brent, Gervais' character in the British version, Scott is a dim-witted and lonely man, who attempts to win friends as the office comedian, usually making himself look bad in the process. Rainn Wilson portrays Dwight Schrute, who, based upon Gareth Keenan, is the Assistant to the Regional Manager, although the character frequently fails to include "to the" in his title.[46] John Krasinski portrays Jim Halpert, a sales representative, assistant manager, and prankster, who is based upon Tim Canterbury, and is in love with Pam Beesly, the receptionist.[47] Pam, who is based on Dawn Tinsley, is shy, but in many cases a cohort with Jim in his pranks on Dwight.[48] B. J. Novak portrays Ryan Howard, who for the first two seasons is a temporary worker, but is promoted to sales representative in the third season and later ascends to the position of Vice President, North East Region and Director of New Media until his treachery was exposed for corporate fraud and he was fired, ending up again as the temporary worker at the Scranton branch.[49]
The accounting department features Angela Martin, an admitted uptight and often hypocritical Christian who wishes to keep things orderly and make sure situations remain as serious as possible; Kevin Malone, a clueless, overweight man who revels in juvenile humor and frequently indulges himself with gambling and M&Ms; and the patient Oscar Martinez, whose homosexuality and Hispanic heritage made him a favorite target for Michael's unintentional off-color comments. Rounding out the office are the stern salesman Stanley Hudson, who barely stood for Michael's constant references to his Black-American heritage (he also doesn't like to take part in time wasting meetings and sometimes sleeps in them or works on one of his crossword puzzles); eccentric quality assurance representative Creed Bratton; the kind and caring saleswoman Phyllis Lapin-Vance, who marries Bob Vance from Vance Refrigeration across the hall from the office; the bubbly and talkative customer service representative Kelly Kapoor; the promiscuous alcoholic single mother supply relations representative Meredith Palmer; frequent target of Michael's abuse, human resources representative Toby Flenderson; warehouse foreman Darryl Philbin; warehouse dock worker and Pam's ex-fiancé Roy Anderson, who was fired in the third season; and Michael's former love interest and former Vice President for Regional Sales for Dunder Mifflin Jan Levenson. At the end of season five, new receptionist Erin Hannon is introduced as Pam's replacement. Gabe Lewis, introduced near the end of season six, is a Sabre employee who is assigned to the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch as the Regional Director of Sales. A story arc at the start of season five has Holly Flax transferred to the office as Toby's replacement. She acts as a love interest for Michael, as they share very similar personalities. Robert California is the CEO of Sabre, and his first order is to promote Andy to the Scranton managerial post.
Initially the actors who portray the other office workers were credited as guest stars before they were named series regulars during the second season.[50] The show's large ensemble has been 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.[51] Carell was reportedly paid $175,000 starting with the third season.[52] Krasinski and Fischer were paid around $20,000 for the beginning of the series.[52] Starting with the fourth season, the two started getting paid around $100,000 per episode.[52]
A typical episode for a half-hour time slot runs 20-and-a-half minutes.[53] The final episode of season two introduced the first of what would be several super-sized episodes that are approximately 28-minute running time for a 40-minute time slot.[54] Season three introduced the first of occasional hour-long episodes (approximately 42-minute running time; suitable for being shown as two separate normal episodes).[55]
The first season consisted of six episodes. The series begins by introducing the office's workers via a tour given by branch manager Michael Scott for both the camera crew and a first-day temp (Ryan Howard).[56] The audience learns salesman Jim Halpert has a crush on receptionist Pam Beesly (who helps him play pranks on co-worker Dwight Schrute), even though she is engaged to Roy (who works in the building's lower-level warehouse). News spreads throughout the office that Dunder Mifflin's corporate headquarters is planning to downsize an entire branch, leading to general anxiety, but Michael chooses to deny or downplay the realities of the situation in order to maintain employee morale.
