The Office (American TV series)

This article is about the USA version of The Office. For the original UK version, see The Office (UK TV series), and for a comparison of the various versions from around the world, see The Office.

The Office
File:Office us cast.jpg The show's main cast.
Genre	Sitcom Mockumentary
Created by	Ricky Gervais Stephen Merchant Greg Daniels
Starring	Steve Carell Rainn Wilson John Krasinski Jenna Fischer B.J. Novak
Opening theme	"The Office Theme Song" by Jay Ferguson
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	53 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	typically 0:20:30 (details)
Original release
Network	NBC (USA)
Release	March 24, 2005 – present

The Office is an Emmy Award and Peabody Award-winning American television comedy that debuted on NBC as a midseason replacement on March 24, 2005. The show is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictitious Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company. Although fictional and scripted, the show takes the form of a documentary, with the presence of the camera often acknowledged.

Based on the British series of the same name, it was developed for American audiences by producer Greg Daniels, a veteran writer of Saturday Night Live, King of the Hill and The Simpsons. Original series creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have production credits on the show, but they are not otherwise involved on a regular basis, although the producers do send various scripts to the pair for suggestions and critiques. (The two also wrote an episode for the show's third season)

It is co-produced by Greg Daniels' Deedle-Dee Productions and Reveille Productions, in association with NBC Universal Television Studio. The show is currently broadcast by NBC in the United States and other television stations around the world. In January 2007, NBC renewed The Office for a full fourth season to air September 2007–May 2008. It will also be available for syndication in Fall 2009.

Creation

After the original British series won two Golden Globes, a U.S. version of The Office was commissioned by NBC. Though it retains the same title and premise, the U.S. version of the show has a new cast and crew and changes the locale to Scranton, Pennsylvania. NBC has described it as a faster-paced version of the original; Gervais jokingly said before the premiere that it would probably have actors with better teeth. The first season of the show had a run of just six episodes, and was filmed in an actual office space. To write the series, the producer hired four writers: Michael Schur, B.J. Novak, Paul Lieberstein and Mindy Kaling. In addition, he hired two consulting producers, Lester Lewis and Larry Wilmore. Ken Kwapis, who established his ability with the genre in The Larry Sanders Show and Malcolm in the Middle, directed the pilot and has produced/directed several episodes.

The second season brought three new members to the writing crew: Jennifer Celotta, and the screen writing team of Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg. Paul Feig, of Freaks and Geeks, directed some of the episodes. Filming moved to a sound stage that was built to replicate the first season's environment, including plaques and certificates hanging on walls using the names of crew members.

Casting

All original series characters were renamed and re-cast for the American version. When producer Ben Silverman of Reveille approached NBC with the concept, network programmer Kevin Reilly suggested Paul Giamatti take the lead role of Michael Scott, but the actor declined. Other interested actors included Martin Short, Hank Azaria and Bob Odenkirk. 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, Carell was already committed to an NBC midseason replacement comedy, Come to Papa, 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. Rainn Wilson, who was cast as the power-hungry sycophant Dwight Schrute, had watched every episode of the series before he auditioned. Wilson had originally auditioned for Michael (which he referred to as a terrible Gervais impersonation); however, the casting directors liked his audition as Dwight much more and hired him for the role.

John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer were virtual unknowns before being cast in their respective roles as Jim and Pam, the central love interests. Krasinski recalled accidentally insulting Daniels while waiting to audition for the series, telling him, "I hope they don't screw this up," as had been done to other British adaptations (Coupling, Men Behaving Badly). It was then that Daniels introduced himself as the developer of the series. Fischer prepared for her audition by looking as boring as possible, creating the current Pam hairstyle at her first audition for the show.

The shots of Scranton in the opening credits were filmed by star John Krasinski and two of his friends before production began on the series. They shot the footage from their Jeep with the camera outside the sunroof. Jay Ferguson composed the theme song.

