I have deeply mixed feelings about the upcoming The Office reboot. There’s a part of me that would love to watch a new series with that brand of humor and charm (and awkwardness) and the whole mockumentary format. I miss that show. It’s kind of crazy to think how long ago it aired, back in the day when people still burned DVDs. I think I have a couple The Office DVDs we burned back in the day tucked away in some disc holder still.
Another part of me is sounding alarm bells. How can you possibly avoid the long shadow cast by Dunder Mifflin? Steve Carell as the bumbling regional manager, Michael Scott, was simply too perfect, and he was surrounded by an equally perfect cast, from John Krasinski’s Jim Halpert and Jenna Fisher’s Pam Beesly, to the true star of the show, Rainn Wilson as the assistant (to the) regional manager, Dwight Schrute.
But now we have confirmation that a reboot / revival or I suppose new anthology or spinoff in The Office universe is indeed coming from the show’s creator, Greg Daniels, and writer Michael Koman. The new show will take place in the same universe as the original mockumentary (and yes, I know the actual original was a British show) but it will not take place in Scranton, PA and it will not be about a paper company.
The new show will follow the same documentary crew that “filmed” the original, but this time they’ll cover a “dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters.” That sounds like a pretty good idea, to be honest, and a newsroom should be a welcome change from a paper sales office. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that it’s coming to Peacock.
Two cast members have been announced so far, though Peacock says the show will feature an “ensemble cast.” The first is Domhnall Gleeson who we know from Ex Machina, Star Wars and plenty of other films. He’s a great actor, though not exactly someone I’d associate with this kind of comedy. Then again, he was in The Patient with Steve Carell . . . .
Sabrina Impacciatore, who we met in Season 2 of The White Lotus as the hapless hotel manager has also been cast, though we know nothing about either character.
I will point out here that one of the great features of The Office was the fact that very few of its core cast members were famous when it began airing. Many of them became famous, or went on to play roles in other shows and films, but most of them were new faces or at least not very recognizable (I just realized the other day that Rainn Wilson was in Sahara with Matthew McConaughey). I hope that the new series doesn’t go with all established actors and allows some newcomers as well.
“It’s been more than ten years since the final episode of The Office aired on NBC, and the acclaimed comedy series continues to gain popularity and build new generations of fans on Peacock,” NBCUniversal Entertainment President Lisa Katz said in a statement. “In partnership with Universal Television and led by the creative team of Greg Daniels and Michael Koman, this new series set in the universe of Dunder Mifflin introduces a new cast of characters in a fresh setting ripe for comedic storytelling: a daily newspaper.”
Hopefully it’s great. Nothing can top The Office, but even if this is just a fun new show with a similar brand of humor I’ll be happy. Let’s hope it’s more Parks and Recreation and less Space Force, at the very least.
P.S. I’ve generally enjoyed Mike Schur’s shows more than Greg Daniels’ shows over the years since The Office concluded. Schur was a producer and writer on The Office (where he also played Dwight Schrute’s cousin, Mose) and co-created Parks and Rec before going on to make some of my favorite comedies like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place. I’d be happy if this new Office show was as good as any of these. Cross your fingers.
P.P.S. What I would really love to see is a Michael Scarn movie. Just an entire movie that takes place in the wacky world of Michael Scott’s improv class character.