The second season was the series' first full (twenty-two episode) season, and had its first 40-minute "super-sized" episode. Many workers seen in the background of the first season were developed into secondary characters, while the general threat of downsizing continued. Romantic relationships begin to develop between some of the characters. Michael spends the night with his boss Jan, in the wake of the latter's divorce, but does not sleep with her.[57] Dwight and Angela become romantically involved,[58] but keep the relationship a secret from everyone else. Kelly develops a crush on Ryan, and they start dating. When Roy sets a date for his wedding to Pam,[59] Jim grows depressed and considers transferring to the Stamford, Connecticut branch, but tells Pam in the season finale that he loves her, even though Pam still insists she will marry Roy. The two kiss, but Jim transfers to the Stamford branch soon after.[60]
The third season consisted of 25 half-hours of material, divided into 17 half-hour episodes, four 40-minute "super-sized" episodes, and two one-hour episodes. Jim briefly transfers to Stamford branch after Pam confirmed her commitment to Roy, before corporate is forced to merge the Stamford branch and staff into the Scranton branch.[61] Included in the transfer to Scranton are Karen Filippelli, with whom Jim has developed a relationship, and the anger-prone Andy Bernard. Pam is newly single after calling off her marriage and relationship to Roy prior to the merger, and Jim's unresolved feelings for her and new relationship with Karen lead to shifting tensions amongst the three. Meanwhile, Michael and Jan's relationship escalates which causes her to behave erratically on the job while Dwight and Angela continue their 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 that day for poor performance. Jim wins and rejects the offer off-screen,[62] opting instead to return to Scranton without Karen and asks Pam out on a date, which she joyfully accepts. In the final scene, we learn Ryan has been awarded Jan's job due to his business school credentials.[63]
NBC ordered a full fourth season of 30 half-hour episodes, but ended with only 19 due to a halt in production caused by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.[64][65] The season consisted of 9 half-hour episodes, and 5 hour-long episodes to comprise the 19 total episodes of material created. Karen has left the Scranton branch after her breakup with Jim, and becomes regional manager at the Utica branch.[66] Pam and Jim date happily.[67] An unemployed Jan moves in with Michael, until the dissolution of their relationship midway through the season. After Dwight's crude (though well-intentioned) method of euthanasia of Angela's ailing cat without her permission,[68] 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 committing fraud related to the website's sales numbers. Toby, embarrassed after accidentally revealing an affection for Pam, announces he is moving to Costa Rica, and is replaced by Holly Flax, who quickly shows fondness towards Michael. Pam decides to follow her artistic interests and attend a three-month graphic design course at the Pratt Institute in New York City. In the season finale Andy proposes to Angela, who reluctantly agrees. Phyllis then catches Dwight and Angela having sex in the office.[69]
The fifth season consisted 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.[70] Jim and Pam become engaged, and she 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 returns to Dunder Mifflin as a temp. Michael initiates a romance with Holly until she is transfered to the Nashua, New Hampshire branch and the relationship ends. When Andy is made aware of Dwight and Angela's continued affair, both men leave her.[71] Newly hired Vice President Charles Miner implements a rigid managerial style over the branch that causes Michael to resign in protest.[72] Michael opens the Michael Scott Paper Company, enticing Pam and Ryan to join as salespeople, and though his business model is ultimately unsustainable, Dunder Mifflin's profits are immediately threatened.[73] 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, new receptionist Erin is hired to fill the vacancy originally left by Pam. The season's finale ends with a cliffhanger ending hinting that Pam might be pregnant.[74]
The sixth season consisted 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 Ceceila Marie Halpert.[75] Meanwhile, Andy and Erin develop mutual interest in one another, but find their inherent awkwardness inhibits his attempts to ask her out on a date. Rumors of bankruptcy begin to surround Dunder Mifflin. 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. In the season finale, Dwight buys the office park. Michael agrees to make an announcement to the press regarding the faulty printers. When Jo asks how she can repay him, Michael responds that she could bring Holly back to the Scranton branch.[76]
The seventh season consisted of 26 half-hours of material, divided into 22 half-hour episodes and two hour-long episodes.[77] This is the final season for Steve Carell, who plays the lead character Michael Scott, as Carell wanted to move on after his contract expired during this season.[2] Beginning with this season, Zach Woods, who portrays Gabe Lewis, was promoted to a series regular.[78] Erin and Gabe have begun a relationship, much to Andy's chagrin, and he attempts to win her affection back. Michael's former girlfriend, Holly returns to Scranton to fill in for Toby who is doing jury duty for the "Scranton Strangler" trial. The two eventually restart their relationship. After the two get engaged, he then reveals he will be leaving Scranton to go to Colorado with Holly in order to support her elderly parents. After Michael's replacement (Will Ferrell) is seriously injured Jo creates a search committee to interview candidates and choose a new manager for the office.