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. Writer / performer Novak stated, "[Daniels] hired people who he knew were improv people who could bring their own ideas to the role." Some minor players came to be as a result of interesting casting choices. Angela Kinsey originally auditioned for the role of Pam Beesly. After her auditions, the producers thought she was "too feisty" for the character, but they later called her back for the part of Angela Martin, which she won. Baumgartner originally auditioned for Stanley (where he met Leslie David Baker, who ended up with the role), but was eventually cast as Kevin. Phyllis Smith, who plays Phyllis on the show, was working as a casting associate on the show when the pilot's director, Ken Kwapis, had her read the scripts with the actors. He took such a liking to how she read that he had her join the cast.

Three of the show's writers were also cast as regular performers: B.J. Novak, Mindy Kaling, and Paul Lieberstein. Daniels saw Novak doing stand-up comedy and he was cast as reluctant temp Ryan Howard and Lieberstein was cast as HR Director Toby Flenderson by Novak's suggestion after his cold readings of scripts. Greg Daniels originally was not sure where to use Kaling, who is an Indian-American, on screen in the series until the point 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 the chatty Kelly Kapoor), Kaling stated in a February 2006 interview. Steve Carell has also written one episode (the season 2 finale).

Ed Helms, Chip Esten, and Rashida Jones were added as cast members for season three. In February 2007, NBC announced that Helms was being promoted to a series regular.

A few of the actors who are both part of the main cast or made guest appearances, have connections to The Daily Show as Carell and Helms were former correspondents on the show, along with recurring actors Larry Wilmore (who is the Senior Black Correspondent on the show) and Nancy Walls (a former correspondent, married to Carell in real life) have appeared. In addition, Rob Riggle also appeared in "Booze Cruise" as a ship captain who antagonizes Michael. Riggle is one of the correspondents on the show.

A large number of cast members coincidentally hailed from Massachusetts, including Carell, Novak, Krasinski, Kaling, Denman, and recurring actress Nancy Walls. Other members of the writing and production staff have made cameo appearances: Michael Schur plays Dwight's cousin Mose, Larry Wilmore played Mr. Brown in "Diversity Day" and in "Gay Witch Hunt." Greg Daniels made an appearance as Michael's new neighbor in "Office Olympics," and writing team Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky play Bob Vance's delivery men in "Valentines Day" and are in a deleted scene from the "Drug Testing" episode.

In mid-July 2006, executive producer Ben Silverman stated that Mackenzie Crook, Martin Freeman and Lucy Davis from the British version of The Office will put in appearances in another episode in the third season. However, producer Kent Zbornak revealed at a University of Southern California panel discussion on The Office at the end of that month that, unfortunately due to scheduling conflicts, the actors are no longer planned to appear in the third season. B.J. Novak confirmed the scheduling conflicts in an August 27 interview, but stated they still intend to include the British cast in some way, although it will not be how they had originally intended. He also would not say if the British actors will be playing their original characters.

Dunder-Mifflin may allude to the relationship between the Pennsylvania Paper & Supply Company's tower, shown during the opening theme, and its location in downtown Scranton near the northeast end of Mifflin Avenue. To coincide with the Season 3 premiere, an Office edition of Scranton's entertainment paper contained an interview with the real paper company's president, who said "They're [Dunder-Mifflin] more of a printing-paper company while we're a personal-service paper company — paper towels, packaging, toilet tissue. ... We have very little resemblance to the Dunder-Mifflin paper company."

Characters

File:Dwightoffice.jpg

Dwight Schrute announces unexpected changes that he has no authority to implement on The Office

Main article: Characters from The Office (US)

The Office employs an ensemble cast. Below are the regular characters of the series, and their job positions as of when they are introduced.

All of the main characters, and some minor ones, are based on characters from the original British version of The Office. For further details, see The Office: USA Character Comparisons.

