In the era of reboots and remakes, it wasn’t long before rumors of such were connected to the Emmy-winning sitcom, The Office. Now TVLine reports that creator Greg Daniels (Parks and Recreation, Upload) is inching closer to possibly bringing the series to fruition. As first reported by Deadline, it appears Daniels will initiate a writers’ room next week. Ideas for the still pending project will be discussed.
According to TVLine, rumors of possible return to the mockumentary sitcom first surfaced in September. Very little was known about the project outside of Daniels being connected. The idea of a return dates back to the 2018-19 TV season at NBC. At the time, the proposed focus would have returned to the Scranton, PA Dunder Mifflin office, with a mix of new and old characters. The show’s lead, Steve Carrell (The Patient, Bruce Almighty) was not attached.
A decade after the show’s initial run, today’s version has been described as a hybrid between a reboot and revival, according to TVLine. While set in the Michael Scott universe, the show is said to feature new characters in a different office.
NBC’s The Office was based on the original 2003 UK premise starring Ricky Gervais (Armageddon, After Life). While Gervais’ version only ran for two seasons, the U.S. version aired for a total of nine. Debuting in 2005, the series followed Carrell’s socially inept Michael Scott, managing employees who all worked for a paper company. The cast was populated with future stars such as John Krasinski (A Quiet Place, Dr. Strang and the Multiverse of Madness), Jenna Fischer (Blades of Glory, Mean Girls), Mindy Kaling (Velma, Never Have I Ever), B.J. Novak (The Premise, The Founder), Craig Robinson (Killing It, This Is The End), and Rainn Wilson (The Meg, Dark Winds). By season seven, Carrell left the series with James Spader (Boston Legal, The Blacklist) taking his place. The show’s final season aired in 2013.
TVLine discussed the idea of the show’s return with Carrell back in 2017. Then, he expressed he didn’t think a reboot for the series would work.
“It might be impossible to do that show today and have people accept it the way it was accepted 10 years ago,” Carell said via TVLine. “So much of [Michael] was predicated on inappropriate behavior. I mean, he’s certainly not a model boss. A lot of what is depicted on that show is completely wrong-minded. That’s the point, you know? But I just don’t know how that would fly now. There’s a very high awareness of offensive things today — which is good, for sure. But at the same time, when you take a character like that too literally, it doesn’t really work.”
According to TVLine, the series earned a total of five Emmys including Outstanding Comedy Series in 2006. The show, like many multi-season series from the past, has found new popularity in the streaming age.
All nine seasons of The Office are available to stream on NBC’s Peacock.