The eighth season premiered on September 22, 2011.[79] James Spader reprises his role as Robert California, the new CEO of Sabre-Dunder Mifflin.[80] Pam and Jim are expecting their second child at the start of the season, to coincide with Fischer's real life pregnancy.[81] Andy is then promoted to regional manager and works hard to make a good impression on Robert, and tasks Dwight to be his number two.[82] Darryl starts falling for warehouse worker, Val.[83]
The Office has had product placement deals with Staples[84] and the Olympic baler,[85] as well as mentioning in dialogue or displaying clear logos for products such as Sandals Resorts, HP, Apple, and Gateway computers, and Activision's Call of Duty video game series. In "The Merger", Kevin Malone uses a Staples-branded shredding machine to shred a Staples-branded CD-R and many other non-paper items, including a salad.[84] As with HP, Cisco Systems, a supplier of networking and telephone equipment, pays 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 is less noticeable with the Cisco phones.[86] In "The Secret" Michael takes Jim to Hooters[87] 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[88] restaurants were used for filming in "The Dundies" and "The Client", as the writers believed they were realistic choices for a company party and business lunch.[89][90] 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.[89] Apple Inc. received over four minutes of publicity for the iPod when it was used as a much-desired gift in "Christmas Party", though the company did not pay for the placement.[91] Several Apple products have been featured on the series including iPod Classic, iPhone, iBook, MacBook Pro, eMac, and iMac. Adobe products such as Flash, Photoshop and Premiere have also been mentioned or shown. Web sites such as Craigslist, TripAdvisor, Monster, YouTube and Wikipedia are often mentioned. The appearance of Second Life in the episode "Local Ad" was rated eighth in the top ten most effective product placements of 2007.[92] The Office was the only non-reality show to make the list, and Second Life was the only product on the list that did not pay for its placement.[93]
"The Office has one of the best casts on television. [...] It also has created several compelling characters and touching relationships, all of which is fairly remarkable for a half hour comedy."
Before the show aired, Gervais acknowledged that there were feelings of hesitation from certain viewers.[95] The first season of The Office was met with a mixed-to-negative response from critics with some of them comparing it to the short-lived NBC series Coupling which was based on a British version.[96][97] The New York Daily News called it "so diluted there's little left but muddy water," and USA Today called it a "passable imitation of a miles-better BBC original."[98] A Guardian Unlimited review panned its lack of originality, stating, "(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."[99] Tom Shales of the Washington Post said it was "not the mishmash that [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."[97]
The second season was better received. James Poniewozik of Time 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."[100] He named it the second best TV show of 2006 after Battlestar Galactica.[100] Entertainment Weekly 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."[101] The A.V. Club 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."[102]
The series has been included on several top TV series lists. Time's James Poniewozik named it the second best TV series of 2006,[100] and the sixth best returning series of 2007, out of ten TV series.[103] He also included it on his "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME" list.[104] The show was also named the best show of 2006 by BuddyTV.[105] Metacritic named it the thirteenth most mentioned series on "Best of Decade" top-ten lists[106] while Paste named it the sixth best sitcom of 2010.[107] The show has some superficial similarities to the comic-strip Dilbert, which also features employees coping with an inept superior. John Spector, CEO of The Conference Board, says that both show the impact a leader can have, for good or bad. Dilbert creator Scott Adams 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."[108] A labor-affiliated group praised the episode "Boys and Girls" for what it considered an unusually frank depiction of union busting on American television.[109] The third season of The Office got a 85/100 score on Metacritic,[110] while the sixth season of got a 78/100 score.[111]
"'The Office' now is a pale, listless shadow of what it used to be."