Main characters

• Michael Scott (Steve Carell) - Regional Manager of the Scranton Branch of Dunder-Mifflin
• Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) - Assistant to the Regional Manager
• Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) - Sales Representative
• Pam Beesly (Jenna Fischer) - Receptionist
• Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak) - Temporary Worker

Accounting

• Angela Martin (Angela Kinsey) - Head Accountant
• Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nuñez) - Accountant
• Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner) - Accountant

Sales

• Stanley Hudson (Leslie David Baker) - Sales Representative
• Phyllis Lapin (Phyllis Smith) - Sales Representative
• Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) - Regional Director in Charge of Sales
• Karen Filippelli (Rashida Jones) - Sales Representative

Other office employees

• Creed Bratton (Creed Bratton) - Quality Assurance
• Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling) - Customer Service Representative
• Meredith Palmer (Kate Flannery) - Customer Relations/Purchasing

Corporate and Warehouse

• Toby Flenderson (Paul Lieberstein) - Human Resources Representative
• Jan Levinson-Gould (Melora Hardin) - Corporate Manager
• Roy Anderson (David Denman) - Dock Worker
• Darryl Philbin (Craig Robinson) - Warehouse Supervisor

Job status changes

The following are position changes the above characters have undergone during the run of the show.

Character	Previously	Position Change	Episode
Dwight Schrute	Assistant to the Regional Manager	"Promoted" to Assistant Regional Manager	"The Fight"
Ryan Howard	Temporary worker	Promoted to Junior Sales Representative	"Gay Witch Hunt"
Jim Halpert	Sales Representative	Promoted to Assistant Regional Manager (Stamford)	"Gay Witch Hunt"
Jim Halpert	Assistant Regional Manager (Stamford)	Named Assistant Regional Manager (Scranton)	"The Merger"
Dwight Schrute	Assistant Regional Manager (Scranton)	Demoted to Sales Representative	"The Merger"
Roy Anderson	Warehouse dock worker	Fired	"The Negotiation"
Jan Levinson	Corporate Manager	Fired	"The Job"
Ryan Howard	Junior Sales Representative	Promoted to Corporate Manager	"The Job"

Season synopses

Main article: List of The Office (US) episodes

The Office typically airs in a half-hour time slot. Producers deliver an episode with a 0:20:30 running time, allowing room for advertisements. The final episode of the second season introduced the first of what would be several "super-sized" episodes (approximately 29 minute running time for a 40 minute time slot). The third season introduced the first of occasional hour-long episodes (approximately 41 minute running time).

Season 1

File:TheOffice(US)1-02.jpg

A scene from "Diversity Day", the second episode of the series, which dealt with racism in the office

The first season featured six episodes that began airing on March 24, 2005 and finished on April 26. The premiere episode was written near word for word from the first episode of the British series, with names and cultural references changed and a few small extra scenes.

The series begins by introducing the office and its main characters via Michael's tour for both the camera crew and Ryan, who is hired as a temp and working his first day. News soon spreads that Dunder-Mifflin's corporate headquarters plan to downsize, and the Scranton branch faces a possible closure. Anxiety over downsizing grows, but Michael chooses to deny or downplay such a possibility in the interest of employee morale.

In the final episode of the season, Jim begins dating Katy, a purse saleswoman who visited and set up shop briefly in the office, to Pam's subtle concern.

Season 2

This was the first full season for the show that included 22 episodes originally airing from September 20, 2005 to May 11, 2006. First season plots continued and new plots emerged, as well as development in most secondary characters who were left to the background in season one.