Recent seasons have been criticized for a dip in quality. The sixth season received criticisms for a lack of stakes for the characters.[113][114] Several critics and fans have also criticized the conclusion to the Jim and Pam romance.[115][116][117] The Office co-creator Ricky Gervais wrote in his blog, referring to "Search Committee" particularly Warren Buffett's guest appearance, "If you're going to jump a shark, jump a big one." and compared the episode to the Chris Martin episode of Gervais's other series, Extras.[12] He later said "I fucking didn't [diss The Office], that's for sure".[12] Many critics have said the series should have ended after the departure of Steve Carell.[118][119] Despite this, Paul Lieberstein said that the series can last for a few more seasons and cast members John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer have said they will stay on series as long as it lasts.[120][121] Still, there are recent episodes that have received critical acclaim, including "Stress Relief", "Niagara", "Garage Sale" and "Goodbye, Michael".[122][123][124][42]
As of 2011, the series has received 26 Primetime Emmy Awards nominations, with four wins. It has won for Outstanding Comedy Series in season two, Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series (Greg Daniels for "Gay Witch Hunt"), Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series (Jeffrey Blitz for "Stress Relief") and Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series. Many cast and crew members have expressed anger that Carell did not receive an Emmy award for his performance in the series.[125].[126] Despite this, Carell won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Comedy or Musical in 2006. The series has also been named the best TV series by the American Film Institute in 2006 and 2008[127][128] and won two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2006 and 2007.[51]
Premiering on Thursday, March 24, 2005, after an episode of The Apprentice on NBC, The Office brought in 11.2 million viewers in the U.S., winning its time slot.[98] When NBC moved the series to its intended Tuesday night slot, it lost nearly half its audience with only 5.9 million viewers.[129] The program averaged 5.4 million viewers, ranking it #102 for the 2004–2005 U.S. television season.[130] "Hot Girl", the first season's finale, rated a 2.2 with a 10 audience measurement share, the lowest rating in the show's history. Episodes were also rerun on CNBC.[131]
As the second season started, the success of Carell's hit summer movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin and online sales of episodes at iTunes helped the show.[132] The increase in viewership led NBC to move the series to the "Must See TV" Thursday night in January 2006, where ratings continued to grow. By the 2005–2006 season, it placed #67 (tied with 20/20). It averaged 8.0 million viewers with a 10/10 rating, and was up 80% in viewers from the year before and up 60% in viewers ages 18–49.[133] The series has since ranked as NBC's highest rated scripted series.[134] The highest rated episode of the series is "Stress Relief", which received 22.9 million viewers mainly because the episode aired after Super Bowl XLII.[135] Despite this, recent seasons have dropped in the ratings with the eight season episode, "Spooked" ranking as the lowest rated episode of the series to air on Thursday.[136] Despite this, the show is still one of NBC's highest rated shows and currently costs $178,840 per-30 second commercial, the most for any NBC scripted series.[137]
| Season | Episodes | Timeslot (ET) | Season premiere | Season finale | TV season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Thursday 9:30 pm ("Pilot") Tuesday 9:30 pm |
March 24, 2005 | April 26, 2005 | 2005 | #102[138] | 5.4 |
| 2 | 22 | Tuesday 9:30 pm (September 20 – December 6, 2005) Thursday 9:30 pm (January 5 – May 11, 2006) |
September 20, 2005 | May 11, 2006 | 2005–2006 | #67[139] | 8.0 |
| 3 | 25 | Thursday 8:30 pm | September 21, 2006 | May 17, 2007 | 2006–2007 | #68[140] | 8.3 |
| 4 | 19 | Thursday 9:00 pm | September 27, 2007 | May 15, 2008 | 2007–2008 | #77[141] | 8.0 |
| 5 | 28 | September 25, 2008 | May 14, 2009 | 2008–2009 | #53[142] | 9.2 | |
| 6 | 26 | September 17, 2009 | May 20, 2010 | 2009–2010 | #52[143] | 7.8 | |
| 7 | 26 | September 23, 2010 | May 19, 2011 | 2010–2011 | #53[144] | 7.7 | |
| 8 | TBA | September 22, 2011 | 2011–2012 |
The city of Scranton, long known mainly for its industrial past as a coal mining and rail center,[145] has eagerly embraced, and ultimately has been redefined by the show. "We're really hip now," says the mayor's assistant.[44] 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.[146] Newspapers in other Northeastern cities have published travel guides to Scranton locations for tourists interested in visiting places mentioned in the show.[145][146][147] Scranton has become identified with the show outside the United States as well. In a 2008 St. Patrick's Day speech in its suburb of Dickson City, former Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Bertie Ahern identified the city as the home of Dunder Mifflin.[148]
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 Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel and the Mall at Steamtown. Cast appearances were made by B.J. Novak, Ed Helms, Oscar Nunez, Angela Kinsey, Brian Baumgartner, Leslie David Baker, Mindy Kaling, Craig Robinson, Melora Hardin, Phyllis Smith, Creed Bratton, Kate Flannery, Bobby Ray Shafer, and Andy Buckley. Writer appearances, besides Novak and Kaling, 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.[149]
On an episode of The Daily Show, Republican presidential candidate John McCain, reportedly a devoted fan of the show, jokingly told Jon Stewart he might take Dwight Schrute as his running mate.[150] Rainn Wilson later accepted on Dwight's behalf while on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. After the airing of "Garage Sale", Colorado governor John Hickenlooper issued a press release appointing Michael Scott to the position of Director of Paper Distribution in the Department of Natural Resources.[151]
In the United Kingdom, the show was named in listings magazines (but not onscreen) as The Office: An American Workplace when it was originally aired on ITV2.[152]. This is done to differentiate this version of the show from the original British series.[152]
In Canada, early seasons were simulcast or broadcast earlier than their American debut on Citytv, until simulcast rights were purchased by CH beginning with the third season. The rights were transferred in early 2007 to then-parent network Global, where it continues to air. In Brazil, FX began airing the show on April 9, 2006 at 8:30 pm.[153] In Germany, Super RTL began airing the show on January 5, 2008 at 11:10 pm. In Austria, ORF1 began airing the show on March 6, 2008 at 11:10 pm. In Spain, TNT, Paramount Comedy (Spain) and laSexta are airing the show. In Ireland, 3e broadcast the show with the title The US Office. In the Netherlands, the show began airing on Comedy Central under the title The Office US in April 2007.[154] In India, the show is broadcast on STAR World. In Australia, it airs on Foxtel, Network Ten and in 2011 it will also air on Eleven. In France, the show is broadcast late nights on Canal+.[155]
Episodes from The Office were among the first shows available for download from the iTunes Store 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 over pricing.[156] As of September 9, 2008 The Office was put back on the iTunes store, and can be bought in HD and Regular format. Netflix also offers the show for online viewing by subscribers, in addition to traditional DVD rental. The Office is also available on Microsofts Zune Marketplace.
Of the 12.4 million total viewings of "Fun Run", the fourth season's premiere, 2.7 million, or 22%, were on a computer via online streaming. "The Office," said The New York Times, "is on the leading edge of a sharp shift in entertainment viewing that was thought to be years away: watching television episodes on a computer screen is now a common activity for millions of consumers." It was particularly popular with online viewers, an NBC researcher said, because as an episode-driven sitcom without special effects it was easy to watch on smaller monitors such as those found on laptops and iPods.[157] Between the online viewings and those who use digital video recorders, 25-50% of the show's viewers watch it after its scheduled airtime.[158]
The show's Internet success became an issue in the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Daniels and many of the cast members who double as writers posted a video to YouTube shortly after the strike began, pointing out how little, if any, they received in residuals from online and DVD viewing. "You're watching this on the Internet, a thing that pays us zero dollars," Schur said. "We're supposed to get 11 cents for every two trillion downloads." The writers were particularly upset that they weren't compensated for the Daytime Emmy Award winning summer webisodes "The Accountants", which NBC considered promotional material despite the embedded commercials.[159]
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 in 2007.[160][161] In 2008 two games were introduced via Pressman Toy Corp: The Office Trivia Board Game and The Office DVD Board Game.[162] In 2009, The Office Clue was released, and The Office Monopoly was released in 2010. Other merchandise, from T-shirts and a bobblehead doll of Dwight Schrute[163] to more office-specific items such as parodies of the Successories motivational poster series featuring the cast,[164] is available. Dunder Mifflin has two websites,[165] and the cast members maintain blogs both as themselves and in character.