While Jim continues to see Katy on and off, his friendship with Pam remains largely unchanged; they continue in their pranks, and days of spontaneous activities such as Office Olympics. Jim draws Pam for the office Secret Santa Christmas gift exchange and fills a teapot with mementos of inside jokes and a card implied to contain his true feelings. When Michael mixes up the gift recipients, however, Jim sneaks the card back, even though Pam winds up with the gift in the end. During a late-night office trip on a "Booze Cruise," Roy announces a wedding date of June 10, and Jim reacts by breaking up with Katy. He then reveals his feelings for Pam to Michael, who in turn spills the secret to the other employees upon return to the office. Jim acknowledges the rumor to Pam, playing it as a past crush, though she then hears differently from a guilty Michael. Meanwhile, Jan discovers that Pam has a talent for art and encourages her to attend a graphic arts internship with the company in New York City. Jim supports the idea, but Roy rejects it as pointless.

File:Jimpamoffice bc.jpg

Jim and Pam share a poignant scene together on the "Booze Cruise".

Celebrating Michael's success at landing a major new client, he and a newly-divorced Jan share a kiss and spend the night together. Despite Jan's attempt to end the relationship almost immediately, Michael's interest is ignited, and he reveals the incident during a company meeting in New York. At Jan's behest, he is able to play it off as a joke; she kisses him again as he leaves. Later, Michael runs into his real estate agent Carol Stills and entertains her children. A series of events finds Michael with two dates for Casino Night: Carol and Jan. Carol enjoys their date; Jan leaves, disappointed.

Three more office relationships begin, and a fourth is revealed. Dwight and Angela's relationship is secret to all but Pam and the camera crew. Kelly develops a crush on Ryan, leading them to hook up the day before Valentine's Day, to Ryan's intense regret. Kelly soon pursues a serious relationship despite her claims of something more casual. Phyllis introduces her boyfriend Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration to the staff at the Christmas party. When Dwight investigates Oscar's suspicious sick day, it is revealed Oscar is a closeted gay man, though Dwight remains oblivious.

Jim plans a vacation to Australia, deliberately timed to overlap with Pam's wedding date, much to her disappointment. He also begins to lament his numerous pranks at the office as wastes of time, and unknown to his Scranton co-workers, applies for a vacant sales position at Dunder-Mifflin Stamford. Before he leaves, he reveals his love to Pam on Casino Night, and though she at first turns him down, he kisses her minutes later.

Season 3

The third season has a total of 25 episodes (including two hour-long episodes) that originally aired from September 21, 2006 to May 17, 2007.

After the events of Casino Night, Jim accepted Pam's intentions to marry Roy and transferred to the Stamford branch. There, he begins dating co-worker Karen and also finds himself at odds with temperamental co-worker Andy. Pam got cold feet and called off the wedding, ending her relationship with Roy.

The merger of the Stamford branch with the Scranton branch brings Jim back to Scranton. One by one, most of the Stamford transplants quit over Michael's management style, leaving only Jim, Karen, and Andy.

Michael is inspired on his ninth date to propose marriage to Carol, who rejects the offer. She breaks up with him shortly after he prepares a holiday trip to Jamaica. Michael leaves with Jan instead, and the two begin dating. Michael finds himself increasingly uncomfortable with Jan's aggressive and unemotional approach to their sex life, and he breaks up with her.

Jim returns to inconsistent friendship with Pam, not as close as they used to be. Karen becomes more anxious when she learns of Jim's previous crush on Pam and his admission that he still harbors feelings for the receptionist. At Phyllis' Wedding, Pam returns to Roy, but that relationship proves short-lived when Roy reacts violently upon learning of the Casino Night kiss. Roy attempts to assault Jim at the office, resulting in his dismissal. Throughout, Pam and Karen maintain a tense friendship.

When Michael is invited to interview for a position at Dunder Mifflin headquarters, he conducts a Survivor-style competition, culminating in a walk across hot coals. When Michael reveals that the competition will determine his successor, Jim and Karen both apply for the corporate position in New York. Pam walks across the coals and uses her newly-gained confidence to confront Jim publicly about their dissolved friendship, while confessing to canceling her wedding because of him.

When Jan visits Scranton with her new breast implants, Michael agrees to rekindle their relationship. When Jan learns that the open Corporate position is her own, she makes an ugly scene and thereby ensures her own dismissal. Michael learns that he did not get the job, and Jan decides to become Michael's full-time girlfriend in Scranton. During Jim's interview, he sees, slipped in among his other papers, an encouraging note from Pam with a homemade medal from the Office Olympics. When asked whether he is prepared to stay in New York for the long haul, Jim doesn't answer. Jim drives back to Scranton and asks Pam on a date. She accepts.

As a final twist, Jan's job goes to Ryan.

Season 4

NBC has ordered a full fourth season of The Office with an episode count of 30, including 5 one-hour specials (with 20 regular half-hour episodes). The first episode of season 4 will premiere on September 27 2007.

Improvisation

Differing from many other mockumentaries, much of The Office is scripted.

In a March 2006 interview, B.J. Novak stated,

We do script it to sound very natural, because we are writing a fake documentary, but the actors are very talented ... Steve (Carell) and Rainn (Wilson) add a lot in improvisation, and usually the last few takes of a talking head will be, at that point, fully improvised. ... Maybe 20 percent of the stuff we shoot is at least partially improvised ... and then it's 10 percent of the finished show.

Jenna Fischer has stated,

Our shows are 100 percent scripted. They put everything down on paper. Our glances to camera, our hesitations ... everything. It is the actor's job to make it seem fresh and natural. But we get to play around a little bit, too. Steve and Rainn are brilliant improvisers.

A specific example of improvisation on the show occurred during taping of Season 3's first episode, "Gay Witch Hunt". Jenna Fischer states,

The kiss between Michael and Oscar was improvised. Steve just went into that bit on the fly. It was brilliant! Those looks of shock/giddiness/confusion on our faces are real. We were all on the edge of our seats wondering what would happen next. I can't believe we held it together for as long as we did. I'm not sure we've ever laughed so hard on set."

Deleted scenes

Unlike most other producers, Daniels considers deleted scenes to be part of the show's story line.

For the writers, in our minds, those scenes have happened. We wrote them, we shot them, and at the last minute, I cut them in the editing room, but we're relying on them anyway for the mythology of the show.

In an experiment, a deleted scene from "The Return" was made available over nbc.com and iTunes that explained the absence of a character over the next several episodes. Daniels hoped that word of mouth among fans would spread the information, but eventually considered the experiment a failure. When the episode was re-run, it was re-cut to restore the missing scene.

Product placement

The Office has had product placement deals with Staples, and the Olympic baler, as well as mentioning in dialog or displaying clear logos for products such as Starbucks, Sandals Resorts, Hewlett-Packard computers, and Activision's Call of Duty video game. Chilis is the focal setting of the episode, "The Dundies". 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. A commercial for that shredder aired following the scene. The placement goes so far as to actually increase the visibility of the Staples brand on the product by including a red Staples logo. In two separate episodes ("Branch Closing", "The Return"), a character has left Dunder Mifflin to work for Staples.

Many products featured are not part of product placement agreements, but rather inserted by writers as products the characters would use, in order to create realism under the guise of a documentary. Featured music tends to comprise of dated hits in order to reflect the character, such as Michael's use of "My Humps" as a ringtone to emulate a younger generation. Apple, Inc. received over 4 minutes of publicity for the iPod when it was used as a much-desired gift in "Christmas Party", though they did not pay for the use.

Response

Before the show aired, Gervais acknowledged that there were feelings of hesitation from certain viewers. "I think people are always gonna be wary of a remake — it's a tradition," he stated in a March 2005 interview, "But this remake is aimed at the 249 million Americans who didn't see the original TV show. There's not gonna be many Texas farmhands going, 'Eccch, not another version. I can't believe it.'"

Writer/performer B.J. Novak recalled almost a year after the show premiered, "There was this very rough period at the beginning, where not only did mainstream viewers have no interest in us, but the type of people that should have and ultimately did come to our defense hated us even more, because we were remaking the British Office."