Several members of the cast maintained blogs. These include Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, and Brian Baumgartner, who posted regularly during the season.[166] Rainn Wilson wrote in character on "Schrute Space" on NBC.com, which is updated periodically. However, he stopped writing the blog himself.[167] It is unknown whether Creed Bratton authors "Creed Thoughts", the blog attributed to his character.[168]
| Season | Region 1 Release Date | Region 2 Release Date | Region 4 Release Date | Episodes | Discs | Bonus Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 16, 2005 | April 10, 2006 | June 6, 2006 | 6 | 1 | Deleted scenes from all episodes, five commentary tracks by cast and crew on select episodes. |
| 2 | September 12, 2006 | January 28, 2008 | April 4, 2007 | 22 | 4 | Deleted scenes from every episode, ten commentary tracks by cast and crew on select episodes, The Accountants webisodes, Faces of Scranton video, blooper reel, 17 fake public service announcements, Olympics promos and "Steve on Steve" promos. |
| 3 | September 4, 2007 | July 21, 2008 | August 20, 2008 (Part 1) April 22, 2009 (Part 2) |
25 | 4 | Deleted scenes, eight commentary tracks by cast and crew on select episodes,[169] "Kevin Cooks Stuff in The Office", 2006 NBC Primetime Preview, Toby wraparound promos, Dwight Schrute music video, Joss Whedon interview, blooper reel, Lazy Scranton video, and a 58th Annual Emmy Awards excerpt. A special edition for Target called the "Nifty Gifty" set also contains footage from the Museum of TV festival and script facsimile. |
| 4 | September 2, 2008 | June 14, 2010 | September 2, 2009 (Part 1) December 1, 2009 (Part 2) |
19 | 4 | Deleted scenes, outtakes, Second Life footage, The Office Convention invitation, The Office Convention: Writer’s Block Panel, "Goodbye, Toby" music video, four commentary tracks by cast and crew on select episodes.[170] |
| 5 | September 8, 2009 | February 7, 2011 | October 6, 2010 (Part 1) March 2, 2011 (Part 2) |
28 | 5 | Deleted scenes, outtakes, ten commentaries by the cast and crew, "The Academy of Art and Sciences presents, 'The Office,' Summer Olympic promos, Super Bowl promos, Kevin's Loan webisodes, and The Outburst webisodes.[171] |
| 6 | September 7, 2010 | TBA | TBA | 26 | 5 | Deleted scenes, outtakes, gag reel, cast and crew commentaries, two extended episodes, minisode The Podcast, "Welcome to Sabre" corporate welcome video, promos.[172] |
| Overtime | November 16, 2010 | TBA | TBA | N/A | 1 | The Accountants, Kevin's Loan, The Outburst, Blackmail, Subtle Sexuality and The Mentor webisodes, The Podcast minisode, The Office Convention: Cast Q&A, Paley: Inside The Writer's Room, Subtle Sexuality commentary with Mindy Kaling, B. J. Novak, and Ellie Kemper, Blackmail video commentary with Creed Bratton, Subtle Sexuality music video, Dwight Schrute music video, Lazy Scranton video, Michael Scott's Dunder Mifflin ad and fake PSAs.[173] |
A spin-off to the series was proposed in 2008,[174] with a pilot episode expected to debut as the Super Bowl lead-out program in 2009.[175] However, The Office's creative team instead decided to develop Parks and Recreation as a separate series.[176] In 2009, Greg Daniels revealed that a spin-off series was still a possibility.[177] Paul Lieberstein mentioned that a feature film adaptation of the series is also possible after the series ends its run.[178]
| Preceded by House 2008 |
The Office Super Bowl lead-out program 2009 |
Succeeded by Undercover Boss 2010 |
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