Critical reviews

Before its first airing, 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." 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."

Fortunately for Carell and the series, reviews became more positive as the second season progressed. Come December, Time magazine 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." Entertainment Weekly echoed these sentiments a week later, stating, "Thanks to the fearless Steve Carell, an ever-stronger supporting cast, and scripts that spew American corporate absurdest vernacular with perfect pitch, this undervalued remake does the near impossible — it honors Ricky Gervais' original and works on its own terms."

Months later, The Onion's A.V. Club 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."

Ratings

Premiering on Thursday, March 24, 2005, after an episode of The Apprentice on NBC, it caught the curiosity of 11.2 million viewers in the U.S., winning its time slot. However, NBC meant for the series to air on Tuesday nights and when it first aired on a Tuesday night, it lost nearly half its audience with only 5.9 million viewers. The program averaged 5.4 million viewers, ranking it #102 for the 2004-2005 U.S. television season. The first season finale received the lowest rating in the show's history, earning just a 2.2 rating with a 10 share.

As the second season started, the show slowly started gaining a cult following due to the success of Carell's August 2005 movie The 40-Year-Old Virgin and the fortune of airing after the surprise rookie hit comedy, My Name Is Earl. Growing viewership seemed promising enough to NBC that they moved the series in January 2006 to the "Must See TV" Thursday night where the ratings continued to grow. Some of this growth may be attributed to the iTunes Store beginning to sell the show on its then-new sales of TV Shows. By the 2005-2006 season, it placed #67 (tied with 20/20). It averaged 8.0 million viewers with a 4.0/10 rating. It also was up 40% in viewers from the year before and up 60% in viewers ages 18-49.

The third-season premiere received a 5.7/9 and actually made a small increase in total viewers and viewers 18-49 over its lead-in program, My Name Is Earl. By the end of the 2006-2007 season, it placed #68 (tied with The Biggest Loser 3). It averaged 8.3 million viewers with a 4.1/11 rating, a slight improvement from the previous season.

A new Must See TV lineup of My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs, and 30 Rock premiered on November 30, 2006.

International broadcast

In addition to NBC in the United States, The Office is broadcast on Global TV in Canada, Channel 6 in Ireland, ITV2 in the United Kingdom (where the show is known as The Office: An American Workplace), Star World in the Asia Pacific region, Channel Ten in Australia and on M-Net in South Africa. In Saudi Arabia and Arab World the show is broadcast by Showtime Arabia Paramount Comedy Channel and Paramount Comedy Channel +2. In Latin America, the show is broadcast by the FX Network. In Singapore, The Office airs on Arts Central & Star World. In April 2007, the show began airing in the Netherlands under the title The Office US on Comedy Central.

The series was canceled in Australia after only three episodes due to poor viewer ratings, but it returned to a late Sunday-night time slot on Ten in early 2006. The third season has yet to premiere on Australian television.

Cast blogs

Many cast members maintain blogs on TVGuide.com and MySpace, posting updates on behind-the-scenes happenings or on-set photographs. Since actors must sit at their desks even when not actively participating in a scene, they have ample opportunities to use the functional, internet-connected computers to browse the internet, play games, and blog.

Cast members which have blogs include Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, B.J. Novak, Paul Lieberstein, David Denman, Craig Robinson, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Karly Rothenberg, Creed Bratton, Robert R. Shafer, and Melora Hardin. Some cast members blog in character, but most blog as themselves.

Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey are the most active bloggers of the cast, posting regularly during the season. A variety of cast members have taken turns writing for TV Guide: B.J. Novak wrote for the site until December 2005. Jenna Fischer assumed the duties during the second half of the show's 2005-06 season, posting every Thursday. Brian Baumgartner wrote during most of the summer of 2006, and Kate Flannery wrote during the 2006-2007 season.

Rainn Wilson writes in character on "Schrute Space" on NBC.com, which is updated periodically. It is unknown whether the actor Creed Bratton authors "Creed Thoughts", the blog attributed to his character.

Awards and Nominations

Year	Result	Award	Category	Recipient
2006	Winner	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy	Steve Carell
2006	Winner	Television Critics Association Awards	Outstanding Achievement in Comedy
2006	Winner		Individual Achievement in Comedy	Steve Carell
2006	Nominated		Program Of The Year
2006	Nominated	Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Comedy Series
2006	Nominated		Best New Series
2006	Nominated		Episodic Comedy for "Diversity Day"	BJ Novak
2006	Winner	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Comedy Series
2006	Nominated		Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series	Steve Carell
2006	Nominated		Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series for "Christmas Party"	Mike Schur
2006	Nominated		Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Comedy Series for "Booze Cruise"	Dean Holland
2006	Nominated		Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Comedy Series for "Christmas Party"	Dave Rogers
2006	Winner	Women's Image Network Awards	Outstanding Comedy Series
2006	Winner		Outstanding Female Actress	Jenna Fischer
2006	Winner	Rose d'Or Awards	Best Sitcom
2006	Nominated		Best Male Sitcom Performance	Steve Carell
2007	Nominated	Screen Actors Guild Awards	TV Comedy, Lead Actor	Steve Carell
2007	Winner		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
2007	Winner	ACE Awards	Best Edited Half Hour Series for Television for "Casino Night"	Dean Holland & David Rogers
2007	Nominated	GLAAD Awards	Best Outstanding Comedy Series
2007	Nominated	PRISM Awards	TV Comedy Series Episode for "Drug Testing"
2007	Nominated		Performance in a Comedy Series	Steve Carell
2007	Winner	Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Comedy Series
2007	Winner		Episodic Comedy Writing for "Casino Night"	Steve Carell
2007	Nominated		Episodic Comedy for "The Coup"	Paul Lieberstein
2007	Winner	Producers Guild Awards	Episodic Television Comedy	Greg Daniels & Kent Zbornak
2007	Nominated	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance By An Actor in a Television Series, Comedy or Musical	Steve Carell
2007	Nominated		Best Television Series -- Comedy or Musical
2007	Winner	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Director in Comedy Series	Ken Whittingham
2007	Honored	Peabody Awards	Outstanding Comedy Series
2007	Winner	Webby Awards	Best Comedy Short: Webisodes
2007	Winner	Webby Awards	Best Television Website

Online and DVD releases

Online

Episodes from The Office were among the first television shows available for download from the iTunes Store beginning in December 2005. The episodes have proven to be among the most downloaded of the NBC shows thus offered, consistently making the top ten downloads each week and often making the number one slot. In the summer of 2006, ten internet-exclusive webisodes featuring the minor characters on The Office aired on NBC.com. There have also been two "Producer's Cut" episodes released on The Office website. Those two episodes were "Branch Closing" and "The Return" which offered ten additional minutes of content not present in the broadcast version.

DVD

Season Releases

DVD Name	Release Date	Ep #	Additional Information
Season One	August 16 2005	6	This single disc DVD includes all six episodes from Season 1. Bonus features include an hour of deleted scenes from all of the episodes and five commentary tracks by cast and crew on select episodes.
Season Two	September 12 2006	22	This four disc box set includes all 22 episodes from Season 2. Bonus features include deleted scenes from every episode, 10 commentary tracks by cast and crew on select episodes, 10 original webisodes from NBC.com, a 17-minute blooper reel, 17 fake NBC PSAs, Olympics promos and "Steve on Steve" promos.
Season Three	September 11 2007	25	September 11, 2007 is a rumored release date.

• Target, Circuit City and Best Buy outlets each offered their own exclusive special packages with the release of the Season 2 DVD. They are as follows:
  • Target offered an alternate version of the second disc featuring Jenna Fischer's eight minute video blog of the "Booze Cruise" episode.
  • Circuit City offered 3 downloadable cell phone games.
  • Best Buy offered "The Office Severance Package" gift set that included both Season 1 and 2 of The Office on DVD, a Dunder-Mifflin notepad, Dunder-Mifflin self-adhesive notes, a magnet designed to look like Dwight Schrute's business card, a Dunder-Mifflin pen, a monthly planner that featured Michael Scott's plans and a storage box.

Cultural references

File:Officeunionjack.jpg

The Union Jack on Michael's desk is a nod to the original British series

• The name "Mifflin" is ubiquitous in Pennsylvania, after Thomas Mifflin, the first governor of Pennsylvania. Examples include Mifflin County, Mifflintown, Mifflinville, West Mifflin and Mifflinburg. In the season 3 episode "Initiation", Dwight says that the company's cofounder was Robert Mifflin. The name might have also been influenced by the real-life company, Houghton Mifflin, which is not a paper company but is a major publisher (mainly textbooks), and doesn't have an office location anywhere in Pennsylvania.
• A Union Jack on Michael's desk and Dunder-Mifflin's address at 1725 Slough Avenue reference the original British version. A Homer Simpson doll seen behind Dwight's desk reflects Office producer Greg Daniels' previous work on The Simpsons.
• The opening montage of the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards included a short scene set in Dunder-Mifflin Scranton.
• Conan O'Brien and showrunner Greg Daniels were roommates at Harvard University, and worked together as writers on Saturday Night Live and, briefly, on The Simpsons. In the episode "Valentine's Day", O'Brien is spotted by the documentary crew and is filmed walking down the street in a scene in which Michael visits New York: the gag is that Michael is looking for celebrities, but completely misses Conan because he is distracted by a woman he thinks is Tina Fey. It was revealed on various episodes of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, most notably the February 5th 2007, broadcast that John Krasinski, Mindy Kaling, and Angela Kinsey all worked at some point as interns on Late Night.

Geographical references

Dwight has on his office cabinet a bumper sticker promoting Froggy 101, a country music radio station in Scranton, and on his desk are bobble-head dolls from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons baseball team (which has since been renamed to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, after becoming affiliated with the New York Yankees).

Other references to the geography and culture of greater Scranton include Lackawanna County, Lackawanna Coal Mining Tour, Poor Richard's Pub, Farley's, Connell Park, Carbondale, Dickson City, Lake Wallenpaupack, The Mall at Steamtown, radio station Rock 107, the Boston Market in Stroudsburg, the Montage Mountain Performing Arts Center, Bishop O'Hara High School, Dunmore High School, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey team. Noteworthy departures from this accuracy are occasional mentions of and visits to Chili's, Hooters, and Benihana restaurants, none of which have franchises in the immediate area. The nearest Chili's restaurant is in neighboring city Wilkes-Barre and a Hooters was located near Binghamton, New York until 2006. There is no Benihana within two hours of Scranton although a Japanese restaurant, Osaka, can be found downtown.

In "The Convention", Michael and Dwight take a train to Philadelphia. Though Scranton is known for its rail history and is home to the Steamtown National Historic Site, there has not been passenger rail service in the Scranton area for years. The Wyoming Valley Mall, which is found in Wilkes-Barre, not Scranton, was featured in a song that Michael sang in Season Two under the name "Wilkes-Barre Valley Mall."

In the third season, a University of Scranton kerchief is draped over the cubicle wall behind Pam's desk.

In the Season one episode, "Basketball," Jim is caught wearing a University of Scranton t-shirt.

See also

• The Office, comparing the U.S. version with the UK version of the show

External links

• The Official site of The Office at NBC.com
• The Office store at NBCUniversalStore.com
• Dunder-Mifflin official site
• Rainn Wilson interview

Selected fansites

• Office Tally
• Northern Attack
• The Office at TV Squad
• The Office Wiki
• That's What She Said (Podcast)
• The Office Alliance (Podcast)